Eastern Wayne boys falter late in 4th quarter

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on January 28, 2015 1:48 PM

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After spending one quarter floundering and falling behind and two quarters pounding the ball into the post against a bigger New Bern team, Eastern Wayne was finally in position to complete a comeback.

Then the Warriors ran out of gas.

After cutting a 16-point lead down to three in the fourth quarter, Eastern Wayne fell apart offensively and lost 86-72 to New Bern in Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play Tuesday evening.

"We had Malik (Richard) and Zeke (Martin) working so hard against those big guys that are 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6 that by the time we were able to come back they just didn't have anything left in the tank," Eastern Wayne coach Chris Roberts said.

The Warriors were led by Richard and Martin who combined for 29 points and 23 rebounds. Blake Poland kept the Warriors in the game early with three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 17 points.

Every time the Warriors got close, Stevonte Harrell or Miller Mills would respond for the Bears. Harrell scored 25 points and Mills contributed 19. The Bears had five players score in double figures.

Eastern Wayne (5-13 overall) plays host to J.H. Rose next Tuesday.