Goldsboro boys near flawless against S. Lenoir

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 20, 2014 1:48 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

Goldsboro could seemingly do nothing wrong in the first half against South Lenoir on Wednesday evening.

The Cougars know they'll need another near-flawless performance Friday.

Four Goldsboro players scored in double figures in a 60-39 rout of South Lenoir in the semifinals of the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference tournament. The Cougars visit regular-season ECC champion Kinston on Friday night.

Rasheed Jackson led Goldsboro with 15 points and Jayln Moore contributed 13 points. Myron Carmon finished with 12 points and Rasheen Artis added 11.

Jonte Midgette scored a game-high 18 points for the Blue Devils.

The Cougars (16-7 overall) reeled off the first 11 points of the game and got offensive production from six different players. The Cougars shot 65 percent from the floor in the first half, including 7 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Goldsboro used dribble penetration to get to the basket which allowed open shooters to knock down long-range shots. The Cougars built a 46-17 lead by halftime.

"We did something tonight that we've been preaching about all year and that's going inside out with the ball," Goldsboro head coach Russell Stephens said. "We were able to dribble down and kick it out. Our shooters shot with confidence tonight. We came out and handled business in the first two quarters."

The Cougars continued to stay aggressive in the second half with their sizable lead. Stephens found minutes for reserves off the bench down the stretch and the lead swelled to 56-31 in the fourth quarter.

Kinston defeated Goldsboro in both meetings during the regular season by a combined margin of 17 points. The Vikings have lost just once at home all season.

"First of all, we've got to go over there to play to win," Stephens said. "I thought the first time we played them we played to play close. The second time we played them I thought we played them a little bit tougher at our place and we missed opportunities.

"Three-point-plays, diving on the floor and rebounding, you're going to have to take all of that with you to beat them down there on Friday night."