EW boys open league play with 1-point win

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 12, 2013 1:48 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

With the game on the line Wednesday night, Eastern Wayne looked like anything but a team that had just two days of practice.

The Warriors used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter and held on for a 59-58 win over Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe D.H. Conley.

Zongio Troy led Eastern Wayne with 15 points. Malik Richard added 10 points.

The deep playoff run by the Warriors' football team pushed back the start of Eastern Wayne's basketball season. The altered schedule forced the Warriors to open their season against an ECC opponent.

"We did some very hard work and we had some intense practices," Eastern Wayne head coach Glen Darden said. "These guys played a tough football season and came right in and I only had two days to work with them. There's still some things that I've got to put in. The momentum is in our favor right now and we've got to keep it there."

The Vikings used countless screens and effective movement without the ball to create open shots.

The Warriors countered with strong outside shooting and made four of their eight 3-pointers in the first half. Conley scored eight of the final 11 points in the second quarter and led 26-21 at halftime.

Peyton Ahlers, the Vikings' big man, went to work in the third quarter and scored seven of his game-high 21 points. Conley built a 42-33 lead as Ahlers routinely executed the pick-and-roll with Conley's guards to set up easy baskets.

Eastern Wayne opened the fourth quarter with 3-pointers from K.K. Best and Troy on consecutive possessions. Best's layup capped a 10-0 run that gave the Warriors a 43-42 lead.

"I told the guys if they did all the right things, push the ball up the court and box out we could get back in the game," Darden said. "We've got some shooters and I was trying to illustrate that, and we needed to set some high screens for our shooters. They started that at the end and we got some good looks."

Conley led 53-51 with more than two minutes to play before Eastern Wayne's poise paid dividends. Micah Smith sank one of two free throws and Best's two foul shots put the Warriors ahead for good at 54-53.

The Vikings committed two costly turnovers in the final 90 seconds and Malik Richard calmly drained two free throws with six seconds left. Conley's Maleek Gorham knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin.

"Our kids showed some poise and made some key free throws," Darden said. "That's what got us back in the ballgame."

Eastern Wayne (1-0 overall, 1-0 ECC) travels to Goldsboro on Friday.