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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
BLADENBORO – Senior Greyson Heustess banked in a 9-foot runner with one second remaining to lift East Bladen to a 57-56 Three Rivers Conference men’s basketball victory over West Bladen Friday night.
West Bladen junior Tyre Boykin sank a free throw with 7.8 seconds left to give the Knights a 56-55 lead. Heustess then raced down the floor for the winning shot.
“I was looking at our scorebook and saw that we had lost six games by one point,” said Eagle Coach Kenzil McCall. “It just feels good to get a win. I am happy for the kids that they finally got on the winning side of one of these.”
Knight sophmore Shyron Adams drained a pair of 3-point shots, and junior Tyre Boykin beat the East press for a lay-up that gave West a 53-44 lead with 3:03 on the clock.
East senior Keshaun Davis knocked down 2 free throws, and senior Darrell Banks bombed in a long 3-pointer. After West senior Keshawn Lewis converted a Boykin assist into a lay-up, Heustess nailed a 3-point shot to slice the Knight lead to 55-52 at the 1:44 mark.
Banks flew to the basket for a transition lay-up then tied the game 55-55 with a free throw with 20 seconds left.
“We didn’t do the right things down the stretch and they did,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait.
Banks led the Eagles with 16 points and 6 steals. Davis finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Sophmore Freddy Wooten followed with 11 points, and Heustess contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds. Sophmore Javant McDowell grabbed 10 rebounds and tallied 6 points.
Boykin topped all scorers with 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Adams followed with 11 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Lewis finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Senior Jaheim Lesane pulled down 6 rebounds.
Eagle senior Bryon Bowen started the game with a short jumper, and Davis and Banks turned steals into lay-ups for a 6-0 lead. Knight senior Kerron Washington flipped in a baseline floater, but a Heustess lay-up upped the count to 8-2.
Lewis buried a 3-point shot, but a Davis assist led to a Heustess lay-up and a 10-5 lead. Boykin dashed to the rim for a 3-point play, and senior teammate Cameron Taylor drove the baseline for a lay-up. Lewis converted a steal into a lay-up for a 12-10 Knight lead.
Wooten vaulted East back in front with a 3-point basket, and Banks drove for a lay-up and a 15-12 lead. Washington answered with a transition lay-up, and a Nolan Bryant rebound and assist led to an Adams lay-up and a 16-15 West lead at the quarter break.
Wooten hooked in a runner to begin the second period, but Lewis pulled up for a 12-footer, Adams drilled in a 3-pointer and Bryant tapped in a rebound for a 23-17 Knight lead.
McDowell muscled in a follow, and Davis drove for a lay-up, but Boykin converted a steal into a lay-up, and Lesane delivered a corner 3-ball for a 28-21 West lead.
Davis responded with a lay-up, and teammate Tyshawn Berkeley hit a free throw, before Nijeah McKoy beat the buzzer with a rebound basket for a 30-24 Knight halftime lead.
Banks tapped in a basket to begin the second half, and McDowell powered in a basket from the lane. After a Washington assist produced a Taylor lay-up, McDowell scored on a follow, and Banks tied the game 32-32 with a lay-up.
Boykin tapped in a follow then canned 2 free throws, but Wooten drilled in a 3-pointer, and Banks dropped in a lay-up on an in-bounds play for a 37-36 lead. Boykin tapped in another follow then spun to the basket for a lay-up and a 40-37 Knight lead at the quarter break.
Banks began the final period with a lay-up, but Boykin drove to the rim for a 3-point play and a 43-39 lead. Davis’ transition lay-up was answered by Lewis’ elbow jumper. Wooten nailed another 3-point shot to pull East to within 45-44.
Both East Bladen and West Bladen’s boys teams completed their seasons with Friday’s game.
East Bladen 15 9 13 20 – 57
West Bladen 16 14 10 16 – 56
EAST BLADEN (57) – Keshaun Davis 12, Greyson Heustess 9, Bryon Bowen 2, Javant McDowell 6, Freddy Wooten 11, Tyshawn Berkeley 1, Darrell Banks 16, Robbie Cooley.
WEST BLADEN (56) – Kerron Washington 4, Jaheim Lesane 3, Shyron Adams 11, Tyre Boykin 19, Keshawn Lewis 11, Trashawn Ballard, Drew Harris, Nijeah McKoy 2, Jackson Norris, Nolan Bryant 2, Cameron Taylor 4.
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