SB/MOPWC: Chargers shut down Eagles late in 4th quarter

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on December 30, 2015 1:48 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Rosewood erased a 41-27 deficit in the third quarter against Wayne Country Day during game five of the Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic at the University of Mount Olive on Tuesday evening.

The Eagles' hopes remained alive when they tied the game at 49-all with three minutes left in regulation, but WCDS pulled away for a 57-49 heart pounding victory.

"As the game went on, they (WCD) were able to get out in transition a little bit," Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell. "They were able to get some easier buckets. I thought in the second half, we could've folded really easy, (but) to scrap like we did, I thought we played really hard.

"We gave ourselves a chance at the end of the game."

Justin Lofton-Russell opened the fourth quarter with a basket off of Jamal Forde's assist to push WCDS further ahead 45-36.

Rosewood answered with an assist from senior Ethan Chapin to fellow senior Zack Barnes for a 3-pointer. Junior Noah Grantham grabbed a defensive rebound and passed the ball to Barnes for two points in transition.

The Eagles trailed 49-47 until sophomore Tucker Chapin drew a foul as he jumped for a rebound. Chapin swished both free throws to make it 49-49.

WCD head coach David Flowers called a timeout.

Loftin-Russell threw a long pass to fellow sophomore Ryan Hopes, who assisted Loftin-Russell with two points, and WCD never looked back.

Loftin-Russell drew a foul in the lane, and made both free throws. Junior PJ Hill caught an inbounds pass and drove to the basket for a layup.

Freshman Marcus Metcalf grabbed a rebound and assisted Loftin-Russell with the final points of the game.

"I think we got out to a 16-, 18-point lead. I think we got too relaxed," Flowers said. "We just got too complacent with what we were doing. I knew we were capable of pulling it out, (and) I knew we were going to win. I never thought we were going to lose that game."

Loftin-Russell scored 25 points for the Chargers, and Forde recorded 17 points. Barnes ended the game with 14 points for the Eagles, and Chapin added 12 points.

Wayne Country Day (10-5 overall) faced Southern Wayne in the fifth-place game today. Rosewood (1-8) met Carolina 1-A Conference foe Spring Creek (2-8) in the seventh-place game.