East Bladen head coach Aking Etling drawing up a play during a timeout.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
MOUNT OLIVE-The number-nine seeded North Duplin Rebels defeated the 25th-seeded East Bladen Eagles for 76-63 victory in the second round of the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs on Friday evening. The Rebels saw themselves behind by four points going into the halftime intermission but they upped their intensity in the second half to win comfortably in the end. North Duplin’s senior backcourt of Dahuan Armwood and Dylan Tyndall were responsible for the second half explosions as they combined for 31 points.
East Bladen junior guard Domnick Collins led all scorers with 19-points and senior guard Lee Barnes contributed 18-points in the away loss. The Eagles concluded their season at 11-13 and they advanced one round further than they did last season. Barnes drained four three-pointers in the first half as the Eagles benefited from fluid offense to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Rebels quickly made up the difference at the start of third quarter and eventually snatched the lead with a three point play from senior Brady Byrd. The Eagles answered with senior center Payton Tatum finding space for a shot in close to reclaim a one point lead. The Rebels hardly flinched before proceeding to go on a 10-0 unanswered run. Barnes struck back with a three-ball and Collins went perfect from the charity stripe to minimize the damage.
Armwood and Tyndall kept the Rebels rolling on offense and the score moved to 47-37 as the game entered the final eight minutes. The Rebels sealed the game in the final minutes to advance to the third round against the number-one seeded Wilson Prep Tigers. The Tigers destroyed their second round opponents for a 91-35 victory and they will host North Duplin on Tuesday for their third round match-up.
East Bladen will lose three seniors in Rodney Lacewell, Barnes, and Tatum but they
will have much of their team returning for next season.
OTHER RD 2 RESULTS FOR WACCAMAW/SAC 6(2A):
#6 Heide Trask 70, #11 Martin County 67
#14 Fairmont 59, #3 West Bladen 38
RD 3: #14 Fairmont at #6 Heide Trask