SBMOP WINTER CLASSIC: South Lenoir cruises past SW

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 30, 2016 10:23 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Southern Wayne's victory over Spring Creek on Wednesday was intended to show the Saints had finally turned a corner.

Their season -- full of inconsistencies and questionable play -- was supposedly headed toward the light.

But old habits die hard, and all of them were alive and well in the Saints' 69-53 loss to South Lenoir on Thursday night in the Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic.

"Defensively we looked flat tonight," said Saints' head coach Dwight Smith. "But we can't take anything from South Lenoir. They came ready. They executed what their coach wanted them to execute. They played a great game tonight."

The Saints' best stretch came early in the second quarter. After trailing by seven points, Southern Wayne used a 12-6 run to snatch a 16-14 lead -- it first of the game.

Then, Southern Wayne held an 18-16 advantage. That turned into 18-17. Soon, they were down 19-18.

The Saints never led after that point.

South Lenoir's 29-21 halftime lead enlarged to 52-36 by the end of the third quarter. The Blue Devils' advantage never dipped below 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Smith attributed the issues to a lack of defensive rotations. Offensively, the Saints couldn't seem to buy a basket from point-blank range. Layup after layup fell short, and frustration began to creep into the players' heads.

"Once they didn't see the ball going through the hole, I think they kind of got down on themselves," Smith said. "And then when we got on them, they rushed the shots even more. We just have to calm down, relax and finish."

Bless Thomas -- who earned second-team all-tournament honors -- led the Saints with 22 points. He was the only Southern Wayne player to score in double digits. Quentin Carlton was the next highest scorer with nine points.

Despite the disappointing finish, Smith did see improvement among some of his players, including Shawntwon Leach and Wilcliff Senatus. He hopes they will play an significant role in the team's success as they step back into Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play.

"I saw some guys -- that didn't play early in the non-conference -- they stepped up in this tournament," Smith said. "And we see that we have some guys that can step up and play with us."