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DUBLIN – Senior Sayaun Dent fired in 22 points, and senior John Bowen posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead West Bladen to a 58-45 victory over North Brunswick in the opening round of the Woodmen Life Christmas Tournament.
John Bowen put back a rebound, and Dent drilled a 3-point shot to give West an early 5-3 lead. Three-point bombs by Ian Hinson and Eddie Smith vaulted North in front 8-6.
Dent banked in a runner, senior Kalvin Page stole the ball and raced for a lay-up, and a Dent pass led to a lay-up for Jonathan Robinson that edged the Knights ahead 12-10 at the quarter break.
Page scored in transition, but the Scorpions Josh Brown scored 3 baskets in the paint for a 16-14 North lead. Page flipped in a runner and sank 2 free throws for West, but a Hinson follow tied the game a final time at 18-18.
John Bowen flushed a dunk off of a feed from Page then buried a 3-point shot off of a pass from Dent to ignite a 15-4 Knight spurt. John Bowen drained another 3-ball, and Dent canned 3 of 4 free throws. A pair of driving lay-ups by Dent stretched the lead to 33-22 at halftime.
“When we went man (defense), we actually looked like we used to look,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait. “That wasn’t the case when we played it in the first game of the season. Going to the man defense was the turning point in the game.”
A Hinson 3-ball and a Brown basket closed the gap to 33-27 to start the second half, but Page turned a runner into a 3-point play, and Dent popped in a 12-footer for a 38-27 lead.
Dent hit 2 foul shots, and a John Bowen pass resulted in a Jimmy Williams lay-up. John Bowen put back a rebound to keep the margin at 44-33 at the quarter break.
Dent scored on a follow then turned a Page feed into a lay-up and a 48-33 lead. John Bowen slammed in a dunk off of a Page assist. A Keshawn Lewis assist produced a John Bowen lay-up and 52-36 lead with 5:44 left.
Dent and Page made 2 free throws each, and Dent sent a pass to John Bowen that resulted in another Bowen dunk.
Page finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. “Kalvin and Sayaun played really well for us tonight,” said Coach Pait. “John Bowen did some good stuff for us. Gerardo Reyes and Scott Bowen played well off the bench for us.”
“Very happy with the win,” continued Coach Pait. “We did some good things on offense, and we were able to change defenses more tonight.”
Brown topped the Scorpion offense with 21 points, and Hinson added 11 points.
West Bladen claimed its sixth straight win and will take a 6-2 record into Thursday night’s 8 p.m. semi-final game against Whiteville.
WEST BLADEN (58) – Kalvin Page 14, Scott Bowen, Jimmy Williams 2, Keshawn Lewis, Drew Harris, Tyre Boykin, Sayaun Dent 22, Gerardo Reyes, Jonathan Robinson 2, John Bowen 18.
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