BOYS' BASKETBALL: EW's Rouse delivers in OT

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 15, 2016 9:59 AM

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BY BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

Before Eastern Wayne and South Lenoir walked onto the court for their overtime period, Warriors' head coach Bill Manning passed along a simple memo to his group.

Be patient offensively, and make sure the shooter gets a good look at the basket.

No Warrior heeded the message more than sophomore Marcus Rouse. Deadlocked at 51-all, the guard curved around the perimeter and stopped at the top of the key.

Splash.

54-51, Warriors.

The basket proved significant. EW never surrendered the lead in overtime and scratched its way to a tough, 61-59 triumph over South Lenoir Wednesday night.

"We all know Marcus (Rouse) is a shooter," Manning said. "Marcus had a long football season, and Marcus is still finding his basketball legs. Marcus' shot will be better. It's pretty good right now, but he will be even better as the season goes on."

The game was tight from wire to wire. No team had a lead larger than seven points. But it was the Warriors who found themselves down 39-36 entering the fourth quarter.

That's when the Rouse show began.

Down 44-43 with 2:05 left in regulation, EW's Omar Marrero found Rouse positioned beyond the arc.

Splash.

44-46, Warriors.

After the Blue Devils regained a 49-46 lead, Rouse found himself open once again. This time it was from the left baseline.

Splash. 49-all.

The teams exchanged baskets prior to overtime, but Rouse's damage had already been done.

"We trust Marcus," Manning said. "Marcus is one of these kids that we trust in any situation to take an open 3-pointer, and it showed tonight."

Then came the hair-raising 3-pointer to initiate overtime. It was the sophomore's fourth long-range bucket of the game, and the most important shot taken for the Warriors all season.

Rouse finished with 14 points and four rebounds. Eric Agee recorded 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. The Blue Devils were led by Devion Staten who poured in 17 points.

Wednesday's result was EW's second victory on the season. It also avenged an earlier road loss to South Lenoir on Nov. 29.

Though he was proud of his team, Manning said his players still have much work to do, particularly on the offensive end. He wants more movement of the basketball. If he can bring that out of his players, then more "Rouse" moments will pop up for other players later this season.

"Even though they know it and can run it, when it gets clutch time, it's not in their muscle memory yet," Manning said. "Right now, I don't see us as an efficient team. (Wednesday), we were efficient enough to win. And part of that is getting them to see what I want them to see on the court.

"Hopefully we're not close to where we will be."