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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
DUBLIN – East Bladen Eagles overcame a 24-point first-half deficit to defeat West Bladen 59-56 Tuesday night in Three Rivers Conference boys basketball action.
It was a tale of two halves with West Bladen controlling the first half, and East Bladen roaring back in the second half.
Knight senior Jimmy Williams bombed in a pair of 3-point shots to start the game and later hit two more 3-pointers. Freshman Shyron Adams nailed a corner 3-ball, and Tyre Boykin put back a follow for an 18-2 West lead.
Eagle senior Sincere Smith muscled in a basket to pull East to within 18-4 at the quarter break.
Junior Keshawn Lewis opened the second period with a pair of 3-point baskets, and Adams knocked down another 3-ball as the lead grew to 27-8. Junior Drew Harris turned an Adams assist into a lay-up then flipped in a follow shot for a 31-10 margin.
Freshman Javant McDowell converted a pair of assists from junior Pierce Melvin into lay-ups, but Williams banked in a hanging shot, and Adams drilled in another corner 3-ball that pushed the Knight lead to 36-12.
Junior Kerron Baldwin-Washington tossed in an acrobatic shot to keep the lead at 38-14, but McDowell banged in a follow shot, and Byron Bowen dropped in a transition lay-up to trim the margin to 38-18 at halftime.
“That had to be one of our best shooting halves ever,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait. “Everything that we threw up went in.”
Messiah Leach drove for a lay-up, and senior Adonis Avery buried a 3-point shot to begin the second half for the Eagles. Knight senior Jonathan Robinson banged in a lay-up to keep the West lead at 41-23.
Junior Keshaun Davis drove for a lay-up, and Leach drained a pair of 3-point shots for the Eagles. Avery popped in a 4-footer then drilled in a corner 3-ball to slice the Knight lead to 41-36.
A Smith lay-up resulted in a 3-point play, and McDowell scored at the rim to cap a 23-4 quarter for East Bladen that cut the Knight lead to 42-41 at the break.
“We went man-to-man on defense in the second half and really played hard,” said Eagle Coach Kenzil McCall. “That is what we want to play anyway because it takes a lot of heart and grit and we played with heart in the second half.”
Baldwin-Washington began the final period with a 3-pointer, but Davis drove for a lay-up, and Leach tied the game on a baseline jumper with 6:49 left.
Lewis pumped in another 3-point shot for a 48-45 West lead, but Smith banked in a couple of baskets to tie the game a final time 49-49 with 4:34 on the clock.
Avery turned a runner into a 3-point play and a 52-49 Eagle lead at the 4:17 mark. Williams sank 2 foul shots for the Knights, but Smith bounced down the baseline for 2 more baskets and a 56-51 East lead with 2:17 remaining.
Lewis connected on his fourth 3-point shot of the game to close the gap to 56-54 but McDowell’s lay-up with 1:44 left made it 58-54. Lewis popped in a 10-footer to trim the margin to 58-56 at the 1:17 mark.
An Avery free throw with 1:03 remaining accounted for the final margin. West had a couple of 3-point chances in the final minute that didn’t connect.
McDowell posted a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Eagles. “He is really coming along as a freshman,” said Coach McCall. “He just needs more confidence.”
Avery followed with 14 points, and Avery tallied 10 points before fouling out. Smith also finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. “He is really not a basketball player, but he is a great athlete and is giving us great leadership,” noted McCall.
Williams led the Knights with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Lewis followed with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Adams finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Robinson’s 9 rebounds paced the Knights to a 39-36 rebound advantage.
Free throws were a problem for both teams. West Bladen made only 6 of 18 foul shots, while East Bladen connected on just 3 of 12 free throws. Twenty-four turnovers plagued the Knight offense. East Bladen had 12 turnovers.
“After 3 close losses last week, it just feels good to get a win,” said Coach McCall.
“We put in a skeleton of the offense we ran last year because we had some guys that sat out the first half,” said Coach Pait. “I think we caught them by surprise with it, but I might have waited too long to go back to this year’s offense. I was hoping we would have enough to get to the end.”
East Bladen will host Red Springs Friday night, while West Bladen will travel to East Columbus.
EAST BLADEN (59) – Adonis Avery 14, Byron Bowen 2, Keshaun Davis 4, Messiah Leach 10, Pierce Melvin, Javant McDowell 16, Sincere Smith 11, Deondre Newkirk 2.
WEST BLADEN (56) – Drew Harris 5, Jaheim Lesane 1, Kerron Baldwin-Washington 5, Jimmy Williams 16, Keshawn Lewis 15, Tyre Boykin 3, Shyron Adams 9, Trashawn Ballard, Gerardo Reyes, Jonathan Robinson 2.
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