[slideshow_deploy id=’37426′]
The opening day of the Fourth Annual Woodmen Life Boys Basketball Tournament will be capped Monday night by a meeting between the only two programs that have won a Woodmen championship.
Coach Jerry Singletary’s Whiteville Wolfpack won the first two Woodmen Life Christmas Tournaments in 2012 and 2013. The Wolfpack with top recruit Shaun Kirk were invited to the Leon Brogden Holiday Tournament in Wilmington last year and were unable to defend their title.
Coach Travis Pait’s West Bladen Knights took the 2014 Woodmen Life Christmas title defeating Fairmont 75-60 in the championship game.
Whiteville comes into the tournament 2-1, while West Bladen has a 5-1 record. Both teams only loss was to 2015 Class 2A Eastern Runner-up Fairmont.
It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2013 season when they were both members of the Waccamaw Conference. Whiteville has won 3 of the last 4 meetings between the two schools.
“We usually scrimmage each other every year, but I don’t like to play them because Coach Singletary and me are so close,” said Coach Pait. “My kids call him Uncle Jerry.”
Both coaches played for Coach Junior Nance at Bladenboro High in the early 1990’s. Singletary was a guard on Coach Nance’s Bladenboro team that finished second in the NCHSAA Class 1A Tournament in 1992. Pait was a freshman that year and was a member of Coach Nance’s 1994 Class 1A State Champions.
“Jerry mentored me as a player,” continued Coach Pait. “Later on I got the chance to mentor him when he was an assistant coach on an AAU-team that I was coaching.”
“You don’t like to play against your friend,” said Coach Singletary. “Travis and me call each other ‘brother’, and you don’t want to beat your brother. But it’s not about us, it is about the kids, and it will be a game that people want to see.”
“It will be special for me, because Bladenboro is home,” added Coach Singletary. “Even though West Bladen has Tar Heel and Clarkton kids too, I will see a lot of people there that I know and a lot that know me.”
Shaun Kirk is now at N. C. State, and this year’s edition of the Wolfpack are led by 6-4 point guard Tyrell Kirk who fired in 17 points in a 55-46 win at West Columbus.
West Bladen has three players averaging in double figures – senior guard Stefan McDonald (14.7 ppg), junior forward Sayaun Dent (15.3 ppg) and sophmore Shaquille Johnson (11.5 ppt).
In Monday’s 4 p.m. game, Coach Ken Cross’ East Bladen Eagles (2-5) will battle Class 3A opponent Southern Lee (7-4). “We scrimmaged them in the pre-season,” said Coach Cross. “They are pretty good.”
Southern Lee has lost to the No. 1 Class 3A team in the state, Terry Sanford, Overhills and twice to Class 4A Pinecrest.
East Bladen has a pair of wins over East Columbus and has lost twice to 11-1 St. Pauls, once to Class 4A Wilmington Ashley and once each to Class 2A Top Ten members Midway and Clinton.
The Eagles are led by senior Jermaine Robinson (12.1 ppg) and junior guards Eian Hines (8.6 ppg) and Ethan Hines (8.1 ppg).
At 2 p.m. Hoke County (7-2) plays East Columbus (1-5), and at 6 p.m. unbeaten Midway ( 8-0) battles South Brunswick (3-3).
The tournament continues with 4 games on Tuesday and 4 more games on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m. each day. Admission is $5. Two I-pads will be raffled off during the tournament.
About Author
