Spread the love

By John Clark

ELIZABETHTOWN — East Bladen’s Eagles deserved better Wednesday night. Coach Aking Elting’s team fought West Columbus to the very end, but free throws and 4th quarter rebounding proved to be the difference as the Vikings escaped with a 47-46 victory.

The victory puts the Vikings in the driver’s seat to secure the Waccamaw Conference’s No. 1 1A seed with a 5-2 league record. With their 2nd 1-point loss on consecutive nights, the Eagles drop to 3-5 in league play and 8-9 overall. East Bladen will host Pender Friday night.

Sophomore Keyshawn Kemp buried a 3-point shot from the left corner to vault the Eagles in front 45-43 with 3:02 remaining. Viking star Unique Kelly drove for a pair of lay-ups that put West back on top 47-45 with 2:07 left.

The teams traded turnovers until Eagle senior Rodney Lacewell’s free throw sliced the deficit to 47-46 with 43 seconds on the clock. Kelly missed 2 free throws with 17 seconds left, but a couple of East attempts at the winning shot missed.

“The guys didn’t quit,” said Coach Elting. “This was a tough one.”

The Vikings outrebounded East 12-2 in the final period after the Eagles had held a 23-21 edge on the boards over the 1st 3 periods. West Columbus also made 10 of 23 free throws, while the Eagles sank 4 of their 5 foul shots.

Kemp led East Bladen with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Junior Dominick Collins followed with 7 points. Shannon Hankins and junior Chace Butler tallied 6 points each, and Lee Barnes and Lacewell scored 5 points each. Butler had 2 assists. Barnes and Lacewell grabbed 4 rebounds each, and senior Peyton Tatum added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.

Kelly carried the scoring load for the Vikings with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Tristen Freeman followed with 11 points, and Jaylen Bellamy netted 7 points.

Kemp banged in a lay-up and a follow shot to start the game, and Butler hurled in a runner for a 6-0 East lead. Bellamy answered with a 3-pointer and another basket, and a Kelly follow shot put West up 9-6.

Butler drove for a lay-up, and Barnes and Collins drained 3-point shots for a 14-10 East lead. Freeman’s 8-footer tied the game, but a hustling Lacewell beat the buzzer with a follow shot in transition that gave East a 16-14 lead.

Seven points from Kelly keyed a 13-2 Viking run that produced a 27-18 lead. Eagle sophomore Tevin McLean flipped in a floater, and Barnes put back a rebound to trim the margin to 27-20 at halftime.

Tatum turned an assist from Butler into a lay-up and a 3-point play to begin the 2nd half. Butler banked in a runner, and Collins stole the ball and raced for a lay-up. A Butler feed resulted in a Kemp lay-up, before Hankins bombed in a pair of 3-point shots. Kemp drilled in another 3-ball to vault the Eagles in front 38-35 at the break.

Lacewell cashed in 2 free throws, and Collins drove for a lay-up and a 42-39 East lead at the 3:18 mark of the final period.

West Columbus 14 13 8 12 — 47
East Bladen 16 4 18 8 — 46

West Columbus (47)– Jaylen Bellamy 7, Unique Kelly 21, Tristen Freeman 11, James Craven Axleberg, Tyler Brown, Emanuez Jones 2, Larry Graham 5, Dwayne Bryant 1.

East Bladen (46) – Dominick Collins 7, Chace Butler 6, Sherman Long, Lee Barnes 5, Shannon Hankins 6, Kewone Maynor, Peyton Tatum 3, Tevin McLean 2, Keyshawn Kemp 12, Rodney Lacewell 5.