Saints finally notch first win of season

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 13, 2007 3:58 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne might not have created a Michaelangelo or Picasso during its mid-week, non-conference basketball outing against Wilmington Ashley on Wednesday evening.

But it certainly felt like a masterpiece.

The Saints held the Eagles without a field goal for four-plus minutes in the fourth quarter and claimed a 52-42 decision. The victorious outcome snapped a six-game skid for Southern Wayne, which finally presented Russell Stephens his first-ever win as a high school coach.

"After six games, it's easy to say we needed a win," said a modest Stephens. "But, overall it was important confident-wise for our team and our community. They were waiting for something to cheer for."

Lynnesha Leonard pumped in a game-high 27 points, including the final nine points of the fourth quarter, as the Saints dumped the Eagles 54-47. Shakoria Clark added 14 for Southern Wayne's girls, who improved to 4-3 overall.

"Lynnesha pulled us out of the hole and brought us through," said first-year Saints head coach Anthony Lofton.

Southern Wayne built a pair of double-digit leads in the opening half during the boys' contest, but couldn't pull away. Offensive droughts and short scoring spurts by the Eagles eventually spawned a one-possession game as the teams trudged into the fourth quarter.

Mired in a 4-for-22 shooting slump, the Saints' lead finally disappeared midway through the fourth quarter. Ajay Singh's steal at midcourt and uncontested layup gave Ashley its first lead at 37-36.

The Saints answered a minute later. Desmond Raiford drew a foul on offensive putback and drained the first free throw. He missed the second, but got involved in a mad scramble for the loose-ball rebound and caused a held-ball possession.

Three seconds later, Dwight Smith drained a 3-pointer off the inbounds pass which ignited a game-ending 15-5 run.

"Desmond is proof that hard work pays off," said Stephens. "He doesn't like me saying this, but he still has his football legs right now. He plays aggressive and made a big play for us right there.

"Dwight's 3-pointer put us in a little comfort zone."

Raiford's second offensive putback of the quarter and Jon Hart's steal at midcourt kept the run alive. Kendrick Thompson's two-handed slam off a fast-break assist from Hart extended the lead to 45-38.

The Eagles (3-5 overall) snapped their scoring drought on T.J. Tarasco's 3-pointer in the final 60 seconds.

Hart emerged the Saints' top scorer with a game-high 15 points. Thompson added 10, while James Jones chipped in eight. Tarasco and Xaviar James each tallied eight points for Ashley.

"In that fourth quarter, we were finally playing to win compared to the third quarter when we were playing not to lose," said Stephens. "When you have a team that hasn't tasted victory, it's kind of hard to instill that in them. We've had a tough two weeks and played some really good ball teams."

Southern Wayne trailed 35-34 after three quarters in the girls' game.

Two free throws from Clark and Leonard's layup off Clark's steal and assist put the Saints back in front at 41-38. The Eagles forged a 41-41 deadlock on Alysa Worley's jumper, but they wouldn't score again for the next three-plus minutes.

Clark swished a 15-footer and Leonard finished off Ashley.

"The second half we normally fall apart, but tonight we kept our composure," said Lofton. "They played great defense all night. We didn't shoot well, but we got a lot of extra shots. They were really scrappy tonight and I haven't seen in that in a while."

Clarice Sherard controlled the boards with 13 rebounds and contributed eight points. Brianna Lofton provided five points.

Boys game

Ashley 8 13 9 12 -- 42

So. Wayne 14 13 7 18 -- 52

ASHLEY (3-5)

Xaviar James 2 1 0-0 8; T.J. Tarasco 0 2 2-2 8; C.J. Caldwell 1 0 5-6 7; Zach Finnegan 0 1 0-0 3; Tyler Farris 0 0 3-4 3; Eric Barbour 0 0 0-0 0; Ajay Singh 2 0 3-6 7; Travis Keys 1 0 3-8 5; Reid Clark 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 7 4 16-26 42.

SOUTHERN WAYNE (1-6)

Justin Artis 0 0 0-1 0; James Jones 1 1 3-4 8; Montree Oates 0 0 0-2 0; Rashadd Hill 1 0 2-4 4; Dwight Smith 1 2 0-0 8; Kendrick Thompson 5 0 0-0 10; Brandon Anderson 0 0 0-0 0; Jon Hart 3 1 6-8 15; Desmond Raiford 3 0 1-5 7. TOTALS -- 14 4 12-24 52.

Girls game

Ashley 6 15 14 12 -- 47

So. Wayne 5 15 14 20 -- 54

ASHLEY (2-6)

Kelsey Hopper 1 0 6-8 8; Alysa Worley 3 0 0-0 6; Emily Turner 1 0 0-0 2; Ashley Albers 0 0 1-2 1; Ashley Altman 3 4 2-2 20; Jasmine Kelly 1 0 0-0 2; Megan Goins 1 0 0-0 2; Amanda Yoworski 1 1 1-2 6. TOTALS -- 11 5 10-14 47.

SOUTHERN WAYNE (4-3)

Kiera Ingram 0 0 0-0 0; Shakoria Clark 2 2 4-4 14; Shanica Kelly 0 0 0-0 0; Octavia Lee 0 0 0-0 0; Brianna Lofton 1 0 3-8 5; Cassandra Jones 0 0 0-0 0; Carlotta Hagans 0 0 0-0 0; Lynnesha Leonard 12 0 3-3 27; Clarice Sherard 3 0 2-4 8. TOTALS -- 18 2 12-19 54.