West Columbus 46, East Bladen 41
CERRO GORDO—West Columbus held off East Bladen Friday night 46-41 in a key Carolina Conference game. The loss was another heartbreaker for the Eagles (1-2, 1-10), who have struggled to finish in close games this season.
The Eagles trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to 24-17 in favor of the Vikings. East Bladen cut the lead to 30-28 at the end of the third quarter before West Columbus went on a 7-0 run to push the Viking lead back to 9 points. The Eagles could not recover, falling 46-41.
Garry Brown and teammate Zion Eady had 12 points each to lead the Vikings (2-2, 4-8). Larry Graham added 10 points in the victory. The Vikings travel to Hobbton (2-1, 4-7) in a Carolina Conference game today.
Keyshawn Kemp led the Eagles with 18 points. East Bladen will host Union (1-3, 3-8) today.
EAST BLADEN (41) Keyshawn Kemp 18, Tevin McLean 5, John Monroe 2, Jaden Lewis 2, Layden Scott 8, Dashon Campbell 6
WEST COLUMBUS (46) Larry Graham 10, Gary Brown 12, Desmond Williams 4, Zion Eady 12, Keandre Corbett 2, Ayden Scott 4, Xavier Savage 2
West Bladen 68, Whiteville 63
WHITEVILLE—West Bladen held off a late rally to defeat the Wolfpack 68-63 Friday night.
The Knights carried a six-point lead into the half before expanding it to 46-35 with 4:01 left on the game. The Wolfpack offense came to life and with full court pressure, cut the Knights lead to 58-53 with 31 seconds left in the game.
Whiteville had possession of the ball three times on steals to cut into the lead further, only to turn it over all three times. West Bladen held on for the victory 68-63.
Jackson Pait led the Knights (1-0, 8-5) with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Tylik McCall pitched in 13 points while Jamari Adams-Peterson added 12 points. West Bladen will host county rival East Bladen (1-10) on Wednesday.
The Wolfpack were paced led by Trayvionne Williams with 13 points. Teammate Corey Faison added 12 points and Ty’Lae Rose contributed 11 points for Whiteville. The Wolfpack fall to 0-1 in the Southeastern Conference and 6-5 overall. Whiteville will travel to South Brunswick (0-0, 8-4) on Jan. 16.
WEST BLADEN (68) – Jackson Pait 29, Tylik McCall 13, Jamari Adams-Peterson 12, Damarion Bryant 2, Sayvion Covington, Kendell Lessane 5, Keonta Hill 5, Jaquan Lesane, Carnell Lewis, Cyncere Jessup, Blake Britt 3, Justin Spaulding
WHITEVILLE (63) – Jahmal Taylor 3, Corey Faison 12, Caleb McLean 6, Logan Little 7, Trayvionne Williams 13, Teron Legette 7, TyLae Rose 11, Emanuel Kemp 4
Fairmont 43, South Columbus 27
FAIRMONT—Fairmont used a vice-grip defense to hold South Columbus in check Friday night 43-27.
The Tornadoes (1-0, 5-6) only allowed four points in the first quarter and seven in the second quarter as they built a 25-11 lead on the Stallions at the half. Fairmont cruised the rest of the game on its defense as the Tornadoes went on for the victory 43-27. Tyrik Leggett and Jeremiah Morris had eight points each in the win.
Fairmont will travel to Dublin to face West Bladen (1-0, 8-5) on Jan. 16. South Columbus (0-1, 5-5) will travel to Red Springs (0-0, 2-9) on Jan. 16 in a Southeastern Conference battle.
East Columbus 69, Union 46
LAKE WACCAMAW—East Columbus got 20 points from Rudy Jernigan as the Gators took down Union 69-46 on Friday night. The league leading Gators now move to 3-0 in the Carolina Conference despite only being 3-6 overall.
They will travel to Lakewood (1-2, 5-8) on Jan. 16. Union will go to Elizabethtown to face East Bladen (1-2, 1-10) on Jan. 16.
