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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
ELIZABETHTOWN – Malcolm Bolden and Raymond Autry combined for 20 points to lead Elizabethtown’s Cougars to a 25-21 victory over Bladenboro Thursday night in the Bladen Five Middle School Conference Tournament championship game.
Bolden led the Cougars with 11 points, 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Autry totaled 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Ty Mathis pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, and Chase Starkloff was credited with 8 steals.
The Bulldogs were plagued by 23 first-half turnovers and 33 turnovers in the game. Elizabethtown turned the ball over 25 times as both teams struggled to score.
Bladenboro’s Deonte Lacy and Elizabethtown’s Timothy McLean traded free throws early. Autry faded away on an 8-foot rebound basket, while Anthony Mitchell tossed in a runner to keep the Bulldogs even 3-3 at the quarter break.
Bolden knocked down a 14-footer to begin the second period then stole the ball twice and dropped in consecutive lay-ups. Bolden popped in a 12-footer to boost the Cougar lead to 11-3.
Bladenboro’s Jaylen Newkirk muscled in a rebound basket, and center Deonte Lacy scooped up a loose ball and powered in a basket to close the gap to 11-7.
Starkloff stole the ball and pitched ahead to Bolden for another lay-up and a 13-7 halftime lead for the Cougars.
Autry took charge in the third quarter, flipping in a runner, banging in a follow shot and hitting a free throw for an 18-7 lead.
Gary Parker turned a Newkirk assist into a lay-up, and Lacy scored on a follow shot that sliced the Cougar lead to 18-11 at the quarter break.
Parker and Mitchell sandwiched Bulldog lay-ups around a McLean lay-up as the lead shrunk to 20-15. Brycen Blackmon sank two free throws, and a Newkirk pass produced a Lacy lay-up that cut the margin to 20-19.
Newkirk banked in a 16-footer from the right of the key to edge the Bulldogs in front 21-20 with 3:40 remaining. Mathis popped in a baseline jumper to vault the Cougars back on top at 22-21 at the 2:35 mark.
Autry muscled in a lay-up off of a Bolden assist to pad the Cougar lead to 24-21 with 1:31 on the clock.
The teams traded turnovers and missed free throws until another Bolden free throw with six seconds left sealed the verdict.
Lacy led the Bulldogs with 7 points and 6 rebounds. Newkirk finished with 4 points and 8 rebounds. Parker added 4 points and 5 rebounds, and Mitchell scored 4 points. Blackmon came up with a team-high 7 steals.
Coach Larry Williams’ Cougars posted a perfect 10-0 record and won both the Bladen Five Tournament and regular-season championships. Coach Phillip Penny’s Bulldogs finished with a 6-4 record.
BLADENBORO (21) – Anthony Mitchell 4, Gary Parker 4, Brycen Blackmon 2, Jaylen Newkirk 4, Deonte Lacy 7, Bryley Williams, Jarrett Kinlaw, Landon Stanley.
ELIZABETHTOWN (25) – Chase Starkloff, Malcolm Bolden 11, Ahmad Powell, Timothy McLean 3, Ty Mathis 2, Raymond Autry 9, Jacob Nixon.
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