By John Clark
ELIZABETHTOWN- Junior Myron McKoy made 10 of 12 free throws and scored 20 of his 22 points in the 2nd half as Heide Trask rallied for a 54-45 non-conference boys basketball victory over East Bladen Wednesday night.
The game was tied 6 times and the Titans never led until McKoy canned 2 free throws with 2:42 left in the 3rd period to edge Trask ahead 34-32.
East Bladen sophomore Rodney Lacewell powered in a rebound basket to knot the score 34-34, but Martez Davis knocked down a corner 3-ball to put the Titans ahead to stay at 37-34 eighteen seconds before the quarter break.
Senior Jamiel Davis started the final period with another 3-ball, but senior Jacob Nixon answered with a pair of free throws to keep East within 40-36. However McKoy drove for a lay-up, and sophomore Sherrod Henderson put back a rebound for a 44-36 Trask lead at the 5:07 mark.
McKoy connected on 8 of 10 free throws over the final 1:43 to seal the verdict. Nixon’s lay-up with 1:28 on the clock brought East to within 46-42, before the Titan free throw barrage padded the lead.
Nixon topped the Eagle scoring with 22 points and snared 6 rebounds. Sophomore Dominick Collins followed with 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Senior Yontee Dobson tallied 5 points. Lacewell grabbed 9 rebounds and had 4 points. Senior Zamar Lewis snatched 10 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.
Senior guard Malcolm Bolden was plagued by foul trouble and saw only 16 minutes of action before fouling out with 4:46 left to play. Bolden totaled 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
“Some calls just didn’t go our way,” said Eagle Coach Aking Elting. “But we have got to play our game. We can’t tuck our tails and run because things didn’t go our way. This was a good game to get us ready for Fairmont on Friday.”
Senior Isaac Turner finished with 11 points for the Titans. Jamiel Davis added 6. Henderson and senior Gavin Brown grabbed 6 rebounds each.
Bolden and Nixon buried 3-point shots, and Collins and Bolden netted lay-ups as the Eagles built an early 10-4 lead. Turner kept Trask close with a trio of 3-balls, but Collins banked in a 6-footer, and Nixon bombed in a 3-ball then sent an assist to Bolden for a lay-up and a 17-10 East lead.
Lacewell’s follow shot gave East a 19-14 lead in the 2nd period, but McKoy’s follow shot and Isaiah Bromell’s runner pulled Trask even 19-19. Nixon drove for a pair of lay-ups and nailed a 3-ball for a 26-21 Eagle lead. Bromell beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-ball that whittled the margin to 26-24.
A Bolden assist resulted in a Dobson lay-up, and Nixon cashed in 2 free throws for East, but McKoy threw in a pair of 3-balls to knot the score 30-30. Nixon popped in a 14-footer to give the Eagles their final lead at 32-30.
It was the Eagles 2nd narrow loss to Trask. East Bladen, now 11-2, will return to Southeastern Athletic Conference play Friday night when they host Fairmont. Trask improved to 10-4 with the win.
Heide Trask 12 12 13 17 –54
East Bladen 17 9 8 11 – 45
Heide Trask (54) – Myron McKoy 22, Jamiel Davis 6, Isaiah Bromelle 5, Isaac Turner 11, Sherrod Henderson 5, Martez Davis 3, Brandon Bannerman, Gavin Brown 2.
East Bladen (45) – Dominick Collins 7, Malcolm Bolden 7, Malaki Monroe, Lee Barnes, Yontee Dobson 5, Jacob Nixon 22, Chris Harding, Zamar Lewis, Peyton Tatum, Rodney Lacewell 4.
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