Goldsboro edges South Lenoir in physical contest

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on January 31, 2015 11:08 PM

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It was about as tough an 11-point win as you'll come across.

In a battle between two of the top three teams in the Eastern Carolina 2-A standings, Goldsboro overcame a sloppy first half en route a 67-56 win over South Lenoir in front of a packed home crowd on Friday night.

The game was tightly contested throughout the first 16 minutes. Goldsboro's starting backcourt of Rasheen Artis and Myron Carmon dictated the pace of the game but had trouble finishing at the rim thanks to the presence of South Lenoir big man Jaquan Wooten. Wooten finished one block short of a triple double, ending his night with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 9 blocks.

Goldsboro went into the locker room at half leading 32-30 after two technical fouls gave South Lenoir easy points that helped keep the game close.

Something that coach Russell Stephens said must have stuck, however, because the Cougars came out with a defensive intensity not seen in the first half and limited South Lenoir to eight 3rd quarter points.

"I told the guys that we had to take care of the ball and had to keep playing," he said. "We knew this team was capable of making shots. Once we regrouped we got some scores and some defensive stops and were able to extend the lead again."

Artis led the offensive effort for Goldsboro, scoring 27 points on the night. Artis, who was playing with two sprained wrists, found creative ways to finish at the rim and was Goldsboro's go-to option when the Cougars needed a score.

His floater in the lane - a shot that has been one of his most effective options all year - came in especially handy on a night where going straight to the basket wasn't an option because of South Lenoir's presence in the post.

Myron Carmon was the only other Goldsboro player to finish in double digits.

After a slow start, Carmon found his stroke and eventually finished with 17 points on the night.

Jalin Thomas added eight points.

The game stayed physical throughout, with players on both sides taking several hard fouls.

"The game felt tighter than [11 points]," Stephens said. "We knew coming in that they had a solid team."Stephens talked at length about the game plan to stop Wooten. Not a typical post-up player, Wooten still dominated down low on the defensive end.

The Devils' offense didn't run through him as much as it could have, however, which was something that coach Jeremy Barnett wishes would change.

"That's something we've begged and pleaded with our guys about," he said. "We want them to try and throw it more inside to him. They're young, but we're not going to use that as an excuse anymore."

"We need to understand that you have a split second to get the ball inside, it's not going to be open for 3 or 4 seconds. When it's open, you have to get it in there."

Jonte Midgette added 19 points for the Devils, who are now two games behind Goldsboro and Kinston in the Eastern Carolina Conference 2-A standings.

Even with the loss, Barnett and his team know there's still a lot of basketball to be played.

"We came here and gave ourselves a chance," he said. "We're very disappointed, but we control our own destiny right now. We're fighting for a playoff spot. That's our ultimate goal."

Both teams hit the court again this Tuesday. South Lenoir heads home to face Ayden-Grifton, while Goldsboro heads to Kinston in what will surely be a highly anticipated matchup between the conference's top two teams. Goldsboro bested Kinston a week ago to gain control atop the conference.