Saints use late offensive surge to beat Jones Senior

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 5, 2012 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- For the second time in as many weeks, Southern Wayne and Jones Senior staged a thriller on the hardwood.

And for the second time, the Saints came out on top.

Southern Wayne used a 14-5 run over the last three minutes of play to rally past Jones Senior 79-68 on Tuesday night.

"I thought that we played good defense, especially in the second half," Southern Wayne head coach Dwight Smith said. "We were able to hold (Jones Senior) to one shot and that gave us some extra opportunities to cash in."

The first half was an offensive barrage as both teams lit up the nets.

Jones Senior guard Miguel Foy ripped off 19 points before halftime, but Southern Wayne's tandem of Jamiel Price and Ronnell Outlaw matched Foy shot for shot and kept the game close.

A last-second basket by Trojan reserve Brad Baugus tied the game at 37-37 at halftime.

Southern Wayne (4-1 overall) began the second half on a tear and built a seven-point lead in the third quarter -- only to see Foy erase it in the opening minutes of the fourth. Foy buried back-to-back 3-pointers and tied the game at 63-63 with three minutes to play.

"Sometimes when a guy is hot like that there isn't much you can do," Smith said. "We were getting a hand in his face and forcing him to take deep shots, but (Foy) is a great shooter and he made them anyway."

A basket by Price broke the tie and Outlaw followed with a basket to build on the Saints' lead. Jaylen Roberts' offensive putback on the next Southern Wayne possession and Price's long 3-pointer all but sealed the win.

"We really feed off of Jamiel and Ronnell as a team," Smith said. "When those two guys are making shots, it frees up other guys for quality looks because it forces the defense to come out and guard more of the floor."

Price led Southern Wayne with 23 points and nine rebounds. Outlaw added 20 points. Tarvis Bradshaw scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Foy finished with a game-high 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Southern Wayne travels to Goldsboro on Friday.