Williams sparks Warriors in second quarter

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 20, 2016 1:48 PM

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Melik Williams dove onto the floor at halfcourt for the loose ball, caught it in the air and flipped it toward an Eastern Wayne teammate.

Seconds later, the Warriors scored.

"That speaks volumes about what kind of athlete he is," EW head coach Chris Roberts said of Williams, who joined the team in an overtime loss against Roxboro Person on Monday.

"He just wants to win. He was able to give us that energy, that intensity that we needed tonight to win."

Williams emerged as Eastern Wayne's top offensive scorer with 14 points in a 71-58 triumph over county archrival Southern Wayne on Tuesday evening. The Warriors collected their first Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference victory in five tries.

Terry Artis knocked down 17 points for the Saints, who slipped to 2-15 overall and finished first-half ECC play at 0-6.

"Eastern Wayne wanted it a little more than we did," Saints head coach Dwight Smith said. "They were more aggressive tonight on the offensive and defensive end. Every loose ball they went after, we stood and watched.

"That's what the outcome was."

The Warriors led 37-30 at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run. Yeonte Royall, who continues to recover from an ankle injury, guard KK Best and Coriante Foye sparked the outburst.

Foye's offensive putback gave EW its biggest advantage, 46-32, with 5:01 left in the third quarter. The Warriors' lead swelled to 18 points on two occasions as Roberts' team controlled the tempo and crashed the boards.

"It's about whose will is going to be broke first because we've been struggling and they've been struggling," Roberts said. "We want to beat these 4-A teams (in the ECC) that we are playing, but these next two games we must have in order to get a home playoff game.

"There's only one way to do it -- put on your 'grown man' undies, go out there and play basketball. No excuses."

Best (nine assists) and Eric Agee finished with 12 points apiece. Ethan Molloy added six points and 11 rebounds. Royall and Matthew Ray-Sutton contributed seven points apiece.

Josh Graham and Quentin Carlton each scored 12 points for the Saints.

"We just didn't match their intensity," Smith said.