Cougars dump Rams for 2nd straight night

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 18, 2016 1:48 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

End to end.

Survive and advance.

Albeit cliche', those maxims accurately depict Goldsboro's high-octane -- at times physically punishing, 82-78 victory over Greene Central in the semifinals of the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference tournament Wednesday evening.

The Cougars face Kinston in the finals at Ayden-Grifton on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

The game's motor was in redline capacity from the opening tip.

Goldsboro (22-2 overall) worked by committee legislation in the opening quarter, moving with a whiplash-type pace in the half court and sending what seemed like a disgruntled construction crew to the rim in pursuit of board work.

Knockdowns, check.

And-ones, yes.

Make-sure-your-teeth-are-there type moments, absolutely.

Goldsboro, which has been described in the past as a running, funning, finesse basketball team, certainly worked to prove otherwise against the Rams.

Jaryan Hargis and Jaylin Thomas, who registered 17 points on the night, worked in timely concert for the Cougars. The duo combined to score 11 of the Cougars' 21 first quarter points.

Opposite their handiwork was Greene Central's Tre Wade, a demanding 6-foot-1 senior guard, who was simply not content to watch the show.

Wade routinely vacated Cougar defenders en route to the basket, scoring in a variety of contact-absorbing, highlight-inspired wire acts in the lane. He ended the night with a team-high 24 points.

And all the while, Goldsboro's Myron Carmon lurked.

The senior, and presumptive ECC player-of-the-year, left an indelible mark on the opening half by scoring 19 points. Most of his came in crushing waves from beyond the arc.

The Cougars, who connected on nine first-half triples, held a stout 47-32 advantage at the break.

"We shot the ball really well," Goldsboro head coach Russell Stephens said. "But we never want to go with fools' gold ... we had the same shots in the second half -- they just weren't falling."

Goldsboro, which scored just 14 third-quarter points, began reaching on defense, sending the Rams into an early bonus affair and ultimately, back within striking distance of a seemingly once-insurmountable Cougar advantage.

The Rams (15-9), who shot 17-31 from the charity stripe on the evening, cut the Goldsboro lead to just four with a Taylen Speight 3-pointer as the third period closed. And with 6:25 remaining in the final stanza, a twisting layup by Wade leveled the score at 63 apiece.

But Carmon took over when it mattered most.

The Goldsboro senior found room on the wing and authored back-to-back triples, breathing life into worried Cougar loyalists -- and effectively taking what remained from Greene Central.

Despite a lack of touches in the game's third quarter, Carmon's confidence never wavered.

"I'm a shooter, and every shot's a good one to me -- as long as it's what the team needs," he said.

Goldsboro and Kinston split the regular-season series, and shared the ECC title.

"It's winner take all Friday night," Stephens said of the matchup, "both teams still have a lot to play for -- and it's going to be a dog fight."

Probably one played at a high rate of speed.