RED SPRINGS – A 10-0 Red Springs spurt opened up a 13-point lead and propelled the Red Devils to a 53-37 victory over East Bladen Thursday night in the semi-finals of the Southeastern Athletic Conference Tournament.
Red Springs had extended a 24-16 halftime lead to 31-18 early in the 3rd quarter when lay-ups by sophomore Rodney Lacewell and senior Nazire Smith ignited a 14-4 Eagle run. Junior Jacob Nixon nailed a 3-point shot to close the gap to 31-25.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Junior Malcolm Bolden sank 2 free throws, and junior Yontee Dobson banked in a 15-footer to pull East to within 33-29. Bolden bombed in a 3-ball to slice the lead to 35-32 with 1:12 left in the period.
However the Eagles hit a cold streak and were held scoreless for almost the next 6 minutes while the Red Devil lead grew to 45-32. “We just couldn’t score,” said East Bladen Coach Aking Elting. “Sometimes when the bright lights come on it is just hard to do.”
The Eagles played without 2 starters – star center Zamar Lewis and Jordan Mathis – who were sidelined by the stomach flu.
Nixon cashed in a free throw to snap the scoring drought, and Bolden stole the ball and banked in a runner. Smith beat the Red Devil press for a lay-up to keep East within 47-37 with 1:30 remaining.
Bolden led the Eagles with 12 points despite missing over 9 minutes of the 1st half due to 3 fouls. Nixon racked up 8 points and 7 rebounds. Smith finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds, and Lacewell powered in 5 points.
Guard Kaedon Porter connected on 7 of 8 free throws and led the Red Devils with 18 points. Henry Buie and freshman Keontay Leach tallied 10 points each.
Bolden fired in a 3-point shot to start the game, then stole the ball and raced for a lay-up. Smith tossed in 2 free throws as the Eagles grabbed a 7-2 lead. Johnny Chavis’ 3-ball keyed an 8-0 Red Devil rally that resulted in a 10-7 lead at the quarter break.
Sophomore Peyton Tatum buried a 3-point shot to keep East Bladen within 14-11. Nixon connected on 4 of 6 foul shots, and Dobson hit a free throw to keep the Eagles within 24-16 at halftime. Porter and Leach bombed in 3-balls for Red Springs to pad the lead.
“We are going to be O. K.,” said Elting. “We learned some things tonight.” East Bladen, now 15-8, will wait for the NCHSAA play-off seedings to be released Saturday to see where they will be playing next week. Red Springs, now 15-11, will play St. Pauls Friday night for the SAC-7 Tournament title.
Red Springs 10 14 15 14 –53
East Bladen 7 9 16 5 – 37
Red Springs (53) – Henry Buie 10, Kaedon Porter 18, Jamey Tedder 2, Carnelius Manning 2, Noah Chavis, Dylan Dean, Colton Locklear 2, Johnny Chavis 3, Makhi Arthur, Mario Leonard, Kohnner Oxendine, Jaaron Monroe 6, Keontay Leach 10.
East Bladen (37) – Malcolm Bolden 12, Jacob Nixon 8, Lee Barnes, Nazire Smith 6, Cam White, Peyton Tatum 3, Yontee Dobson 3, Malaki Monroe, NyQuan Richardson, Rodney Lacewell 5.
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