Goldsboro's big men too much for Spartans

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 22, 2013 1:47 PM

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ROSE HILL -- Goldsboro's inside tandem of Damarian Henderson and Lonzia Tyson are starting to figure out the offense.

That could be bad news for the Cougars' next eight opponents.

Henderson logged a double-double and Tyson held a personal block party in Goldsboro's 69-38 thrashing of Union during the Martin Luther King Jamboree contested at Union High School on Monday afternoon.

The 6-foot-3 Henderson poured in a game-high 20 points and snared 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who entertain county foe Rosewood in a pivotal Carolina 1-A Conference game today. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at Norvell T. Lee Gym.

Tyson, a 6-7 junior, provided 14 points and swatted five shots.

"Outstanding," Goldsboro head coach Russell Stephens said of Henderson and Tyson. "We wanted to play fast and go inside. I thought D-Man (Henderson), when he came into the game, he gave us instant offense.

"Zo (Tyson) was good all night with his length and blocking shots, and also getting in transition for some easy baskets. I thought they played tremendous."

Goldsboro (9-6 overall) seized a 7-2 lead, only to see Union answer with a 12-0 run. The Spartans, of the Tri-County 1-A Conference, led 17-13 after one period of action.

Henderson and Tyson took over from that point. The duo combined for 10 second-quarter points and Tyson threw down three monster dunks off alley-oop passes from Julius Murphy and Rasheen Artis.

Union's advantage disappeared and the Cougars led 31-25 at halftime. Murphy concluded the first half with nine points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. The senior did not score in the second half, but just missed a double-double after pulling down three third-quarter boards.

"We got some ball penetration and both of our guys are starting to come along," Stephens said. "D-Man can step out, spread the defense out, which will allow Zo to have that middle by himself. Our guys are starting are being a little more patient getting them the ball in situations where they can score."

Henderson drained two free throws and his offensive putback gave the Cougars their biggest lead, 38-28, with 2:22 remaining in the third period. However, the senior joined Tyson on the bench with three fouls just nine seconds later.

Union (8-7) climbed to within 38-33 on Brandon Lovett's second 3-pointer of the game and Damarius Davis' offensive putback. However, the Spartans could get no closer and converted just two field goals the final 10 minutes of the second half.

Freshman guard Myron Carmon answered Lovett's 3-pointer with an NBA-range shot of his own, which jump-started an incredible 31-5 game-ending run. Carmon finished with nine points -- all in the second half.

Carmon and backcourt mates Joseph Baker and Jalen Sprueill created turnovers, while Henderson and Tyson controlled the paint. The duo combined for 18 second-half points, including eight from the free throw line.

Goldsboro shot a blistering 24 of 35 (61.5 percent) from two-point range and just 2 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc for the game. The Cougars dominated the glass 36-21.