DUNN – West Bladen’s Travis Pait and East Bladen’s Aking Elting have been named 2023 Boys’ Basketball Co-Coaches of the Year for the Southeastern Athletic Conference. West Bladen and East Bladen tied for the SAC-7 championship with identical 9-3 league records.
Pait’s young Knights, who featured two sophomores and two freshmen in the starting line-up, won seven of their final nine games to finish the season with an 18-8 overall record. The co-championship was Pait’s 3rd conference title, having led the Knights to a Waccamaw championship in 2012 and a Four County title in 2015.
In his 12 seasons at West, Pait’s teams have posted a 152-145 record, and are 30-22 over the last two seasons.
Elting’s Eagles posted a 19-7 overall record, but all four of their conference losses were in overtime. In his four seasons at East Bladen, Elting’s teams are 44-39, but over the last two seasons the Eagles are 34-16 with the co-championship this season and a runner-up finish last season.
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