ROSE HILL — An improbable run to a seemingly impossible goal has put the East Bladen boys’ basketball team atop the Carolina Conference.
Keyshawn Kemp scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds Friday night in propelling the Eagles to a 56-53 win against North Duplin in the championship game of the league tournament played at Union High School.
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After opening the season with eight losses, East Bladen (10-15) had to hang on at the end after racing to a 22-1 lead early in the second quarter.
“I’m proud of those guys,” East Bladen coach Aking Elting said. “These guys fought. We did something that a lot of people didn’t think we could do. I’m happy for those guys.”
East Bladen defeated Hobbton 65-56 Monday in the opening round, then knocked out top-seeded East Columbus 66-61 in double overtime in Wednesday’s semifinal game.
North Duplin (15-9) advanced to the finals with wins against Hobbton (70-59) and Lakewood (59-53).
Tevin McLean had 14 points and five assists for East Bladen in Friday’s title game. Jae’lyn Ingram led North Duplin with 15 points.
East Bladen appeared set to breeze to victory from the start. The Eagles built a 13-1 lead after the first quarter. Kemp opened the second quarter with three 3-point field goals to bump the margin to 22-1 within the opening two minutes of the period.
North Duplin wasn’t about to throw in the towel.
“I kind of hate going up early like that,” Elting said. “Kids start to think the game is over. They don’t play as hard. It showed a lot of character in these guys holding the lead throughout the game.”
East Bladen held a comfortable 25-9 lead at half and was up 46-31 advantage at the end of the quarter, but the Rebels had a final push.
North Duplin scored nine unanswered points to open the fourth quarter that trimmed the East Bladen lead to 46-40. McLean’s 3-pointer gave the Eagles some breathing room at 49-40.
North Duplin’s Lucas Dail connected on a short jump shot with 1:06 remaining that cut the East Bladen lead to 53-50.
After a series of missed shots and turnovers, Kemp made three of four free throws in the final 14 seconds that made it 56-50. Ingram made a 3-pointer for the Rebels to account for the final score.
“Keyshawn put us on his back and carried us most of the way,” Elting said. “Later, once he did that, a lot of other guys stepped up and hit a lot of big shots. We held our composure with the pressure.”
Both teams will await Saturday’s expected release of the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 3A playoff pairings.
EAST BLADEN (56) — Keyshawn Kemp 30, Tevin McLean 14, Khalil McKoy, John Monroe 4, Jaden Lewis 1, Landyn Scott 5, Dashon Campbell, Lakota Schmale 2.
North Duplin (53) — Lucas Dail 2, Quan Stevens 8, Messiah Cooper 10, Lucas Gregory 11, Noah Price 2, Christopher Kornegay, Jae’lyn Ingram 15, Carrell Phillips 5, Noa Quintanilla, Noah Bennett.
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