Northwood Temple puts away Wayne Country Day's boys

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 25, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

During Friday's practice, second-year Wayne Country Day head basketball coach David Flowers explained everything -- in detail -- about what Northwood Temple would do offensively and defensively.

There was a disconnection somewhere.

The Chargers forgot to execute on both ends of the court.

James Wilson buried four 3-pointers and pumped in a game-high 22 points as perennial playoff fixture Northwood Temple cruised past WCDS, 67-58, on Monday evening.

"I told the guys in the locker room you gave me heart, you gave me effort, there's no doubt and played hard, but you didn't play smart," Flowers said. "Maybe this game was a learning game, which is fine. If this game helps us do something better later in the season, I'll take it."

Tied at 6-6 in the opening quarter, the Eagles seized command with a 12-3 run, sparked by two 3-pointers by Wilson. The Chargers closed the gap to 24-22 on Jamal Forde's 3-pointer off Joel Davis' assist.

Northwood (3-2 overall) kept a one-possession advantage and led 29-28 at the break. After a WCDS basket to open the third quarter, the Eagles went on 11-0 run capped by Dakari Johnson's 3-pointer from the corner.

The Chargers trailed 40-31 with 3:35 to go.

"Our problem is we were settling for outside jumpers," said Flowers, who constantly encouraged his players to attack the gaps in the Eagles' zone defense.

"The shots weren't falling. When we reversed the ball and got it inside, we had better opportunities to score."

Wilson's fourth 3-pointer boosted Northwood's advantage to 45-35 after three quarters. The Eagles stretched their lead to 57-39 midway through the final period.

WCDS amped up its defense and closed to within 61-51 with 2:14 remaining in regulation. Flowers' squad trimmed the deficit to a two-possession game, but Northwood sealed the outcome at the free throw line.

"We waited too late to play defense," Flowers said.

Forde led three Chargers in double figures with 21 points, while Shahim Muhammad knocked down 19. Joel Davis contributed a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.