ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen’s defense held East Columbus without a field goal for almost 11.5 minutes during a 22-1 blitz that began the 2nd half and propelled the Eagles to a 59-39 non-conference boys’ basketball victory over the Gators Friday night.
Gator guard Jay’zeon Brown had nailed a trio of 3-point shots and scored 11 points to keep East Columbus within 28-27 at halftime. “We made some adjustments at halftime,” said East Bladen Coach Aking Elting. “We wanted to get some length up top to alter his shot. We also wanted to do a better job of crashing the boards.”
The strategy worked as Brown didn’t score again until the final 4 minutes when the Eagles were enjoying a 20-point lead. As for pounding the boards, East Bladen senior Zamar Lewis racked up a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds with 11 of his points and 9 of his rebounds coming in the 2nd half.
Jaquise Smith’s free throw pulled the Gators even at 28-28, before the Eagles exploded for 22 consecutive points. Senior Jacob Nixon flipped in a reverse lay-up to ignite the spurt. Lewis spun for a lay-up then hammered in a dunk and a follow shot. Nixon drilled in a 3-point shot, and senior Yontee Dobson put back a rebound for a 41-28 East lead at the quarter break.
Lewis powered in a pair of rebound baskets and sank a free throw to start the final quarter. Dobson turned a Malcolm Bolden assist into a lay-up, before Nixon stole the ball and pitched ahead to Bolden for a dunk and a 50-28 lead with 4:44 left to play.
Bolden, a senior, blistered the nets with five 3-point baskets as he scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the 1st half. Nixon threw in 9 of his 14 points before halftime and bombed in a 3-ball in each half. Nixon pulled down 7 rebounds, and Dobson grabbed 6 rebounds.
After a Bolden 3-ball and a Lewis lay-up gave the Eagles an early 8-6 lead, a pair of Brown 3-balls put the Gators up 15-10 at the quarter break. A trio of Bolden 3-balls kept East Bladen close in the 2nd period, until Nixon popped in a 12-footer then tossed in a baseline runner to vault the Eagles on top 28-27 at halftime.
Brown led the Gators with 15 points, and Smith and Cainan Patrick tallied 8 points each.
“Their guard (Brown) is a lot to deal with,” said Elting. “It was a big win for a first game, and I am happy with it.”
The Eagles will travel to South Columbus Tuesday night.
East Columbus 15 12 1 11 – 39
East Bladen 10 18 13 18 – 59
EAST COLUMBUS (39) – Jay’zeon Brown 15, Jaquise Smith 8, Cainan Patrick 8, Tyrese Simpson 4, Jaden Troy 3, J’von Junious 1, Alex Melvin, C. J. Waddell, Javarrie Adams, Dureon Sutton, Ayden Graham.
EAST BLADEN (59) – Malcolm Bolden 23, Malaki Monroe, Lee Barnes 5, Cameron White, Yontee Dobson 4, Jacob Nixon 14, J’Marius Smith, Zamar Lewis 13, Peyton Tatum, Rodney Lacewell.
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