Warriors play tough for one half, then Vikings flex muscles

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 3, 2014 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

rcoggins@newsargus.com

Moments before they stepped onto the court Tuesday, the Eastern Wayne basketball team welcomed some surprise guests in their locker room -- members the varsity football team.

The group told their fellow athletes that anything could happen against Kinston, the three-time reigning state 2-A champion. They used their 56-55, overtime upset of No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Southern Guilford last Friday as a example of working through adversity and never quitting on themselves and each other.

The Warriors played an inspired first half and trailed by 10 points at the break, but North Carolina recruit Brandon Ingram took over in the third quarter. The 6-foot-8 senior knocked down 18 of his game- and career-high 43 points in a 99-65 victory.

"We knew that the odds were stacked against us," second-year EW coach Chris Roberts. "For a half, we defied the odds, just got wore down and a little too much Brandon Ingram. I told my guy to play him tough, play him hard and play him physical.

"In the first half, they did a great job."

Blake Poland delivered 18 of his team-leading 23 points in the opening quarter for the Warriors. Guard Jeremiah Miller contributed five points, while Zeke Martin controlled the boards with seven rebounds.

Kinston (1-0 overall) couldn't seem to shake the Warriors and finally seized their double-digit margin just seconds before halftime.

Roberts knew the third quarter would tell the tale.

And it did.

The Vikings switched to more aggressive defense, increased the tempo in their favor and put the game out of reach with a 15-6 run. The advantage ballooned to 74-48 with 32.8 seconds left in the third.

"I've always told my guys the two most important parts of the game are the first quarter and third quarter," Roberts said. "In the third quarter, we knew they were going to come out and try to make a run, and get him (Ingram) the ball.

"I told my guys we've got come out with a head of steam. We got away from what we were doing."

Mykel Hart complemented Ingram's performance with 12 points, including 10 in the second half. Darnell Dunn and JaQuan Artis provided 10 points apiece.

In addition Poland, Martin logged a double-double 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ye'Onte Royall and Miller supplied nine and eight points, respectively.

"(Blake) is a great kid, he works non-stop in the gym," Roberts said. "I've been riding him and ß because they're great players. These younger kids are getting meaningful minutes that when we get our squad together, I'm really excited to see what the finished product is going to be."

The Warriors entertain Goldsboro (2-1) on Thursday.