East Bladen’s Eagles raced to a 23-3 lead Thursday night, but Midway rallied to claim a 56-51 Four County Conference boys basketball victory at East.
“I have never seen a game like that,” said East Bladen Coach Ken Cross. “In 41 years of coaching I have never had a team lose a lead like that.”
It was bombs away early for the Eagles as they connected on seven 3-point shots in the first 8:20 of the game. East Bladen did not make another 3-pointer in the game.
Junior Eian Hines started the barrage with a 3-pointer 18 seconds into the game. Junior Denzel Johnson fired in a pair of corner 3-point shots that grew the lead to 9-1.
Junior Ethan Hines nailed a pair of 3-point shots, senior Dayvon Powell drove for a lay-up, and Johnson drilled a long 3-ball that stretched the lead to 20-3 at the quarter break.
Twenty seconds into the second period Johnson buried another 3-ball for the 23-3 lead. Midway’s Michael Kramer drove for a lay-up, but East senior Trevor Lloyd put back a rebound to keep the lead at 25-5.
Freshman Adonis Avery put back a rebound in transition to keep East ahead 27-8 with 3:15 left in the half. Midway closed the half with a 12-0 run led by 6-8 senior Marell Bullock and guard Dariuss Perez who scored 6 points each that sliced the lead to 27-20 at halftime.
The Raider run continued in the third period as a Malik Sankey 3-ball and a Bollock follow shot made it 27-25. Ethan Hines stole the ball and darted for a lay-up. Eian Hines canned a free throw, then stole the ball and sprinted for a lay-up and a 32-27 East lead.
A 6-0 Raider spurt gave them the lead on a pair of Kramer free throws at 33-32. Junior Demetrius Wooten vaulted East back in front with a pair of free throws.
Ethan Hines worked the give-and-go with center Chris Cromartie for a lay-up, and Cromartie gathered up a loose ball and beat the buzzer with a lay-up for a 38-36 Eagle lead at the quarter break.
Johnson drove for a lay-up to begin the final period, and Powell hit a free throw to push the lead to 41-36.
Sankey made 2 free throws for Midway, and a rebounding foul on the second shot gave Bullock 2 more foul shots and resulted in a 4-point possession that sliced the East lead to 41-40.
Paris Smith’s rebound bucket vaulted Midway in front, but Jermaine Robinson’s steal and lay-up kept the Eagles within 44-43 at the 5:14 mark.
Four Ayden Canady free throws grew the Midway lead to 49-43, but Eian Hines scored a lay-up in transition for East.
Two Wooten free throws and one by Eian Hines trimmed the margin to 53-48 with 1:11 remaining. Lloyd banked in a 12-footer to keep East within 55-50 with 31 seconds remaining.
Johnson topped the East Bladen scoring with 14 points, and Ethan Hines collected 10 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds. Eian Hines followed with 9 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Powell finished with 5 rebounds.
Bullock topped the Midway scoring with 18 points, and Kramer added 11. Perez scored all 8 of his points in the second quarter.
The Eagles held their own on the boards, but the Raiders held a big advantage at the foul line making 18 of 28 foul shots. East Bladen made 8 of their 14 free throws.
“We got too impatient and lost our composure,” said Coach Cross. “We kept firing shots up there when we could have took our time because we had the lead.”
The Eagles are now 2-6 in the league and 5-11 overall. East Bladen will travel to Clinton Tuesday night.
East Bladen (51) –Jermaine Robinson 2, Dayvon Powell 3, Ethan Hines 10, Eian Hines 9, Chris Cromartie 2, Trevor Lloyd 4, Adonis Avery 2, Derrick Burney, Denzel Johnson 14, Sincere Smith, Demetrius Wooten 5.
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