D.H. Conley tops Eastern Wayne's boys

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on January 16, 2016 11:13 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

Through one quarter Friday night, the D.H. Conley boys' basketball team appeared lost against Eastern Wayne.

As in, a group of teens takes-the-obvious-wrong-turn-in-a-horror-film kind of lost.

Plagued by turnovers, misses at the rim and matchup problems at multiple spots on the floor, the Vikings trailed 12-9 after the opening eight minutes.

And if the clash of Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foes had been a standard bit of Hollywood fare, the group would have certainly endured their share of garden variety screen-writing maxims en route to the worst fate possible.

Finger pointing.

In-fighting.

The wild card, as always, acting independently of the group's objective. But the Vikings strayed from convention, offered acute plot twists and defeated the Warriors, 57-41.

After struggling against speedy Warriors guard KK Best (11 points) in the first half, Conley head coach Rob Maloney placed the basketball in the hands of senior guard Kendrick Greene -- a move that stabilized the backcourt and sparked the Viking offense.

"They (Eastern Wayne) did a good job of making us play fast," Maloney said, "and we got a little bit out of control. Kendrick really provided some leadership and calmed the waters for us."

Greene, often picked up full court by an opportunistic, rangy Warriors' press, calmly navigated the chaos and found open teammates -- especially fellow senior Jordan Staton.

His short corner three-ball opened third-period scoring, and was followed seconds later by another at the key. The 12-point barrage also included two layups and a highly contested jumper from the free throw line -- all of which developed from Conley's methodical pace.

"We worked through the offense and got open looks," said Staton, who finished with a game high 21 points. "We maneuvered well."

Eastern Wayne (1-11 overall, 0-4 ECC), which plays Monday at Roxboro Person, refused to go quietly in the game's final period.

Fighting through taxing foul trouble and horrid free throw shooting (11 for 26 on the night), the Warriors -- again led by Best-- produced their most efficient basketball of the contest. It was much too little and much too late after the Vikings' Greene and Staton had penned the overall outcome.