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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
DUBLIN – Senior Sayaun Dent fired in 21 points to lead West Bladen’s Knights to a 72-54 Four County Conference boys basketball victory over East Bladen Thursday night.
Dent put back a rebound for the first Knight basket, but Eagle junior Xavier Wooten scored on a follow shot. Junior Jonathan Robinson drove the baseline for a reverse lay-up then flipped in a jump hook for a 6-2 lead.
Sophomore Adonis Avery hit 2 free throws for East, but Dent nailed a 17-footer, and Robinson banked in a jump hook for a 10-4 Knight lead. Sophomore Drew Harris stretched the West lead to 12-4 with another jump hook.
Senior Eian Hines drove the baseline for an Eagle lay-up, but Dent drilled a 3-point shot for a 15-6 lead. Hines turned a short bank shot into a 3-point play, but Dent sank 2 free throws. Hines banked in a runner, but Knight senior Kalvin Page made 2 free throws for a 19-11 West lead at the quarter break.
Knight guards Jimmy Williams and Page converted steals into lay-ups to begin the second quarter. East senior Demetrius Wooten drained a 3-point shot and put back a rebound to trim the margin to 24-16.
Sophomore Keshawn Lewis pulled up for a 15-footer, and Page and Dent drove for lay-ups. Robinson hit a free throw then turned a Dent assist into a lay-in.
Senior Denzel Johnson bombed in a 3-pointer, but Knight senior John Bowen put back a rebound, then hit 2 free throws for a 37-20 lead. A Page free throw and a Dent lay-up was offset by another Johnson 3-ball for East.
Hines banked in a runner and beat the halftime buzzer with a rebound basket that pulled the Eagles to within 40-27.
John Bowen started the second half with a jump hook, and Robinson tossed in another jump hook. Hines answered with a runner, but Dent turned a Page feed into a lay-up for a 48-31 lead.
Demetrius Wooten and Dent exchanged lay-ups, and Hines cashed in 2 free throws. Another Page assist resulted in a Scott Bowen lay-up. Rebound baskets by Dent and Harris and 2 John Bowen free throws upped the count to 56-34.
Dent nailed a corner jumper, but Hines responded with a rebound bucket at the buzzer. West led 58-37 at the quarter break.
Page began the final period with a runner, but Johnson sandwiched a pair of 3-point baskets around a John Bowen dunk. Page and Avery traded free throws, and West junior Gerardo Reyes drove for a lay-up and a 65-44 West lead.
Hines drove for a lay-up, but Williams muscled in a rebound. Reyes drove for another lay-up and a 69-47 lead. Robbie Cooley dropped in a lay-up for East, and teammate Sadique Ingram put back a rebound and drilled a 3-point shot.
Knight senior Fred Walters banked in a 3-point basket to end the scoring.
Robinson finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds. “Jonathan was big for us early,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait. “We have expected that from him all year. He had a size advantage with his body.”
Page filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals. John Bowen finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Dent had 7 rebounds, and Williams finished with 6 rebounds as the Knights held a 33-28 edge on the boards.
“We have been a team of streaks this season, and maybe this will start a good streak,” said Coach Pait. “I am proud of this team, and it’s good to get a win.”
Hines led the Eagles with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Johnson followed with 12 points, and Demetrius Wooten added 8 points. Xavier Wooten grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
“It’s been a tough season, and I thought we might could turn it around,” said Eagle Coach Kenzil McCall. “It is going to be a long, tough process, but we are still fighting.”
The Knights, now 9-5 in league play and 16-8 overall, will host a first-round conference tournament game next week against Heide Trask.
The Eagles will travel to either Clinton or Wallace-Rose Hill. Tournament pairings will be announced Friday.
EAST BLADEN (54) – Eian Hines 19, Xavier Wooten 3, Denzel Johnson 12, Aaron Laforte, Adonis Avery 5, Jordan Payton, Sincere Smith, Pierce Melvin, Demetrius Wooten 8, Sadique Ingram 5, Robbie Cooley 2.
WEST BLADEN (72) – Kalvin Page 10, Scott Bowen 2, Jimmy Williams 4, Keshawn Lewis 2, Masai Carroway, Drew Harris 4, Sayaun Dent 21, Fred Walters 3, Geraldo Reyes 4, Jonathan Robinson 12, John Bowen 10.
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