Southern Wayne advances to second round in 3-A boys' playoffs

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 26, 2013 1:47 PM

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DUDLEY -- Coming off a heartbreaking loss in the finals of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference tournament championship, Southern Wayne had two choices.

Respond and advance in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A boys' basketball playoffs, or fall flat and be eliminated in the opening round.

The Saints chose the former and rallied for a 71-66 win over McMichael High School on Monday night in the first round of Mideast sectional play.

Southern Wayne travels to Oxford Webb on Wednesday.

"Our guys showed how much they wanted this win," Southern Wayne head coach Dwight Smith said. "They gave it everything they had in the second half and we were able to pull it out."

McMichael started the game strong as shooting guard Quan Mims led the Phoenix to a 20-11 lead after one quarter. Mims scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the period.

Southern Wayne established itself in the paint in the second quarter as forwards Angelo Burden and Jaylen Roberts helped cut the Saints' deficit to six points at the intermissionat 37-31.

"We made an effort to use our height advantage," Smith said. "When we got the ball down low we had a lot of success against (McMichaels) smaller lineup."

Both teams were forced to battle foul trouble in the second half.

Southern Wayne took the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a putback by Burden. Jamiel Price extended the lead to 56-50 with a short jump shot one possession later.

The Saints maintained the lead until the final minute when Andrew Matthews made two free throws that iced the game with eight seconds on the clock.

Ronnell Outlaw led Southern Wayne (17-9 overall) with 20 points. Burden added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Price finished with 13 points.

"Ronnell and Angelo were huge for us," Smith said. "They made big plays late in the game and really carried us at a critical time."