BOYS' BASKETBALL: Chargers cruise past Eagles

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on January 14, 2017 11:26 PM

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It was over early.

The Wayne Country Day School varsity boys' basketball team exploded for 11 three-pointers in the opening half on Saturday at Wayne Christian, creating an insurmountable advantage en route to a 91-65 triumph over the Eagles, who entered the contest missing 10 regular members of its outfit.

The lopsided triumph moved WCDS to 14-8 overall.

Cole Atwood set the pace just 45 seconds in, making the first of five triples he would record in the opening 16 minutes.

Right corner, bang.

Left wing, bang.

In transition on a catch and shoot? Absolutely.

The spree was part of a lights-out perimeter clinic for the soft-spoken junior, who finished the contest with 26 points.

Wayne Christian countered with floor general Darrian Oates, who did his best to keep pace with the wide-open Chargers. In the opening quarter, the junior scored 12 points on a variety of off-balance moves in the paint, grabbing the early upper hand in his good-on-good thrill ride with WCDS point guard Jimmie Sanders.

The Chargers' prowess from the great beyond, however, was simply too much.

Atwood went back to work in the second stanza, making three more triples and seemingly inspiring confidence in his mates, who joined the party with three of their own.

At the break, WCDS led 49-32.

Per Chargers' head coach David Flowers, it was the perfect start.

"When we're hitting shots, we can be tough," Flowers said. "We play against a lot of size -- we have to hit shots."

The third period played out in similar fashion, with the Chargers increasing their lead and capping matters with a buzzer-beating, three-point dagger from All-American candidate Jamal King.

The final stanza belonged to Sanders.

A transfer from Neuse Charter School, the junior entered the contest needing just 24 points to eclipse 2,000 for his career.

He began the quarter in a hurry, burying a triple and scoring two baskets in transition. Another floater and two free throws later, he was within a single bucket of the milestone.

At the 2:57 mark, it happened.

Sanders took the WCDS inbound pass, raced past a litany of Eagle defenders in the front court, found room along the baseline and slipped a double-clutch righty floater to cross the threshold.

The task complete, No. 3 simply jogged back on defense, a quizzical smile on his face.

Behind him, however, the WCDS bench mob raged.

"Everyone wanted to see him do that," Flowers said of the moment. "It's just wanting to see one of your teammates do something great... he means a lot to all of us."

In addition to the performances of Atwood and Sanders, WCDS also received 17 points and seven rebounds from King. Sophomore Marcus Metcalf rounded out the Charger effort with eight points and four rebounds.

Wayne Christian (4-9 overall, 0-2 CPIC) was paced by Oates, who finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds -- both game-high totals. Rayshawn Wellington chipped in with 14 points and nine boards.

Both teams resume conference play next week, with WCDS traveling to face John Paul John II on Tuesday. Wayne Christian will play in the Martin Luther King Jam on Monday in Whiteville.