ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Malcolm Bolden scored the winning points, and junior Zamar Lewis just missed a huge triple-double as they led East Bladen to a 60-57 Southeastern Athletic Conference boys’ basketball victory over Fairmont Thursday night.
Fairmont’s Walker Chavis tied the score for the 1st and only time in the game at 57-57 when his 3-point shot hit the side rim bounded high and fell through. Bolden then flew through the Tornado press and flipped in a baseline runner to put the Eagles back on top 59-57 with 35 seconds on the clock.
Eagle junior Yontee Dobson pulled down a huge rebound of the next Fairmont shot, and Bolden tacked on a free throw with 8 seconds left to push the lead to 60-57. A final Fairmont shot missed as time ran out.
Bolden topped the Eagle scoring with 18 points, but Lewis dominated the inside play with 10 points, a whopping 20 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. Junior Jacob Nixon pumped in 14 points and snatched 5 rebounds. Junior Malaki Monroe threw in 10 points. Dobson sank 6 of 8 free throws in the final period and pulled down 5 rebounds. Senior Nazire Smith grabbed 4 rebounds.
“Zee (Lewis) was huge for us. Wow! 20 rebounds,” said Eagle Coach Aking Elting. “Malaki had some big moments for us, and Yontee made some crucial foul shots. It was great to get contributions from some of our other guys besides Malcolm, Zee and Jacob. Malcolm came up big at the end. He is our motor and keeps us going.”
Junior Jordan Mathis started the game with an Eagle lay-up, and Lewis put back a rebound for a 4-0 lead. Nixon canned 2 free throws, Bolden drove for a lay-up, and Nixon delivered an assist to Lewis for a lay-up and a 10-4 lead.
Cameron Sweat spun to the basket to cap a 5-0 Tornado run and slice the margin to 10-9, but Monroe popped in a 15-footer then drained a 3-pointer and a free throw to keep East up 16-14 at the quarter break.
Bolden made 2 free throws to begin the 2nd period, then sent a pass to Monroe for a lay-up. Bolden stole the ball and dashed for another lay-up and a 22-16 lead. A Nixon pass resulted in another Bolden lay-up, then Bolden returned the favor with a pass to Nixon for a lay-up.
Nixon cashed in 2 free throws as the Eagle lead grew to 28-23. Bolden scooped up a Fairmont turnover and sped down the court for a lay-up, and Lewis powered in a lay-up to pad the halftime lead to 32-27.
The 2nd half opened with Nixon bombing in a long 3-pointer. Lewis hit 2 free throws, and Bolden added one before Nixon buried another 3-ball to stretch the Eagle lead to 41-33. Monroe beat the Fairmont press for a lay-up and a 43-38 lead at the quarter break.
Lewis muscled in a follow shot, and Bolden twisted through the Tornado defense for a lay-up and a free throw. Three free throws by Dobson gave the Eagles their biggest lead at 51-40. Three more Dobson foul shots kept East on top 54-46 at the 2:31 mark.
Chavis knocked down a 3-ball, and Ty’rus Morris bulled his way to the basket for a follow shot then a 3-point play that closed the gap to 55-54, before a pair of Nixon free throws upped the count to 57-54 with 1:33 remaining.
Morris topped the Fairmont scoring with 17 points, and Chavis finished with 15 points. Gabriel Washington, the star of Wednesday’s Tornado win over West Bladen, was limited to just 9 points.
The Eagles improved to 4-1 in SAC-7 play and 9-5 overall. East Bladen moved into a 3rd place tie with Fairmont behind St. Pauls and Red Springs who are both 6-0 in league play. East Bladen will travel to Fairmont Monday for a 6:30 make-up game against the Tornadoes.
Fairmont 14 13 11 19 – 57
East Bladen 16 16 11 17 – 60
Fairmont (57) – Cameron Sweat 5, Khalil Alford 5, Gabriel Washington 9, Savonte McKeithan 4, Tyrek Thompson 2, Ty’rus Morris 17, Walker Chavis 15, Eli Meekins, John Poe, Derrick Baker, Jacob Hunt.
East Bladen (60) – Ahmad Powell, Malcolm Bolden 18, Jordan Mathis 2, Jacob Nixon 14, Nazire Smith, Cam White, Yontee Dobson 6, Zamar Lewis 10, Malaki Monroe 10.
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