Sophmores Jonathan Robinson and Jimmy Williams turned in key plays, and West Bladen’s Knights made 11 of 12 free throws in the final 2:20 to defeat Midway 60-56 Tuesday night in the opening round of the Four County Conference boys basketball tournament.
Shyheim Small drained a 3-point shot, and Michael Kramer powered inside for a lay-up to edge Midway in front 49-47 with 2:38 left to play.
Robinson answered by muscling in a rebound and tacking on a free throw to vault the Knights ahead 50-49 with 2:20 on the clock.
West Bladen then came up with 3 straight defensive stops, and after each stop the Knights’ Sayaun Dent, Shaquille Johnson and Stefan McDonald hit 2 free throws each as the lead grew to 56-49.
“We are astronomically better at the foulline in the last quarter,” said West Bladen Coach Travis Pait. “I don’t know why, but we are.”
Senior Paris Smith bombed in a 3-pointer, and a Knight turnover quickly led to a lay-up for Midway’s Jackson Carr that sliced the lead to 56-54 with 25 seconds left.
McDonald was fouled and made the first shot, but missed the second attempt. Midway corralled the rebound, but Williams stole the outlet pass and threw in 2 free throws for a 59-54 lead with 19 seconds remaining.
“Jimmy hit 2 big free throws and came up with that big steal,” said Coach Pait. “We told him to look for it and break on the ball. It was really big after that bad pass let them back in the game.”
Austin Raynor drove for a Raider lay-up with 15 ticks left, but Dent hit a free throw with 9 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.
McDonald led all scorers with 19 points. Dent finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Johnson posted a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. Junior John Bowen collected 8 rebounds for the Knights.
Small topped the Midway scoring with 13 points, and 6-8 center Marelle Bullock added 12 points.
“We didn’t play well,” said Coach Pait. “Our turnovers (16 in the second half) let them back in the game. We didn’t box out.”
The Knights moved the ball well early as a pair of Robinson assists led to lay-ups for Dent and Bowen and a Johnson assist produced another Dent lay-up.
Robinson powered in a rebound, McDonald drilled a 3-point shot, then found Johnson inside for a lay-up and a 13-4 Knight lead.
A Dent follow shot and a McDonald steal and lay-up stretched the lead to 17-7, before Raider guard Darius Perez buried a 3-point shot to trim the margin to 17-11 at the quarter break.
McDonald bombed in a 3-point shot, and Bowen and Dent hit free throws to keep the lead at 22-16. The Raiders closed to within 22-20 on a Kramer lay-up, but Dent popped in a 14-footer, and McDonald flipped in a floater to keep the lead at 26-20.
A Small 3-ball and a Bullock follow shot sliced the lead to 26-25, but Johnson put back a rebound for a 28-25 lead. Midway’s Greg Orr pumped in an 8-footer to trim the halftime lead to 28-27.
Johnson put back a rebound, and Dent and McDonald nailed 3-point shots for a 36-30 West lead. Williams bounced down the base line for a lay-up and a 39-33 lead, but Midway answered with a 7-1 run to tie the game 40-40 at the quarter break.
McDonald opened the final period with a 3-pointer, and Dent followed up his own shot for a basket. Johnson stole the ball and raced for a lay-up and a 47-42 Knight lead with 3:50 left
The Knights improve to 19-6 with their fourth victory of the season over Midway. “It is especially hard to beat a talented team four times,” continued Coach Pait.
West Bladen advances to play top-seeded Heide Trask in a 7:30 tournament semi-final game Wednesday at Union High.
“We have got to be tough enough to run our offense against their defense,” added Coach Pait. “They (Trask) play defense like us and really get into you. We have got to be strong with the ball.”
West Bladen (60) – Jimmy Williams 4, Keshawn Lewis, Stefan McDonald 19, Sayaun Dent 17, Malique McDowell 1, Shaquille Johnson 11, Jonathan Robinson 5, Will Lambeth, John Bowen 3.
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