Goldsboro boys defeat So. Wayne on last-second shot

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on December 22, 2014 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

There's just something different about rivalry games.

Those in attendance at Goldsboro High School on Saturday night for the men's varsity basketball game vs. Southern Wayne could attest to that.

In a back-and-forth game that came down to the final shot, Goldsboro narrowly escaped with a victory, coming from behind to defeat Southern Wayne 68-66. The win keeps the Cougars (8-0, 1-0) perfect on the season.

It was an up-tempo, sloppy game for 3 1/2 quarters. Goldsboro pushed the ball up the floor, looking to exploit starting guard's Rasheen Artis and Myron Carmon speed in transition. Artis finished the game with 11 points, while Carmon had a team-high 16.

It was Joe Baker, though, who made the plays for Goldsboro when they needed them. Baker, who had eight points on the night, stole a Southern Wayne inbound pass with 14 seconds to play and the game tied at 66. He drove to the basket and was fouled, sinking what would eventually be the game winning free throws.

After the game, Goldsboro Coach Russell Stephens talked about the impact Baker had in the game, especially in the final minutes.

"The big play that Joe Baker had kind of got the crowd into [the game,]" he said. "He's been having some big games for us. He went to the free throw line and then made some big plays down the stretch for us."

The final minute of the game feature three different steals, two lead changes, two lane violations and game clock malfunctions. It was a sloppy game, but one that Stephens thought was an important building block for his team.

"The biggest thing we learned from tonight's win is how tough we need to be," he said. "This is actually good for Southern Wayne and Goldsboro, because of the playoff atmosphere. When you have games when you're not sure who's going to win or lose, you always gain something from them.

"It was a classic rivalry game tonight."

For Southern Wayne, the loss was as encouraging as any loss can be. The Saints got ballanced scoring from their entire bench and played the majority of the game with a lead. Tyaire Allen led the way with 12 points, while Marquail Roddick, Xzavier Pearsall and Montrelle Plummer all added 10.

The ballanced effort wasn't enough, though, as turnovers with under a minute to go sunk the Saints.

"We just couldn't execute down the stretch," Coach Smith said. "We talk about that in practice all the time. We talk about situations, and tonight we didn't know the situation at the end."

Despite the frustrating loss, Coach Smith felt that there were a lot of good things to take away from his team's performance.

"There are many positive things about tonight's game," he said. "Tonight showed the guys that we can play with a good team. They know that they can continue to play and that they're not going to quit."

"They know that they can win."

This was the last game of the calendar year for both teams, as they're off for the holiday break.