WILMINGTON – Seniors Blake Lewis and Blake Widenhouse combined for 33 points to lead Wilmington Ashley to a 50-43 victory over East Bladen Tuesday in the Hoggard Holiday Classic.
Lewis led the Screaming Eagles with 20 points, and Widenhouse followed with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore Coen Locklear tallied 8 points.
Junior Malcolm Bolden topped the East Bladen scoring with 15 points. Junior Jacob Nixon threw in a trio of 3-balls for 9 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Junior center Zamar Lewis racked up 7 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
East Bladen raced to an early 10-4 lead as Nixon and Bolden buried 3-point shots, and junior Jordan Mathis delivered passes to junior Malaki Monroe and Bolden for lay-ups.
Locklear drilled in a pair of corner 3-balls to rally Ashley, and Widenhouse powered inside for a 3-point play. Freshman Dominick Collins answered with a 3-ball for East, and Bolden knotted the score 15-15 with a pair of free throws. Widenhouse’s elbow jumper pushed Ashley ahead 17-15 at the break.
Five points from Jackson Chase sparked a 10-0 Ashley run that began the 2nd period and opened up a 27-15 lead. Mathis muscled in a 4-footer, and Monroe turned a feed from Nazire Smith into a lay-up. Monroe and Nixon nailed 3-point shots to slice the Ashley lead to 27-25, but a Blake Lewis 3-ball gave the Screaming Eagles a 30-25 halftime lead.
Mathis flipped in a basket off of a Nixon feed, and Bolden drove for a lay-up to trim the Ashley lead to 32-29. Widenhouse hooked in his 2nd basket of the period, and Blake Lewis drilled in a 3-ball then pulled up for a 10-footer to push the lead back to 39-29. Nixon drained a corner 3-ball to trim the margin to 39-32 at the quarter break.
Zamar Lewis flew to the rim for a dunk and tacked on a free throw to start the final period. After Locklear answered with a 14-footer, Zamar Lewis muscled in a rebound to keep East within 41-37.
A Locklear runner and a pair of lay-ups stretched the Ashley lead to 47-37 with 1:34 remaining. Bolden drove for 2 lay-ups and hit 2 free throws for East in the final minute.
East Bladen, now 3-4, will play Topsail at noon Wednesday.
Ashley 17 13 9 11 – 50
East Bladen 15 10 7 11 – 43
Ashley (50) – Coen Locklear 8, Blake Lewis 20, Trent Smith, Jackson Chase 5, Blake Widenhouse 13, Kenan Everhart 2, Gavin Steiner 2.
East Bladen (43) – Malcolm Bolden 15, Dominick Collins 3, Jordan Mathis 4, Jacob Nixon 9, Nazir Smith, Peyton Tatum, Malaki Monroe 5, Zamar Lewis 7.
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