ELIZABETHTOWN – Josh Henderson and Jeyvian Tatum threw in 19 points each to lead St. Pauls to a 76-50 Southeastern Athletic Conference boys basketball victory over East Bladen Friday night.
Center Marcus Galbreath dropped in 10 points for the winners who have now clinched at least a tie for the SAC-7 regular season championship with a 10-0 league record.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Junior Zamar Lewis powered in a follow shot for the Eagles then delivered a lay-up off of an assist from junior Malcolm Bolden to begin the game. Bolden drove for a lay-up then sent another pass to Lewis who flushed home the dunk to tie the game 8-8. Henderson’s 3-point shot gave St. Pauls an 11-8 lead at the quarter break.
Henderson and Tatum started the 2nd period with 3-point baskets, but Lewis slammed in another dunk off of a Bolden assist. A Galbreath dunk and a Tatum 3-point play opened up a 22-10 Bulldog lead.
Bolden double-pumped a lay-up, and Lewis sank 2 free throws. Junior Jacob Nixon buried a long 3-ball to trim the margin to 24-17. Two Bulldog lay-ups and a follow shot padded the lead to 30-17, but Lewis flipped in an 8-footer. With 35 seconds left in the half, Lewis was tied up in a tug of war for a rebound with Galbreath and ejected on a technical foul. St. Pauls made 3 free throws to go up 33-19 at halftime.
“Losing Zee (Lewis) was tough,” said Eagle Coach Aking Elting. “That takes away a lot of our rebounding and opportunities for second-chance points.” Lewis had scored 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the 1st half.
After the lead reached 37-19, Nixon popped in a short jumper, junior Yontee Dobson sank 2 free throws, and Bolden drove for a lay-up. Nixon stole the ball and dashed for a lay-up and a 3-point play that whittled the lead to 43-28.
Nixon drained a pair of 3-point shots, Bolden drove for a lay-up, and senior Nazire Smith beat the quarter buzzer with a 10-footer that trimmed the lead to 48-38.
Another 3-ball from Nixon kept the Eagles within 52-41, but Henderson and Tatum hit 3-balls that pushed the lead up to 61-41. Smith answered for the Eagles with 3 free throws, a 10-foot floater and a lay-up, but the St. Pauls lead held at 65-48. A Smith assist produced a Bolden hoop that ended the East scoring.
Nixon blistered the nets with four 3-balls and topped the Eagle scoring with 17 points. Bolden followed Lewis with 11 points and 3 assists, and Smith netted 9 points. Dobson finished with 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, and junior Jordan Mathis pulled down 4 rebounds.
“We needed somebody to play well tonight, and Jacob came through for us,” said Elting. “We are happy to take what we can get from Naz (Smith). We have to box out better as a team, especially without Zee these next two games..”
The Eagles, now 5-3 in the SAC-7 and 10-7 overall, will host Red Springs Saturday at 3 p.m. Unfortunately Lewis will have to sit out Saturday’s game and next Tuesday’s game at Midway due to the ejection.
St. Pauls 11 22 15 28 –76
East Bladen 8 11 19 12 – 50
ST. PAULS (76) – Elston Powell 6, Cameron Revels 5, Josh Henderson 19, Lukus Osborne 2, Jeyvian Tatum 19, Elijah Blanding 8, Shaun Emanuel 5, Kenneth Jones, Marcus Galbreath 10, Kemarion Baldwin 2, Houston Hunt.
EAST BLADEN (50) – Malcolm Bolden 10, Jordan Mathis, Jacob Nixon 17, Nazire Smith 9, Cam White, Yontee Dobson 2, Zamar Lewis 12, Malaki Monroe.
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