Warriors earn key conference road wins

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 30, 2008 1:51 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Conference road wins.

Whether a team is conference championship material or simply trying to punch its ticket to the playoffs, finding a way to survive in an opponent's gym is imperative.

Eastern Wayne put that mindset on full display in sweeping a pair of boys and girls contests from Class 3-A Eastern Carolina 3-A rival Charles B. Aycock on Tuesday night.

The Warriors turned Golden Falcons turnovers into layups and erased a 25-20 halftime deficit to earn a 62-57 win on the boys' side.

Eastern Wayne's girls led a scrappy Aycock club by just 12 at the half, but outscored the Golden Falcons 48-12 in the final two quarters to cruise to a 75-27 victory.

Six unanswered points to start the third quarter had Eastern Wayne's boys out in front 26-25 less than two minutes in. Baskets from Khendra Reid and Jonathan Williams helped Aycock regain the lead at 33-31.

The Warriors (6-11) closed the quarter on a 13-6 run including the final seven points after the Golden Falcons had trimmed the margin to 39-37.

Back-to-back baskets from Cody Kirkham early in the fourth pushed Eastern Wayne's lead to 54-43.

"I thought we played with more intensity in the third quarter," Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman said. "We came out with some life. I'm very proud of those guys."

Aycock (3-16, 1-4 ECC) cut the lead to seven but missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter alone and finished 6 of 15 from the free throw line.

"If you don't make free throws you're not going to win," Aycock head coach David West said.

Daviyon Whisonant led the Warriors with 13 points. Kirkham and Jamere Thomas each added 12. Reid finished with 18 points for Aycock, while Williams pitched in 15 and Jordan Riley had 11.

With the victory Eastern Wayne improved to 2-3 in ECC conference play and picked up some important momentum as it prepares to host Southern Wayne on Friday. The Saints edged the Warriors 59-56 earlier this month in Dudley.

"We've got Southern Wayne coming in on Friday. Hopefully this will carry over," Bowman said.

A 26-6 spurt in the third quarter was all Eastern Wayne's girls needed to put away Aycock and earn their first win in Pikeville in five years.

The Golden Falcons had managed to hang around in the first half breaking the Warriors press and creating layups in transition.

After halftime the Warriors (14-3, 4-1) began capitalizing on opportunities they missed in the first half while making life miserable offensively for Aycock. Brittani Billups' eight blocks didn't make scoring for the Golden Falcons (2-17, 1-4) any easier.

"In the third quarter I thought we got after it," Eastern Wayne head coach Brent Holland said. "We couldn't come in here and not take care of business. If you lose two games in the conference before you get back to Beddingfield, you're not going to have a chance to win a conference championship."

Billups scored a game-high 26 points to go along with her 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Dannielle Daniel added 12 points. Courtney Sheeks had eight points for Aycock.

The Golden Falcons host Wilson Beddingfield on Friday.

Boys

Eastern Wayne 15 5 26 16 -- 62

Charles B. Aycock 12 13 12 19 -- 57

EASTERN WAYNE (6-11, 2-3 ECC)

Jamere Thomas 4 1 1-2 12, Daviyon Whisonant 5 0 3-3 13, A.J. Dreighton 2 0 0-0 4, Will White 2 0 3-4 7, Hassan Best 2 0 0-0 4, Orlando Midgett 4 0 0-0 8, Cody Kirkham 6 0 0-0 12, Colton Butler 1 0 0-2 2, Marquis Tinsley 0 0 0-2 2. TOTALS -- 26 1 7-13 62.

CHARLES B. AYCOCK (3-16, 1-4)

David Gurganus 0 1 0-0 3, Tyheim Pitt 1 0 0-0 2, Devan Newsome 1 0 0-0 2, Jonathan Williams 7 0 1-3 15, Khendra Reid 7 0 4-8 18, Michael King 1 0 0-0 2, Andre Bryant 0 1 1-1 4. TOTALS -- 21 3 6-15 57.

Girls

Eastern Wayne 15 12 28 20 -- 75

Charles B. Aycock 4 11 6 6 -- 27

EASTERN WAYNE (14-3, 4-1)

Lindsey Frederick 1 1 0-2 5, Brittany Franklin 1 0 0-0 2, Jasmine Middleton 3 0 0-0 6, Tiarra McIntyre 3 0 2-5 8, Eboni Reid 2 0 0-0 4, Tiarra Campbell 2 0 0-0 4, Tia Jones 3 0 0-0 6, Dannielle Daniel 3 2 0-0 12, Brittani Billups 11 0 4-10 26, Shante Boseman 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 30 3 6-17 75.

CHARLES B. AYCOCK (2-17, 1-4)

Dori Oxendine 0 0 2-3 2, Tacoya Newsome 1 0 0-0 2, Chantel Gaines 3 0 1-2 7, Tori Benton 3 0 0-0 6, Courtney Sheeks 3 0 2-5 8, Lizzie Fortner 0 0 2-4 2, Briana Reid 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 10 0 7-16 27.