Outlaw emerges offensive leader

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 10, 2012 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- Charles B. Aycock entered its regular-season finale looking to upset county rival Southern Wayne on senior night Wednesday.

The Saints simply would have none of it.

Ronnell Outlaw scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter in the Saints' 77-50 victory. The win put Southern Wayne in position to finish in second place in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference and potentially host two rounds of the conference tournament next week.

"We needed to come out and get this win tonight and we did it with a team effort," Saints' head coach Russell Stephens said. "Ronnell played a great game and knocked down some shots and to go with that we had guys going to the basket and we had guys on the boards creating opportunities."

Southern Wayne started the game on fire from the field and built a 23-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. C.B. Aycock weathered the storm and held firm in the second quarter, but found itself down 38-26.

That is when Outlaw took the game over.

Setting up on the wing, the quick-handed guard collected passes and fired from beyond the 3-point arc at will early in the quarter. A driving layup and a pair of free throws punctuated the period for Outlaw as his 17 points helped propel the Saints to a 61-35 advantage.

"You have to give Southern Wayne a ton of credit tonight," C.B. Aycock head coach Steve Moats said. "Not only did they have guys knocking down open shots, but they also had guys making tough plays and hitting shots with defenders in their face."

The fourth quarter allowed plenty of time for reserve players to hit the court. Southern Wayne's largest lead came with six minutes to play at 71-40.

Trey Allen added 13 points for the Saints (17-6 overall, 9-3 ECC). Andrew Matthews tallied 10 points, and Jamiel Price recorded nine points and nine rebounds.

"We have been struggling offensively the last few games but I think that was really a product of our defense," Stephens said. "We need to be able to create turnovers and play fast so we can get in the flow of the game. Tonight we did that."

Michael Kearney led the Golden Falcons (4-16, 3-9) with 12 points. Cameron Johnson added 10 points.