BOYS' BASKETBALL: Saints hold off spirited Eagles

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on December 7, 2016 10:01 AM

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DUDLEY -- Is it March yet?

That was the question many onlookers were left to ponder last night as Southern Wayne withstood a lightning-quick second-half rally before ultimately turning back county neighbor Rosewood, 53-44, in varsity boys' basketball action.

Southern Wayne (1-6 overall) was dominant in the opening quarter, exercising patience in its halfcourt offense and a wave of smothering pressure on defense to grab an early 13-3 advantage.

The start -- clean, crisp and under control -- was exactly what Saints' head coach Dwight Sutton had envisioned.

"We talked in the locker room about being starters," the coach noted. "Getting things going, keeping the intensity going."

Rosewood (0-3) however, began its comeback course in the second stanza, relentlessly crashing the boards and slowing the pace to a more manageable waltz. The Eagles' charge was bouyed by Noah Grantham and Chance Howard, who provided a much-needed dose of ball control and a combined six points against the Southern advantage.

"We knew they would pressure us... but as the game went on, we handled it better," Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell said. "(We) controlled tempo a little bit."

At the break, Southern Wayne led 19-13.

The Eagles amped up their attack in the third, again pursing the glass as a unit and running their offensive sets with discipline. Sixth-man Conner Vernon was pivotal to the purple-and-gold's continued rally, converting an old-fashioned three-point play at the rim and registering five points in the period.

"He played with a lot of heart, a lot of effort," Mitchell said of his senior. "(He) just plays really, really hard... provided us with a spark."

Southern countered with timely baskets from Bless Thomas, Daari Walton and Shawntwon Leach to button the stanza and set the stage for what would prove to be a manic final period.

The final quarter was tournament proper, with both teams exchanging significant body blows over a frenetic eight minutes.

Rosewood did much of its damage from the free throw line down the stretch, taking advantage of an early double bonus situation by going 7 of 11 from the stripe.

Southern rode the shoulders of Leach, whose work early in the quarter settled an uneasy Saints faithful -- until Jakevious McCullen took over.

With 4:30 remaining, the junior snared a defensive board and started what turned out to be a gym-throttling, coast-to-coast rim rocker on the other end that brought the crowd to its apex and signaled a turning of the tide for the Eagles.

A turnover on their following possession led to a triple by Southern's Rakilen Butler, which was enough to signal the beginning of the end for a miracle Rosewood rally.

Over the final two minutes, the Saints effectively ended matters from the free throw line -- a welcome sight to Sutton, who has watched his team come up short in three close ball games this season.

"You have to trust each other, play hard and everything will work out" Sutton said.

Southern Wayne returns to action Thursday versus Northern Nash. Rosewood plays host to North Johnston today.