By Sonny Jones
What a difference a few years has made for Bladen County’s boys’ high school basketball teams.
Three years ago East Bladen and West Bladen combined for a 9-36 record. Friday night, after West Bladen won 41-30 at Midway and East Bladen held on for a 56-50 victory at St. Pauls, the teams are Southeastern Athletic Conference regular season co-champions and have a combined 35-11 record with tournament games ahead.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for both programs and exciting to follow. West Bladen has done it with a young team which figures to be a contender for the next couple of years. East Bladen has done it with a senior-laden squad that has used that experience to show improvement over the past couple of seasons.
How difficult was it prior to the COVID-19 pandemic? Take a look:
2017-18 season
• West Bladen: 7-17 overall, 4-15 and in 9th place in the 10-team Three Rivers Conference
• East Bladen: 5-19 overall, 3-15 and in 10th place in the Three Rivers Conference
2018-19 season
• East Bladen: 4-20 overall, 4-14 and in 9th place in the Three Rivers Conference
• West Bladen: 5-19 overall, 2-16 and in 10th place in the Three Rivers Conference
2019-20
• East Bladen: 4-18 overall, 3-13 and tied for 8th in the 9-team Three Rivers Conference
• West Bladen: 5-18 overall, 1-15 and 9th in the Three Rivers Conference
Add it up and it’s a 30-111 combined record for those three seasons. Both teams already have won more games this season (West Bladen 18, East Bladen 17) than each did combined in those three seasons.
Things began turning the corner for the Bladen programs last season. East Bladen finished 15-9 overall and in second place in the Southeastern Conference with a 9-3 record. West Bladen went 12-14 overall and placed fifth in the SAC with a 4-8 record. Each team lost in the first round of the state playoffs.
Now, a conference tournament championship is a legitimate goal, a state playoff berth is assured and the mission is to play into late February or beyond.
Bladen County boys’ basketball is fun again. Let’s enjoy the ride.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
• 1990 — Mike Tyson loses for the first time when James “Buster” Douglas knocks him out in the 10th round and captures the heavyweight championship in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
POTATO PICKS TO WATCH TODAY
• SOCCER: Chelsea at West Ham United, 7:30 p.m., USA
• PGA CHAMPIONS: Trophy Hassan II, 8 a.m., GOLF
• SOCCER: Wolverhampton at Southampton, 10 a.m., USA
• BASKETBALL: N.C. State at Boston College, noon, BALLY SOUTH
• SOCCER: Newcastle United at Bournemouth, 12:30 p.m., NBC
• NHL: Tampa Bay at Dallas, 12:55 p.m., ABC
• PGA: Phoenix Open, 1 p.m., GOLF and 3 p.m., CBS
• BASKETBALL: Clemson at North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN2
• NHL: Washington at Boston, 3:30 p.m., ABC
• BASKETBALL: Duke at Virginia, 4 p.m., ESPN
• BASKETBALL: Georgia Tech at Wake Forest, 5 p.m., ACCN
• NBA: Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 6 p.m., NBATV
• NHL: N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 7 p.m., BALLY SOUTH
• SOCCER: CONCACAF U-17 – United States vs. Barbados, 7:50 p.m., FS2
• HOCKEY: Michigan at Michigan State, 8 p.m., ESPNU
• NBA: L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 8:30 p.m., ABC
• BOXING: Rey Vargas vs. O’Shaquie Foster, 9 p.m., SHO
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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