Martin has career scoring night for EW

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on November 25, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

As an Eastern Wayne football alumnus, Chris Roberts is happy to see the football team going so deep into the playoffs.

But he's running out of players.

The second-year Warriors' head basketball coach was forced to call up six players from junior varsity just to fill out the bench on Monday night.

Lucky for Roberts, he has Zeke Martin. The senior center scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to help Eastern Wayne defeat North Lenoir 84-75 for its first win of the season.

"That kid is a machine," Roberts said. "He's playing so many minutes and he just never stops. I'm really excited for him."

It was Martin's second double-double is as many games for the Warriors. And EW has desperately needed those kinds of performances while it's missing at least six players who are on the football team.

With those players out, even more responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Martin, and guards Blake Poland and Jeremiah Miller. Poland finished with 18 points, while Jeremiah Miller added a double-double -- 12 points and 10 rebounds.

All three players have stepped up and each scored in double figures against the Hawks in a game that never really seemed in doubt. Eastern Wayne's offense was a well-oiled machine getting up and down the court in a fast-paced tempo and converting opportunities in close.

"I'm not surprised by anyone who's stepped up because I know my kids," Roberts said. "They're all good players and they're athletic and they're all going to do what they're supposed to, so I'm not surprised by anyone.

The defense consistently forced turnovers, but Roberts wasn't happy with his team's rebounding. The Hawks held a slight edge on the boards, even though the Warriors were the more superior team athletically.

"That was one of the things we talked about at halftime," Roberts said of crashing the glass. "They were inferior to us a little bit size-wise, but we need to focus on getting a butt on a butt, and get them out of the lane and grab the rebound."

Jalen Robinson led the Hawks with 19 points and as one of the smallest players on the court, he still grabbed seven rebounds.