West Bladen’s Knights won the Four County Conference boys’ basketball championship Thursday night with a 61-49 victory at rival East Bladen.
Senior guard Rahu Purdie fired in 15 points to lead the Knights, while senior guard Malcolm Vaught and senior center Brandon Council finished with 10 points each.
“Brandon has been playing like that since Christmas,” said West Bladen Coach Travis Pait. “He has worked so hard, and he is still a work in progress.”
Sophomore forward Sayaun Dent scored 7 of his 9 points in the first quarter, and junior Stephon McDonald added 6 points and 6 rebounds.
Junior Jermaine Robinson poured in 12 of his 15 points for East Bladen in the second half. Senior Farrell Murchison just missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Junior Dayvon Powell tossed in 10 points for the Eagles.
Senior Larrell Murchison muscled in a follow shot to put East up early, but Vaught sandwiched a pair of 3-point baskets around two Farrell Murchison free throws as the Knights grabbed a 6-4 lead.
Powell tied the score with an 8-foot jumper, but Dent sank 2 foul shots, then drove the lane for bucket and a 10-6 West lead.
Farrell Murchison powered in a bank shot and tacked on a free throw to slice the margin to 10-9, but Purdie popped in a baseline jumper off of a Vaught assist, and Dent buried a 3-point shot for a 15-9 West lead.
Freshman Jonathan Robinson worked inside for a 6-foot jumper and a 17-9 lead, but Jermaine Robinson followed up his own miss to pull East within 17-11 at the quarter break.
Powell’s short jumper brought East to within 17-13, but junior Daquan Lennon drove for a lay-up to ignite a 7-0 West run. Purdie and Vaught made 2 free throws each, and McDonald added one for a 24-13 Knight lead.
Junior center Chris Cromartie bulled across the lane for a short jumper to snap the East scoring drought, and West’s Jonathan Robinson and East’s Jermaine Robinson traded free throws.
Dent and Jonathan Robinson pounded the boards for rebound baskets, and McDonald’s free throw gave West a 30-16 lead with 2:34 left in the half.
“I thought the freshman (Jonathan Robinson) played real strong for us in the first half,” said Coach Pait. “He gave us a lift inside.”
East rallied with an 8-0 run in the closing minutes of the half. Farrell Murchison drove for a lay-up and sank 3 of 4 free throws, and sophomore Eian Hines banked in a 35-foot heave at the buzzer to pull the Eagles to within 30-24 at halftime.
Jermaine Robinson’s lay-up whittled the West lead to 30-26 at the outset of the second half. Purdie answered for West with a 3-point bomb, McDonald canned 2 free throws, and Council connected on a 12-foot turn-around to stretch the West lead to 37-26.
Denzel Johnson flipped in a runner for East, but Jonathan Robinson’s assist produced a Brian Floyd lay-up for West. Powell drove for a lay-up, and Jermaine Robinson put back a rebound to pull East within 39-32.
Purdie dropped in 2 free throws, but Farrell Murchison drove for an East lay-up. McDonald and Powell traded rebound baskets, but a Purdie free throw and two more by Lennon gave West a 46-36 lead at the quarter break.
Foul trouble on their big men plagued East in the fourth period as Cromartie fouled out with 1:30 left in the third quarter, and Larrell Murchison was whistled for his fifth 28 seconds into the final period. Powell fouled out with 2:04 left in the game.
West capitalized by hitting 16 of 24 second half free throws. For the game the Knights were 25 of 38 at the foul line. East connected on 7 of 13 first half free throws and finished 10 for 17 at the line.
Council and Jermaine Robinson traded free throws to start the final quarter. Powell muscled in a follow shot for East, but Council responded with a turn-around 8-footer to keep West up 49-39.
Floyd took over on the boards at that point reeling in 5 of his 6 rebounds in the final quarter, and twice feeding Council for lay-ups. “Brian did a tremendous job,” said Coach Pait. “But he has been giving us a lift like that all year.”
Jermaine Robinson hit 2 free throws, and Johnson drained a 3-point shot to keep East within 53-44 with 3:53 left to play.
From that point on the West guards took control and spread the floor. Purdie sank 5 of 6 free throws, Council made one and Vaught closed out the game with two more.
Jermaine Robinson bombed in a 3-pointer and drove for a lay-up for the final East points.
“Our guards didn’t shoot it as well tonight, but I though they controlled the game,” said Coach Pait. “This is a good group of guys, and I don’t think they have peaked yet. I hope we hang around (in the play-offs) long enough that I get to see them peak.”
West Bladen claimed the title with an 11-3 league record and 20-4 overall mark. East Bladen finished 5-9 in the league and is 10-13 overall.
Jermaine Robinson and Larrell Murchison corralled 7 rebounds each for the Eagles. Hines finished with 5. Vaught had 5 rebounds for West.
West Bladen will host a conference tournament game Monday. Game times and pairings will be announced over the weekend.
EB (49) – Denzel Johnson 5, Jermaine Robinson 15, Dayvon Powell 10, Farrell Murchison 12, Chris Cromartie 2, Eian Hines 3, Larrell Murchison 2, Matt Massengill, Trevor Lloyd.
WB (61) – Justin Ruffin, Joseph Miller, Rahu Purdie 15, Malcolm Vaught 10, Stephon McDonald 6, Daquan Lennon 4, Brian Floyd 2, Sayaun Dent 9, Jonathan Robinson 5, Brandon Council 10, Jonathan Russ.
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