Greene Central boys pull away from EW in final 3 1/2 minutes

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 1, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Just before Eastern Wayne stepped onto the court for the third quarter, the team huddled, raised their fists in the air and shouted "finish."

Greene Central finished, instead.

The Rams outscored the Warriors 15-4 over the final 31/2 minutes and walked away with a 68-57, non-conference victory Monday evening. It was Eastern Wayne's season-opening game.

"Glad we got the first game out of the way, down the stretch we didn't finish the offense like we should have," second-year EW head coach Chris Roberts said. "It was there. We had them in foul trouble. I was happy about our energy, but we've got those little mistakes that we need to work on."

Boxing out on rebounds is one.

Tied at 53-53 with 3:47 left in regulation, the Rams hit the front end of a two-shot foul. Brad Monroe rebounded the second miss, drew the foul and completed the three-point play.

Monroe's basket ignited an 11-1 run that lasted 2 minutes.

"We have a little bit of height around it (the basket) and we've got to be relentless on the boards," said GC head coach Charles Harris, whose team owned a 43-33 edge on the glass.

"We talk about every time that ball goes to the rim, we've got to have the mentality that it's our ball. We crashed the boards pretty hard, made some baskets and hit some free throws."

The Rams cashed in 18 charity shots, including eight in the final quarter.

Eastern Wayne seized a 25-18 advantage -- the biggest lead by either team -- midway through the second quarter. Four Warriors -- Coriante Foy, Eric Agee, Yeonte Royall and Marcus Rouse -- each drained a 3-pointer during that stretch. EW hit eight threes on the night.

Greene Central closed the gap to 27-24 by halftime and tied the game at 40-40 with 0.9 seconds left in the third quarter. Tion Speight got fouled on a 3-point attempt and calmly knocked down all three free throws. Roberts grimaced as he rubbed his face with a towel.

Royall converted four consecutive free throws to tie the game at 51-all and 53-all. The last two conversions occurred with 3:47 left on the clock before Greene Central delivered its back-breaking blow.

"We had some foul trouble at the time and that took away from rebounds that we needed at those key moments (in fourth)," said Roberts, referring to Miller and Foy, who were both saddled with four fouls.

"We'll watch film tomorrow (today) as a team and we'll go from there. They're upset from the loss, but I told them we have to build on what we did well."

Royall just missed a double-double with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Miller chipped in 12 points, while Foy provided nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Tre Wade led GC with 19 points. Monroe, Speight and Don Pigford tallied nine points apiece.

Eastern Wayne (0-1 overall) entertains county rival Goldsboro on Wednesday.