Pickle Winter Classic -- Warrior boys claim 3rd place

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 28, 2013 11:34 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Referees might be wise to keep a pair of track shoes in their travel bags when they're called upon to officiate an Eastern Wayne varsity boys' basketball game this season.

The men in stripes are going to run all night.

The Warriors flourished in their transition offense and rolled past county rival Southern Wayne, 74-65, in the third-place game of the inaugural Southern Bank-Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic at Kornegay Arena on Saturday evening.

Eastern Wayne's front-court tandem of Micah Smith and Malik Richard nearly combined for a pair of double-doubles. Smith poured in 26 points and snagged 12 rebounds, while Richard tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

"I'm willing to let the guys play how they should play, and that's run the floor and be athletes," EW interim head coach Chris Roberts said. "They did that today once we understood that Southern Wayne wanted to slow us down some with a four-guard lineup.

"The guys were licking their chops in the second half and wanted to run more. Micah and Malik are two bigs that are hard to stop. They're so athletic, they just do a great job."

The Warriors' slim two-point halftime margin quickly increased to eight points early in the third quarter. KK Best's layup capped a 10-4 run, however, the Saints answered.

Tyaire Allen and Maurice Butler helped Southern Wayne climb to within 40-38 within a 1-minute span. Smith's two free throws gave Eastern Wayne a 46-40 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.

Smith drained six consecutive charity shots during the first two minutes of the fourth quarter as the Warriors' lead swelled to 52-40. The Saints, again, pecked away and closed to within 52-46 on Butler's offensive putback.

Roberts continued to urge his team to push the ball as the archrivals traded baskets. But a critical technical foul gave Eastern Wayne the working room it needed in the final three minutes.

Zongio Troy sank four free throws and Richard's traditional three-point play all but put the game out of reach, 67-52, with about 2 1/2 minutes to go.

"Micah and Malik lead the team in rebounding, and they get a bunch down (in the paint), which gives the other guys a chance to trap and make the other team take hard shots," said Roberts, whose team dominated the boards and coerced the Saints into 22 turnovers.

"Micah and Malik got some great rebounds, passed to KK and we took off. Our catalyst all year is we're going to play great defense and we're going to run the floor."

Troy provided 11 points for the Warriors, who shot 17 of 23 from the free throw line and converted 28 field goals.

Butler emerged the game's top scorer with 22 points. Tarvis Bradshaw provided 15 points, while Kalvix Thornton contributed eight points in a reserve role.