Aycock girls, Saint boys top rivals

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on January 25, 2004 2:00 AM

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DUDLEY -- Defense was a staple of the Southern Wayne boys basketball team's regular-season and Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference tournament championship run last year.

Five new starters and one year later, the Saints are finding their defensive stride again.

Southern Wayne used a mixture of defenses to force many of Aycock's 17 turnovers and benefited from several streaky scoring runs to take a 57-44 win. The Saints improved to 8-9 overall and are tied with South Central for third place in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference at 5-6.

"They are starting to understand what I want and they are playing hard. I can't ask for a better effort," Southern Wayne coach Michael Olliver said. "This team is really starting to pick up the hustle."

Aycock (3-13 overall), which never managed to find its offensive rhythm on Friday, dropped to 3-7 in conference play.

The Lady Falcons overcame a sluggish start and held off a feisty Saint run in the third period as they soared to a 51-36 victory.

Cassandra Worrell scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Aycock (13-3 overall), who remain tied with Kinston in second place with an 8-2 conference mark.

"They (Southern Wayne) clawed back in, but we built it back up," Aycock coach Gary Hales said. "We told the girls coming in not to overlook Southern Wayne, because they aren't going to lay down for anybody."

Southern Wayne's girls (3-13, 3-8 ECC) got 14 points from Jessica Teachey -- all coming in the second half.

The boys game got off to a slow start, but two Aycock three-pointers and two tough baskets by Dustin Smith helped the Golden Falcons out to an 11-9 lead after one. Smith proved to be only Aycock player in double figures with 10 points.

The county clash quickly started moving in the Saints' favor in the second period as leading scorers Akeem Royal and Artimus Quick scored in bunches. Royal tallied eight of his team-high 19 points in the second, including two threes, while Quick pumped in eight of his 14 points in the post. Aycock turned it over seven times and managed just nine points in the second.

By period's end, Southern Wayne pushed its lead to 34-20 and fought off one more Falcon run in the second half on its way to the win.

"We never did get into an offensive rhythm at all. If you wanted to see a potentially good team play lousy, just watch the second-quarter film," Aycock coach David West said. "That was a lousy second-quarter effort, and I take all the blame for it."

Aycock's Jamorris Dickerson stepped out and buried a three near the six-minute mark to help the Falcons pull to within 35-30 with just under six minutes left in the third, only to see the Saints answer and push the margin back to 48-35 heading into the fourth period.

Needing another big spurt, Aycock scored just two field goals in the fourth as the Saints finished off a solid defensive effort.

Southern Wayne point guard Derrick Garris didn't score, but dished out 11 assists. Quick added nine rebounds and a handful of blocked shots, while Ted Benton had five assists and five boards.

Charles B. Aycock's girls turned in an impressive run of their own after Teachey pulled Southern Wayne to within two at 36-34. The Lady Falcons benefited from some costly Saint turnovers and showed balance in a 15-2 streak to close the game as Quaneisha Milner, Lela Reid and Worrell all scored two baskets each. Milner's ball-handling and passing also proved key in the late stages.

The balance also showed in the post as three different players had at least eight rebounds, paced by Worrell's 10 boards. Reid added nine, while Joyce Warrick pulled down eight.

The first half saw both teams struggle offensively, especially Southern Wayne. The Saints scored just eight points on three field goals before intermission.

"This team plays hard, but it doesn't always play smart and with intensity," Southern Wayne coach Richard Proctor said. "Until we realize we have to play smart and with intensity for 32 minutes, we are going to continue to struggle."

Worrell scored seven of Aycock's points in the second to guide the Falcons to an 18-8 lead at intermission.

Girls

C.B. Aycock 8 10 16 17 -- 51

So. Wayne 6 2 19 9 -- 36

C.B. AYCOCK (13-3, 8-2)

Cassandra Worrell 7 1 0-0 17, Lela Reid 4 0 1-4 9, Quaneisha Milner 4 0 1-2 9, Joyce Warrick 3 0 1-1 7, Emily Stewart 2 0 1-4 5, Jennifer Williamson 1 0 0-2 2, Laquita Broadie 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 22 1 4-13 51.

SOUTHERN WAYNE (3-13, 3-8)

Jessica Teachey 3 1 5-6 14, Dionne Dotson 0 2 0-5 6, Scarlett Joyner 2 0 0-2 4, Lacree Lewis 2 0 0-0 4, Akesha Jordan 1 0 0-0 2, Aldonna Jones 0 0 2-4 2, Lacarro Mathis 0 0 2-2 2, Tiffany Swinson 0 0 1-2 1, Dimiri Blount 0 0 0-1 0. TOTALS -- 8 3 10-22 36.

Three-point baskets - C.B. Aycock 1 (Worrell), Southern Wayne 3 (Dotson 2, Teachey). Turnovers - C.B. Aycock 16, Southern Wayne 20. Total fouls - C.B. Aycock 18, Southern Wayne 13. Fouled out - none. Technicals - Jones.

Boys

C.B. Aycock 11 9 15 9 -- 44

So. Wayne 9 25 14 9 -- 57

C.B. AYCOCK (3-13, 3-7)

Dustin Smith 3 0 4-4 10, Jamorris Dickerson 0 2 3-4 9, Josh Coley 2 1 1-3 8, Alonzo Ferrell 1 0 2-5 4, Bryan Moore 1 0 2-2 4, Brandon Hobbs 0 1 0-0 3, Montrel Sims 1 0 0-0 2, Michael Gurganus 1 0 0-0 2, Rob Phillips 0 0 1-2 1, Erik Langston 0 0 1-4 1. TOTALS -- 9 4 13-24 44.

SOUTHERN WAYNE (8-9, 5-6)

Akeem Royal 4 3 2-4 19, Artimus Quick 7 0 0-1 14, Jacobe Graham 5 1 1-3 14, Reggie Harper 3 0 1-2 7, Austin Hood 0 0 3-4 3. TOTALS - 19 4 7-14 57.

Three-point baskets - C.B. Aycock 4 (Dickerson 2, Coley, Hobbs), Southern Wayne 4 (Royal 3, Graham). Turnovers - C.B. Aycock 18, Southern Wayne 11. Total fouls - C.B. Aycock 13, Southern Wayne 17. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.