C.B. Aycock-Eastern Wayne boys
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 14, 2012 1:48 PM
Eastern Wayne made the proper adjustments. Charles B. Aycock saw its season come to an end.
The Warriors tightened up defensively in the second half and earned a 72-59 victory on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference boys' basketball tournament.
Eastern Wayne visits top-seeded Triton in Wednesday's quarterfinals.
The Warriors started strong and Tyrick Kornegay's jump shot gave Eastern Wayne a 13-5 lead. Senior center Josiah Davis was whistled for his second foul late in the first quarter and the Golden Falcons took advantage.
Two quick layups from Aycock center Derrick Loftin cut the deficit to 19-16. The Golden Falcons (4-17 overall) began to find space in the Warrior's 2-3 zone defense. Cameron Johnson's 3-pointer tied the game at 19-19 to ignite a 9-0 run. Jalen Williams' layup put Aycock in front 23-19.
Eastern Wayne battled back by getting to the free throw line nine times in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the half. Kornegay's layup gave the Warriors a 30-28 advantage at halftime.
Eastern Wayne (9-14) turned up its ball pressure in the second half and forced 11 turnovers during the final two quarters. The Warriors consistently beat defenders off the dribble to get to the basket rather than settling for jump shots.
Davis' dunk gave Eastern Wayne a 48-36 lead.
"We tried to match up a little bit better defensively and not give them so many open looks," Warriors' head coach Marvin Bowman said. "We made a nice adjustment and told our guys to close out a little better. Offensively, we talked at halftime about putting the ball on the floor and also about getting Josiah involved. Tyrick was able to slip to the basket and get a couple of fast break opportunities."
Layups from Greg Williams and Michael Williams pulled the Golden Falcons to within 50-45. Eastern Wayne responded with a 10-2 run that was fueled by Aycock turnovers and missed shots as the lead swelled to 60-47. The Golden Falcons finished with 20 turnovers.
"In the games we've won, we've actually executed pretty well," Aycock head coach Steve Moats said. "We've gotten the extra passes, and got the open shots and hit the open shots. In our losses we don't shoot well and we turn the ball over. We rushed a little bit and they made us rush a little bit.
"Give them a lot of credit for winning and moving on."
Lee Atkinson led the Warriors with 23 points. Davis added 19 points and Kornegay had 16.
Johnson scored 14 points and Michael Williams supplied 12 for the Golden Falcons. Loftin, Jalen Williams and Greg Williams each had 10 points.