Heide Trask senior guard Myron McKoy dribbles around a screen.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
ELIZABETHTOWN — The Heide Trask Titans defeated the East Bladen Eagles for a 72-55 victory on Friday night in a Waccamaw Conference clash.
The Eagles went blow-for-blow against the top-team in conference during the first half but the Titans found their rhythm entering the third quarter to win comfortably away from home. Heide Trask senior guard Myron McKoy lit up the scoresheet with 28 points to lead all scorers and East Bladen junior Dominck Collins concluded his night with 21 points.
The host took a seven point lead into the second quarter after junior forward Kewone Maynor banked his three-point shot at the buzzer.
The Titans started the night lethargic but they came alive in the first quarter with freshmen center Gio Diggers dropping in a lay-up to cut the deficit. East Bladen attempted a quick three-pointer on the offensive end but went without luck and McKoy drained a three-pointer from the corner while the visitors were in transition to make it a two point game.
The Eagles got their first basket of the second quarter from Rodney Lacewell after he gathered a missed shot to keep the host ahead.
The lead didn’t hold up long as McKoy got a friendly roll on his three-point attempt for the Titans to make the score 21-19. East Bladen turned the ball over and their opponents dropped in two more as they fell by four.
The host kept hanging around by converting some freebies at the line and Collins shimmied his way inside for two-points to bring them within touching distance of the Titans.
Heide Trask got called for a moving screen while on offense and the Eagles took the opportunity to tie the game at 24-24. The Titans answered with forward Bradford Bannerman converting a two-and-one at the charity stripe to take the lead once more.
East Bladen senior guard Lee Barnes answered with a dagger from behind the arc for yet another tied score. Mckoy put the ball on the floor to shake his defender and he quickly pulled up from the mid-range to snatch back the lead. Barnes answered once more from behind the arc with a defender’s hand in his face to reclaim the lead in favor of the Eagles.
Heide Trask was fortunate not to fall behind by more after an 0-for-2 trip to the free throw line but a turnover from the host saved them and sophomore guard Treyvon Robinson drained a three-pointer of his own for another lead change. Sophomore guard Tevin McLean splashed a three-pointer from the corner to claim the Eagles final bucket of the first half. Mckoy knocked down two free throws to give the Titans a 34-33 lead going into the halftime break. Collins went 100 percent from the line to start the third quarter but the Eagles offense went cold momentarily.
The Titans took advantage of their opponents cold-streak and Martez Davis splashed from three to widen the gap to six points. East Bladen’s struggles on offense continued as their opponents slowly built up a 15 point lead with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ senior center Payton Tatum received a pass from Collins on the inside to finish from in-close after to end a series of woeful shooting. Heide Trask left the door open after a turnover but the hosts failed to capitalize with a turnover themselves. Diggers dropped the final bucket of the quarter for the visitors as they took a 19 point lead into the final quarter of the game.
East Bladen were better offensively in the fourth quarter but they couldn’t stop the visitors from scoring as the deficit grew insurmountable. The Eagles fall to fifth place in the standings after the loss as they move to 4-7 in conference play. They’ll play their final game of the regular season against Whiteville at home this Tuesday for their next game. Heide Trask can clinch their second straight Waccamaw Conference regular-season title with a victory against East Columbus on Tuesday.