ELIZABETHTOWN- The East Bladen Eagles defeated the West Columbus Vikings for a 54-27 victory last Friday night in a Waccamaw Conference clash. East Bladen honored five seniors before the game for Senior Night–guard Chace Butler, guard Dominick Collins, forward Shane Hankins, guard Sherman Long and forward Kewone Maynor. West Columbus jumped ahead by four in the opening minutes after scrappy possessions from both teams. Butler was able to get the Eagles on the board after speeding down the floor on a fastbreak with six minutes played in the first quarter.

West Columbus attempted to force a shot from the inside to no avail and their opponents claimed their first lead of the game on a Long three-point attempt. Hankins blocked a shot to keep the Vikings away from the Eagles net but the host would suffer a similar fate on the other end of the floor. West Columbus sophomore Larry “DJ” Graham would deliver a pass inside to Sam Battle and Battle would get fouled on the way up. Battle proceeded to go 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to tie the game at 5-5 with the first quarter winding down.

Graham would open the quarter with a three-ball to get the visitors going in the opening minutes of the second quarter. East Bladen’s Long penetrated the interior of the Vikings defense and finished the two-point drive with the right-hand. The Vikings would stay ahead by three after a series of misses and turnovers from both teams. The Eagles would end their momentary cold-run with Collins delivering a two-point floater inside a crowded lane to claw the host back within one. West Columbus found it difficult to break through their opponents defense and turnovers were the result of their impatience.

East Bladen reclaimed the lead with Collins assisting Hankins for a three-ball to put the host ahead 12-10. Both teams traded buckets but Collins kept his team in front with a pull-up jumper to stretch the host lead to four. East Bladen guard Tevin McClean sprawled on the ground for a loose ball before feeding Maynor ahead on the fastbreak; Maynor was fouled on his way up and proceeded to go 2-for-2 at the charity stripe.

West Columbus sent a three-ball towards the rim but failed to convert with seconds remaining until the halftime buzzer. Collins converted two free throws and the Eagles were able to force a turnover on the inbound pass for an extra possession. Hankins was fouled on his three-point heave at the buzzer and converted all three free throws to give the host a 23-12 lead at the break. The third quarter was dominated by the Eagles as Hankins splashed three triples in the first few minutes of the quarter to give them a 33-12 cushion.

The Vikings were able to respond with junior forward Demond Williams fighting down low to get a bucket to fall from in close. Emanuez Jones drove baseline for a finish inside to slice the visitors deficit to 17 but the Vikings failed to score for the remainder of the third quarter. Hankins drained another three-ball and Long finished a 1-and-2 opportunity at the line to usher in the final quarter ahead by 23. East Bladen’s overall record moves to 8-12 and they currently sit in fifth-place in the conference standings with two league games remaining.

They will take on their next two opponents on the road, starting with Pender this Monday and Whiteville will host the Eagles on Tuesday. East Bladen will play their final regular-season game of the season against their county rivals West Bladen(20-1, 8-0) at home this Thursday. The Whiteville Wolfpack remain in first-place in the conference standings at 8-2 but will need to win their next two games to claim the Waccamaw Conference title. They are slated to take on South Columbus this Friday after their match-up with East Bladen.

Heide Trask(12-9, 7-2) has a chance to claim a share of the Waccamaw Conference title if they win their next three games. They will host East Columbus on Tuesday and West Columbus on Wednesday before their final game on the road against Pender this Friday.

EAST BLADEN ROSTER 24/25:

Dominick Collins SR.

Chace Butler SR.

Sherman Long SR.

Kewone Maynor SR.

Shane Harkins SR.

Keyshawn Kemp JR.

Dashon Campbell JR.

Tevin McClean JR.

Khalil McKoy JR.

Yoni Gonzalez JR.