03/29/2024
Bladen County Sports
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong

ELIZABETHTOWN – West Bladen’s senior duo of John Bowen and Sayaun Dent combined for 39 points and 24 rebounds Tuesday night to lead West Bladen to a 67-53 Four County Conference boys basketball victory over East Bladen.

It was the eleventh consecutive win for the Knights who are 4-0 in league play and 11-2 overall, but Coach Travis Pait was not pleased saying, “ I thought East Bladen played hard, and I thought we just went through the motions. We are not real smart – too many silly mistakes. This was a very disheartening win. If we don’t get it together, we are going to get drilled.”

John Bowen finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Dent added 18 points and 8 rebounds. “Sayaun is a force to be reckoned with,” said Eagle Coach Kenzil McCall. “We just didn’t have an answer for Bowen. He’s so tall he doesn’t need much room.”

Junior Jimmy Williams buried a 3-pointer from the corner to start the game, and Dent put back a rebound. Senior Eian Hines banked in a runner for East, but John Bowen scored in transition for an 8-2 West lead.

Sadrique Ingram drained a 3-point shot for East, but John Bowen tossed in an 8-footer and a 12-footer, and Dent pulled up for a baseline jumper. John Bowen turned a steal into a lay-up, but Eian Hines scored on a follow to snap the run. Junior Scott Bowen drilled a 3-point shot to stretch the West lead to 19-7 at the quarter break.

John Bowen knocked down a 12-footer to begin the second period, but senior Ethan Hines delivered a 3-point shot for East. John Bowen put back a rebound then flushed a dunk off of a feed from senior Kalvin Page that padded the lead to 25-10.

Ethan Hines bombed in a 3-pointer, but Williams answered with a 13-footer for West. Eian Hines drove for a lay-up, and junior Xavier Wooten muscled in a rebound to keep East within 28-17.

Dent pumped in an elbow jumper, but senior Denzel Johnson threw in a 3-pointer for East. Drew Harris dropped in a jump hook for West, but Ethan Hines canned a free throw to narrow the gap to 32-21 at halftime.

John Bowen popped in a 15-footer to begin the second half, and Dent flipped in a floater and a free throw for a 37-22 Knight lead. Eian Hines banked in an 8-footer, but Page drove for a lay-up and Scott Bowen fired in a corner 3-ball that extended the lead to 42-25.

Demetrius Wooten banked in a runner for East, but John Bowen launched a 3-pointer, and Dent scored on a rebound to give the Knights their biggest lead at 47-27 with 2:38 left in the third period.

Demetrius Wooten banked in a runner then drained a 3-point shot. After Page hit 2 free throws for West, Ethan Hines drilled in another 3-ball, and Xavier Wooten turned an Eian Hines pass into a lay-up. Ingram stole the ball and raced for the lay-up that whittled the lead to 49-39. A Page free throw made it 50-39 at the quarter break.

Junior Jonathan Robinson cashed in 2 free throws, but Ingram buried another 3-pointer to slice the margin to 52-42.

Robinson spun to the basket and banked in a 6-footer, and Page drove for a lay-up and a 3-point play. Dent pulled up again for a 14-footer and a 59-42 lead.

Xavier Wooten converted an Eian Hines pass into a lay-up, and Eian Hines stole the ball and sprinted for another lay-up. John Bowen turned a steal into a Knight lay-up and a 61-46 lead.

Johnson sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers for East around a Dent lay-up as the lead narrowed to 63-52. A Harris lay-up and a pair of Dent free throws sealed the verdict.

Page finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Scott Bowen tallied 6 points.

“We were right there with them,” said Coach McCall. “We got it down to ten and had a bad turnover – one that we weren’t pressured on. I guess you have to struggle in order to see how good it is when you succeed.”

Johnson led the Eagle scoring with 11 points. Eian Hines and Ethan Hines finished with 10 points each, Ingram followed with 8 points, and Demetrius Wooten scored 7 points despite missing much of the game with foul trouble. Xavier Wooten worked the boards for 6 points.

Xavier Wooten and Eian Hines pulled down 6 rebounds each to lead the Eagles on the boards. West Bladen held a 37-18 advantage in rebounds.

West Bladen will host Wallace-Rose Hill Wednesday night in a battle for first place in the Four County. The Bulldogs defeated Clinton 59-49 Tuesday night, so the Knights and the Bulldogs are the only remaining unbeaten teams in league games.

East Bladen will entertain powerful Cape Fear from the Mid South 4A Conference Wednesday night.

WB (67) – Kalvin Page 9, Scott Bowen 6, Jimmy Williams 5, Keshawn Lewis, Drew Harris 4, Sayaun Dent 18, Gerardo Reyes, Jonathan Robinson 4, John Bowen 21.

EB (53) – Demarius McArthur, Demetrius Wooten 7, Eian Hines 10, Ethan Hines 10, Xavier Wooten 6, Sadrique Ingram 8, Denzel Johnson 11, Aaron Laforte, Adonis Avery 1, Deondre Harris, Joshua McKoy, Jordan Payton.

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