Goldsboro knocks off Princeton

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 19, 2013 11:38 PM

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PRINCETON -- Goldsboro needed to find its footing after having a week off.

Princeton tried everything it could to slow the Cougars down, but in the end it was not enough. Goldsboro posted 24 points in the fourth quarter and cruised to an 83-55 victory in Carolina 1-A Conference play Friday evening.

"We started a little slow, but I kind of expected that," Goldsboro head coach Russell Stephens said. "We had not played a game yet this week and it showed with our tempo in the first quarter."

Goldsboro grabbed an early lead, but couldn't pull away thanks to some hot shooting by Princeton forward Nicholas Cobb, who buried back-to-back baskets late in the period. The Cougars led 17-14 after one period.

The Cougars picked up the first-half tempo and led 42-27 at halftime.

"We played well in stretches, but we just could not sustain it," Princeton head coach Jeff Davis said. "There were a couple times where we turned the ball over and it allowed (Goldsboro) to get out and run and they put up points in a hurry."

Princeton came out of the locker room firing in the third quarter and cut the deficit to nine points. A pair of 3-point shots by Michael Wooten left the Bulldogs down 59-50 going into the final eight minutes.

"You have to give coach Davis and his guys a lot of credit," Stephens said. "There was a stretch there where they made everything and we couldn't get a stop. I think at one point they hit seven of eight shots in a row."

Goldsboro (8-6 overall, 2-0 CC) took advantage of its height in the final quarter and pounded the ball inside to forwards Damarian Henderson and Lonzia Tyson. The duo combined for 14 points as the Cougars pulled away.

Henderson led Goldsboro on the night with 19 points. Tyson added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Joseph Baker finished with 15 points.

"Goldsboro has so much size and speed, it is hard to simulate in practice," Davis said. "They were able to feed those two big guys as we got down to the final minutes and they controlled the pace of the game."

Michael Wooten led Princeton with 16 points. Colby Norris and Cobb each added 12 points.

Princeton (6-7, 0-2) visits North Duplin on Tuesday. Goldsboro will play at Union High School on Monday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic.