FIRST ROUND

BLADENBORO – The fourth-seeded West Bladen Knights defeated the 29th-seeded Ayden-Grifton Chargers for a 47-33 victory in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A East Regional. The Knights were able to outlast a barrage of three-pointers from their opponents and pulled away with a 14 point victory in the fourth quarter. West Bladen got solid performances from their senior leaders of Hezekiah Adams and Chase Williams as they contributed 29 points in their team’s winning effort. Ayden-Grifton senior guard Hatteras Jenkins dropped 15 points and junior guard RJ Ruffin collected 9 points from beyond the arc despite their team’s loss.

West Bladen opened the scoring with Adams dishing a pass to guard Jackson Pait on the wing for three. Jenkins immediately went down to the other end and splashed a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 3-3. The first quarter started off slow and methodical from the visitors as they killed the pace of the game with passes around the perimeter. Adams stayed patient on defense before jumping a pass to finish a lay-up in transition to put the Knights back in front.

The Chargers went back to swinging the ball back-and-forth until finally Jenkins decided to pull the trigger from deep with a high-arching three to reclaim the lead for the visitors. West Bladen failed to find a clear path inside and resorted to jumpers instead for no avail. Ayden-Grifton junior forward Nygel Morgan was able to snatch a steal but the visitors didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Adams was able to steal the ball back a few moments later and he pushed the ball down the floor for a one-handed jam to put the Knights ahead by one.

Senior guard Jahmir Outlaw wiggled his way through traffic to finish a lay-up to put the Chargers ahead 8-7 as the first quarter came to a close. West Bladen junior forward Tylik McCall began the second quarter by splashing a three-pointer for yet another lead change. Ayden-Grifton coaching staff called an early timeout to regroup and they drew up a three-point play for Morgan to put the visitors back in front by one. The host attempted a three-pointer of their own but went without any luck as the shot rimmed out.

The Knights held firm on the defensive side of the ball and they would eventually get a bucket from Williams on the fast break. Ayden-Grifton suffered a turnover on their next possession and their opponents proceeded to create a four point cushion with a three-point dagger. A few possessions later, Williams would snatch his own miss and finish at the rim to make the score 17-11 with under five minutes to go in the first half.

Jenkins would put a halt to the Chargers cold streak with a pull-up jumper to get his team back within four of their opponents. The Knights would attempt a three-pointer for a quick response but the shot failed to fall. The Charger wheeled down the floor and Ruffin would eventually make his first three-pointer of the evening to cut the deficit back to one. West Bladen responded by closing the first half on a seven point run in the final minute as they took a 23-16 lead into the halftime break.

The third quarter began with momentum shifting in favor of the visitors as Ruffin began the second half with a three-pointer and Outlaw scored an easy lay-up on the break to cut the Chargers deficit to just two. Williams received a pass inside and he fought through a double-team to keep the Knights in front at 25-21. Ayden-Grifton survived a sloppy turnover by forcing one of their own and Ruffin proceeded to drain another three-pointer to keep the host in striking range.

West Bladen’s slow start to the third quarter continued with a missed three-pointer and a turnover a few moments later. Jenkins took advantage of the Knights mishap on the other end and he splashed a three-pointer to retake the lead in favor of the Chargers. The Knights responded with Adams grabbing an offensive board and feeding Williams inside for a two-point attempt through contact; the hosts were able to jump in front by one with Williams making his free throw to give his team a slender one point advantage.

Ayden-Grifton refused to let their opponents pull away as they were able to capitalize on a second chance opportunity with Jenkins draining a three-pointer to make the game 30-28. Williams worked his magic in the painted area and tied the game with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. The Chargers tried to find a way through the interior of their opponents defense but couldn’t get their shot from in-close to fall. Williams continued to dominate down-low and he put his team in front by two in the final seconds of the quarter.

Ayden-Grifton quickly fell behind in the fourth quarter as their three point attempts failed to drop and their opponents forced them into turnovers. West Bladen pushed full-steam ahead to earn their 24th win of the season.

SECOND ROUND

BLADENBORO-The fourth-seeded West Bladen Knights defeated the 20th-seeded Greene Central Rams for a 58-47 victory last Friday night in the second round of the NCHSAA 2A East Regional. The Rams upset the 13th-seeded Washington Pam Pack in the first round a few days prior to making their trek to Bladenboro for their second round match-up with the Knights. The first quarter started off tight between the two teams but the host eventually created an eight point separation to close out the first half.

Greene Central guard Joshua Cetnar attempted to mount a comeback in the third quarter by nailing a two point jumper to cut the visitors deficit to 5. West Bladen senior center Chase Williams responded with a field goal of his own to keep the host ahead. The Rams were able to collect three rebounds in one offensive possession but couldn’t get their shot to fall in multiple tries at their opponents basket.

Jackson Pait drained a three-pointer to give the Knights a 10 point separation as momentum was firmly in the host grasp. Greene Central kept fighting with buckets from Deitrich Williams, Nick Avent and Cetnar as they were down by double-digits going into the fourth quarter. The hosts were able to play lockdown defense to cause havoc for their opponents and despite being outscored 10-7 in the final quarter, the Knights claimed the second round victory at home.

Chase Williams led all scorers with 25 points and Pait contributed 15 points in the victory last Friday night. West Bladen improved their overall record to 25-1 and they remained undefeated at home with a 16-0 record. They will play the fifth-seeded Northwestern Eagles this Tuesday at home in the third round of the NCHSAA 2A East Regional. Northwestern defeated the 28th-seeded Holmes Aces in the first round and they defeated the 12th-seeded Kniston Vikings last Friday in the second round.

The Eagles have an overall record of 23-2 and their senior guard Tylell Saunders has been leading the way through their first two rounds with an average of 30 ppg. Tuesday’s third round match-up will begin at 6 pm in Bladenboro. The winner will face either #1 Farmville Central or #8 Eastern Wayne in the fourth round this Friday. The tenth-seeded Whiteville Wolfpack suffered a loss in the second round against the seventh-seeded Martins County Gators. The Gators had four players in double-digit scoring as they defended their homecourt to book a trip to the next round.

Martin County will travel to the number-two seeded Southwest Onslow Stallions to help fill out the other side of the bracket in the East. The sixth-seeded South Granville Vikings will travel to the number-three seeded Northwood Chargers for their third round match-up. The number-one seeded Reidsville Rams will take on the eighth-seeded Monroe Redhawks for their third round match-up in the NCHSAA 2A West Regional.

The fourth-seeded Salisbury Hornets host the 12th-seeded Lincolnton Wolves to fill out one side of the West bracket. The third-seeded North Surry Greyhounds host the sixth-seeded Lincoln Charter Eagles in the third round on Tuesday. The seventh-seeded Shelby Golden Lions will host the 15th-seeded Brandys Trojan in the other third round match-up in the NCHSAA 2A West Regional.