BOYS' BASKETBALL: Eastern Wayne dominates New Bern in 2nd half

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on January 20, 2017 9:59 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

There was nothing smooth about Eastern Wayne's first-half offense Thursday night.

Sloppy plays in transition, ill-advised 3-point attempts and limited moves to the basket defined the first 16 minutes. All signs pointed toward a loss to New Bern -- unless you have Bill Manning to talk some sense into you.

Patience in transition, intelligent shot selection and attacks to the basket defined the second half -- all markers that pointed toward an eventual 57-47 win over the visiting Bears.

"I wanted everything to go to the basket to start with," Manning said. "We stopped turning the ball over, and we got to the rim a lot more. And we finally stopped giving up second and third and four-time shots."

Neither team set the court on fire in the first quarter. New Bern opened with an 8-7 lead, and the two teams combined for 11 turnovers.

In the second quarter, the struggles persisted. However, it became clear that EW was starting to close the gap. After trailing 13-7, the Warriors ended the quarter with 18-12 run, which was capped by a Nick Perkins' 3-pointer.

Perkins also played a significant role in kick-starting EW's huge second half.

"I told (Perkins), 'You're starting in the second half,'" Manning said. "And how long you stay on the court has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with you."

Perkins only provided two points in the third quarter, but he fought for offensive rebounds and provided opportunities for his teammates to attack the basket. EW outscored New Bern 18-8 and take a 43-32 lead.

After that point, the Bears never drew closer than eight points. The Warriors' lead grew as large as 15 points in the fourth quarter.

"(New Bern head coach Cliff Dillard) does a great job with those kids," Manning said. "I felt like we were more athletic, but they're disciplined and they're patient. And it was a fight for us."

Eric Agee paced the Warriors with 17 points and eight rebounds. Yeonte Royal added nine points and four rebounds.

The Warriors will face South Central today -- a team that handed EW a 58-29 loss back on Dec. 13.

Manning said that New Bern was more aggressive in the first half and that they were coming to the balls EW was throwing. He added that if those lazy passes occur versus South Central, the Warriors will find themselves down 25 points at halftime.

"I would love to go home and enjoy this game, but as far as I'm concerned, this game is over and done and I'm only thinking about (tonight)," Manning said. "Ten turnovers against South Central will be 14 transition points. We can't afford that."