2A PLAYOFFS: Fairmont uses big run to knock out Goldsboro

By Rodd Baxley
Published in Sports on February 27, 2016 11:09 PM

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By RODD BAXLEY

Courtesy: The Robesonian

FAIRMONT -- For the first 13 minutes of Saturday's game against Fairmont, the Goldsboro boys basketball team looked like the squad that entered the game unbeaten.

But after trailing by 14 points late in the first half, the second-seeded Golden Tornadoes woke up, sparking a monster run en route to a 77-63 win in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2-A state playoffs.

The 10th-seeded Cougars (24-4 overall) were clicking on all cylinders with a 38-24 lead late in the second quarter after a basket by Jyrek Robinson, but No. 2 Fairmont (26-0) answered with a 33-9 run, outscoring Goldsboro 26-8 in the third quarter, to seize control and earn its third regional appearance in four years.

Fairmont will host No. 3 Northeastern (26-2) on Tuesday in the regional semifinals.

"I just think we had a chance to go for the knockout punch in the first half and we missed some opportunities," Goldsboro coach Russell Stephens said. "They (Fairmont) seized the momentum and kept it. We couldn't get anything going on offense in the second half and we didn't do a good job of making plays. They just did a good job of finishing out the game once they seized the lead."

Alshaquan Williams led the Fairmont attack, scoring 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and pulling down 13 rebounds to record a double-double.

Prior to the game, Williams tweeted that he would "drop 40 points," but he said he'll settle for the double-double performance.

"I just wanted to step up and make big plays for my team," Williams said."Everybody was happy and ready to go, but we have to go even harder (on Tuesday)."

Point guard Isaiah Inman also notched a double-double for the Golden Tornadoes, dropping 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also added six assists.

Fairmont led by as many as 17 points in the second half, taking its biggest lead of the game at 72-55 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws by Inman. Goldsboro would cut the lead to five points several times in the second half, but would get no closer.

The Golden Tornadoes' comeback started with an 8-1 run at the end of the second quarter, after a 3-pointer by Julius Caulder and a steal that turned into a thunderous dunk for Jarique Moore to end the half. Goldsboro nursed a 39-32 lead at the break.

Moore went on to score 10 of his 14 points in the second half, but the final two of the first half flipped the momentum for the rest of the contest.

"Our defense stepped up," Fairmont coach Montrell McNair said. "They came in and made the plays they needed to make in order to get back in the game. Our zone press threw them off track when we switched out of our man-to-man press."

McNair added that Williams' inside play also played a big factor in the team's success.

"As long as he continues to play like that, the sky's the limit for this team," he said of the senior forward. "We're gonna take it as far as we can go."

Now, the Golden Tornadoes will get one more home game -- another reason for McNair to be confident in his undefeated bunch.

"It'll be a tough task come Tuesday," he said. "(Northeastern) is a very talented team. But it means a lot to have the fan base behind you. It can help get you over the hump like it helped us (against Goldsboro). That's good home cooking."

For Stephens' group, it's the end of an era for a special group of seniors.

"This was my freshman class when I got to Goldsboro," Stephens said of his seniors. "Just seeing them grow to move the program in the right direction. ... these kids worked really hard. They have the whole city behind them and they continued to battle."

The Cougars had four of their seniors cap their careers with double-digit performances. Kisheem Faison led the way with 13 points, Myron Camron added 12, Jaylin Thomas contributed 11 and Nakia Atkins tallied 10.