UMO Classic

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 27, 2014 11:34 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Maybe Wayne Country Day athletics director Michael Taylor should schedule more basketball games against county public schools.

David Flowers certainly wouldn't mind, especially after Friday evening.

His Chargers made a bold statement.

Senior Division I recruit Joel Davis posted a double-double as Wayne Country Day dismantled Eastern Wayne, 85-70, on opening day of the second annual Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic at Kornegay Area.

Davis finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Chargers, who triumphed for the sixth time in their last eight outings.

In other games: Spring Creek extended its win streak to seven games with a 79-72 conquest of North Lenoir, Belmont South Point snapped a three-game skid with a 63-52 win over Southern Wayne and Goldsboro tumbled from the unbeaten ranks in a 77-69 loss to Southern Durham.

"To me, this game is just another game," second-year WCDS head coach David Flowers said. "But to them, this is bragging rights, this is everything. They've been talking about it since the schedule came out. I told them in the locker room I want to see this every time they step on the court.

"You could see they wanted to play, they wanted to prove a point."

Point duly noted.

Wayne Country Day (8-4 overall) used a variety of defenses to keep Eastern Wayne off guard, and started strong from the perimeter. The Chargers sank five of their first six shots from behind the 3-point arc and raced to an eight-point advantage in the opening quarter.

The Chargers buried eight 3s on the night.

The Warriors closed to within 25-23 after one period, but could never establish any momentum. WCDS began to attack the basket and draw fouls, which helped lead to a 12-point advantage.

"I told my guys there is a reason they want to play you," EW head coach Chris Roberts said. "They don't play the public schools that often, so they wanted to make a name for themselves tonight, which they did."

Davis' emphatic, alley-oop dunk woke up a silent -- and possibly stunned -- crowd that nearly filled the Kornegay Arena seats. Roberts looked toward the scoreboard, leaned back in his chair and watched his team unravel as the third quarter progressed.

Wayne Country Day built as much as a 20-point lead behind Davis and Jamal Forde, who combined for 18 points in the third period.

"We looked good, I was impressed," Flowers said.

Forde knocked down 16 points for the Chargers who set Classic highs in free throws made (31) and attempted (45). DJ Waters and Shahim Muhammad each supplied 10 points in reserve roles.

Malik Richard posted a double-double, 20 points and 12 rebounds, for the Warriors. Micah Smith added 11, while KK Best contributed nine -- all from 3-point range.

Spring Creek 79, North Lenoir 72

The Hawks scored 14 of the first 17 points to open the third quarter, but could never pull away from the Gators.

Spring Creek stayed within a single possession and seized command with a 27-point, fourth-quarter outburst. Gonzalez scored 12 points and Jordan Hicks converted key offensive putbacks as the Gators preserved their win streak.

Hicks, who pulled down 12 rebounds, and Tre Hammonds each logged 16 points. Chad Spurgeon contributed 10 points.

Jalen Robinson led four Hawks in double figures with 16 points.

North Lenoir connected on a Classic-high 11 3-pointers. Overall, the Hawks and Gators combined for 54 field goals, including 18 from behind the arc.

South Point 63, Southern Wayne 52

Brandon Reeves' 3-pointer erased an early eight-point deficit and helped spark the Red Raiders to their second victory of the season.

The Saints (4-9 overall) grabbed an eight-point lead just four minutes into the opening quarter. South Point (2-5) whittled away at the deficit and took its first lead, 19-18, on Reeves' long-distance shot.

Tyaire Allen's offensive putback forged a 22-22 tie at halftime.

South Point opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run behind the strong play of 6-foot-3 junior guard Brandon Reeves and freshman guard Blake Zieske. The duo combined for 16 points.

Southern Wayne closed the gap to 53-52 on DiQuante Strong's field goal with 2:17 remaining in regulation. But the Saints' offense went cold and the Red Raiders sealed the outcome with a 10-0 run.

Ryan Williams led four South Point players in double figures with 16 points. Reeves and Zieske tallied 15 and 11, respectively, while Nick Muse knocked down 10 points.

Marquail Roddick paced SW's offense with 13 points.

Southern Durham 77, Goldsboro 69

Myron Carmon's 3-pointer trimmed the Spartans' lead to 69-67 with 43.9 seconds to play, but the Cougars couldn't finish the rally.

J'Tori Christmas buried an open 3-pointer from the left corner and Southern scored 10 of the game's final 12 points to hand Goldsboro its first setback in nine outings this season. Christmas led the Spartans with 18 points.

Rasheen Artis pumped in a game-high 25 points, including a 17 of 22 effort from the free throw line, for the Cougars. Carmon knocked down 17 points, while Joe Baker added 11.

The teams combined to shoot 67 free throws.