Carolina 1-A -- Rosewood varsities earn sweep of Rebels

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on January 16, 2005 2:01 AM

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CALYPSO -- Personal fouls and free throw conversions were the determining factors in the Rosewood men's 51-44 victory at North Duplin.

The win moved the Eagles (6-8, 3-2) one step closer to coach Daniel Mitchell's goal of .500 at the midway point of Class 1-A Carolina Conference play heading into next Tuesday's game at archrival Princeton.

North Duplin (3-7) remained winless in six league outings.

Rosewood came out ready to play and quickly built up a 10-2 lead. North Duplin did not score until the 3:34 mark of the opening quarter, and not again until Doug Lloyd canned a buzzer-beater.

The Rebels quietly chipped away at the lead, reduced it to three and eventually trailed 23-18 at halftime. They also sowed the seeds for later problems.

North Duplin committed 17 fouls in the first 16 minutes of play, compared to 10 for Rosewood. Magnifying the issue, three starters went to the locker room with three fouls. Plus, the Eagles converted 12 of 17 free throws. Kyle Bunn, high scorer on the night with 16, was a perfect 4 for 4.

Rosewood's offense, which accounted for only three baskets and a single 3-pointer in the first half, went from ice cold to frozen after intermission.

Antell Richards' basket accounted for the Eagles' only points.

Rebel coach Ricky Edwards' club, however, was ready to go. Guard Charlton Armwood scored half of his team's points. North Duplin went into the fourth quarter on top 32-25. Armwood, however, had to sit at 2:59 of the third quarter, when he picked up his fourth foul. Center Brian McDuffie fouled out at 6:44 of the final period.

McDuffie's absence opened the lane for Rosewood center Kyle Grey. Before fouling out at 4:15, Grey tied the game at 35-35 on one series and set Holt Rains up for the go-ahead free throws. The Eagles led 39-35 at that point and Rains finished off the run by blocking a Doug Lloyd layup attempt.

With Grey joined on the bench by playmaker Dustin Overman, who also fouled out, North Duplin was able to cut the lead to 40-39 at 2:25, and to only three, 47-44, with less than a minute remaining.

Bunn took over hitting three clutch baskets. The Eagles also hit 16 of 21 free throws.

"Practice pays," said Mitchell. "After going only 4 for 16 in our last game, we spent some extra time there. Grey picked it up in the second half.

"Bunn did well replacing Overman. I was very pleased with our bench, Raines and Matt Howell, who took over and held their own."

"We had our chances," said Edwards. "Armwood played well, but then we had to sit him down when he picked up that fourth foul."

North Duplin will play Hobbton in a non-conference match-up Tuesday night.

Rosewood's women's team encountered no problems in its contest, winning 61-30.

"Give credit to Rosewood," said Lady Rebel coach Danny Blackburn. "They are a very well coached team."

The Lady Eagles raced to a 27-5 first-quarter lead, causing 16 turnovers. Stephanie Rhodes led her team's scoring with 12 points, followed by Courtney Hill and Latitia Wade, each of whom had 11.

The Rebels' Lauren Blackmore, fighting off injuries, led all scorers with 14. The junior guard hit four 3-pointers.