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ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Dominick Collins and sophomore Keyshawn Kemp combined for 30 points Thursday night to lead East Bladen to a 59-40 victory over South Columbus in the Waccamaw Conference boys’ basketball opener for both teams.

Collins directed the Eagle offense, dished out 3 assists, fired in a trio of 3-point shots and a game-high 17 points. Kemp moved up from the jayvees and powered in 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in his 1st varsity game.

“Keyshawn is big, and we felt that he could help us on the varsity,” said East Bladen Coach Aking Elting. “Ronnie Covington is getting better and better. We are coming along. I am proud of this team.”

Covington snatched a team-high 8 rebounds and scored 6 points. Shannon Hankins and Sherman Long each buried a pair of 3 -point shots and totaled 6 points each, and Peyton Tatum threw in a 3-ball and tallied 5 points. Junior Kewone Maynor added 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

“We have a lot of guys who can shoot the 3-point shot,” noted Elting. “They just needed to make some and become more confident with their shot.”

Collins banked in a runner, delivered 2 assists to Kemp for lay-ups and nailed a 3-point shot as East built an early 9-6 lead. Covington sent an assist to junior Chace Butler for a lay-up, then turned a pair of Butler assists into lay-ups for a 15-7 Eagle lead.

After South’s Andrew Todd trimmed the margin to 15-10 with a 3-ball, Tatum answered with a 3-ball, and Collins and Covington drove for lay-ups. Hankins threw in a 3-ball, and Collins raced for a transition lay-up off of a Tatum blocked shot to grow the lead to 27-12. Another Hankins’ 3-ball kept East on top 30-18 at halftime.

Senior Lee Barnes flipped in a follow shot to start the 2nd half, but South closed to within 32-23, before the Eagles broke the game open with a 15-0 blitz. Collins and Long blistered the nets with 2 3-point shots each, Tatum popped in a runner, and Kemp hit a free throw for a 47-23 lead.

South’s Rovaughn Graham beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter with a 25-footer to narrow the gap to 47-26 at the break.

Covington dropped in a lay-up off a Tatum pass, and Collins netted 2 free throws then delivered an assist to Kemp for a lay-up and a 53-35 lead. Covington cashed in 2 free throws and drove for a lay-up. Maynor powered in a runner for the final Eagle basket.

Sophomore A. J. Scott topped the Stallion scoring with 15 points. Freshman Khalil Morgan followed with 8, and Todd added 7.

The Eagles improved to 5-3 overall and are slated to play Cary in the Hoggard Holiday Classic Thursday Dec. 28 at 3 p.m.

South Columbus 7 11 8 14 — 40
East Bladen 15 15 17 12 — 59

South Columbus (40) — Andrew Todd 7, Monte Gore 2, Rovaughn Graham 3, Nasir Hutchinson, Kam Johnson 2, Khalil Morgan 8, Easton McPherson, A. J. Scott 15, Levon Toomer, Cole Edge 3.

East Bladen (59) — Dominick Collins 17, Chace Butler 2, Sherman Long 6, Lee Barnes 2, Shannon Hankins 6, Ronnie Covington 6, Kewone Maynor 2, Peyton Tatum 5, Tevin McClean, Keyshawn Kemp 13.