BLADENBORO – Junior C.J. Settles poured in 23 of his 26 points in the second half as Scotland pulled away for an 81-59 victory over West Bladen Thursday night in the opening round of the Adidas Christmas Tournament.
Senior Jaheim Lesane drained a pair of 3-point shots early in the third quarter to pull the Knights to within 42-39, before Settles nailed three consecutive 3-point shots then banked in a 6-footer to stretch the Scots lead to 53-39.
Junior Tyre Boykin drove for a lay-up and a free throw, and senior Keshawn Lewis canned a free throw to pull the Knights to within 53-43, before Settles beat the buzzer with another 3-ball for a 56-43 Scot lead at the quarter break.
Lewis drove for a lay-up, and Boykin and Lewis made 2 free throws each to pull West within 58-49 with 5:48 left, but Settles knocked down another 3-ball to ignite a 23-10 closing run for the Scots that included two more Settles 3-point baskets.
Settles threw in eight 3-point shots in the game. Teammate Trey Graham scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half.
Boykin led the Knights with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Lewis finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds, and Lesane totaled 13 points. Sophmore Shyron Adams grabbed 4 rebounds.
A driving lay-up by Boykin and 3-point baskets from Lewis and Lesane staked the Knights to an early 8-0 lead. However the West Bladen offense bogged down due to a dozen first period turnovers, while the Scots reeled off 15 unanswered points to take a 15-8 lead.
Boykin began the second period with a pair of driving lay-ups, and Lesane popped in a baseline fade-away. Adams stole the ball and dropped in a lay-up to trim the margin to 20-16.
Junior Nolan Bryant and Lewis fired in 3-point shots, and Boykin tied the game 24-24 with a free throw 3:39 before halftime.
The Scots turned a pair of steals into lay-ups, but Boykin drilled in a corner 3-ball and flipped in an 8-footer and a free throw to keep West within 33-30. Boykin added a lay-up and another free throw to whittle the Scot halftime lead to 37-33.
“Turnovers eat us up,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait. “The kids are playing hard, but we turned it over too much.”
The Knights will play West Brunswick Friday at 4 p.m., while the Scots advance to Friday’s 8 p.m. semi-final against Whiteville.
Scotland 15 22 19 25 – 81
West Bladen 8 25 10 16 – 59
WEST BLADEN (59) – Kerron Washington, Jaheim Lesane 13, Shyron Adams 2, Tyre Boykin 22, Trenton Lyons, Donovan Stone 1, Keshawn Lewis 13, Eddie Perez-Ortiz, Trashawn Ballard, Drew Harris, Nijeah McKoy, Jackson Norris, Nolan Bryant 6, Cameron Taylor 2.
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