Warriors start strong, but Cougars roar back

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 19, 2015 11:11 PM

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Chris Roberts couldn't have scripted a better start.

His Eastern Wayne basketball team rotated on defense, crashed the boards, dove on the floor for loose balls -- and most importantly -- got Goldsboro guard Myron Carmon in early foul trouble.

That early-game success translated to a 17-9 lead.

"That's what we talked about," Roberts said. "The only way you can guard Myron is you're going to have to get in his face, get on his body and make everything tough for him.

"He's still going to get some (points)."

Saddled with two fouls, Carmon watched his team struggle offensively until Eric Bufkin and Isaiah Wilder each buried a 3-pointer. The quick surge ignited a 12-2 run that turned the tide and eventually propelled Goldsboro a 90-62 victory inside Norvell T. Lee Gymnasium on Friday evening.

Carmon led all scorers with 23 points. Teammates Jalin Thomas (14 points), Ronnie Tookes (12) and Kisheem Faison (10) also reached double figures for the unbeaten Cougars.

"I thought they played really well and we panicked a little," Goldsboro coach Russell Stephens said of the Warriors' early intensity. "We were surprised they were hitting some shots, but in a rivalry game you've got to know they're not going to come out and just lay down.

"They had great ball movement early on and that put our defense back on our heels because our rotation was not very good. It took us a while to really get into a rhythm."

Goldsboro did.

Carmon returned, the offense began to execute with the precision of a Timex watch, and the Cougars (9-0 overall) never trailed after the midway point of the second quarter.

Eastern Wayne (0-6) kept the deficit to within 10 points, but showed signs of fatigue in the fourth. It was the Warriors' third game in a four-day period.

Ethan Molloy paced EW's offense with 11 points. KK Best ended up with 10 points. Coriante Foye dropped in nine points.

"We had to stay focused," Roberts said. "Our guys have to know in this kind of rivalry that sometimes things are not going to go your way, sometimes things are going to go your way.

"Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and keep working."