Daily Roundup: January 3, 2024

January 3, 2024, 11:52 pm | by Tim Hower

COASTAL PREPS THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

***The rankings by each area team come from the Coastal Preps Power Rankings***

GIRLS BASKETBALL

No. 5 East Bladen 60, No. 3 East Columbus 57

The battle between two of the top 1A teams in the East went to the Eagles, who rallied in the fourth quarter.

Laila Smith led all scorers with 25 points, including seven over the final eight minutes.

East Bladen (10-2, 2-0 Waccamaw), which trailed 48-45 after three quarters, also got 14 points from Ariel Cromartie as well as 11 from NeNe Ward.

Previously unbeaten East Columbus (8-1, 1-1) was led by sophomore Malia Graham, who had 17 points. Fellow forward Cynna Patrick finished with 13 points, while guard Destiney Mitchell scored nine.

The Gators were 0-for-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and just 11-for-23 for the game.

Next up for the Eagles is a road game at Pender on Friday night at 6. East Columbus hosts South Columbus at 6 p.m. Friday.

No. 13 Whiteville 56, No. 16 Trask 21

An impressive 28-point performance from Elayzia Dawson led the Wolfpack to a dominant home victory.

Dawson scored at least five points in each quarter, including 13 in the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Serenity Harvey chipped in eight points for Whiteville (3-7, 1-0 Waccamaw), which snapped a five-game losing streak.

Trask (2-11, 1-1) was led by Kenya Lewis’ eight points.

The Wolfpack visit West Columbus at 6 p.m. Friday, while the Titans host East Bladen on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

No. 7 Ashley 32, Croatan 11

The Screaming Eagles gave coach Adrienne Gale her 340th career victory by jumping out to a 19-2 halftime lead.

Mackenzie Morton led all scorers with 11 points. Anna Benfield chipped in eight points and five steals, while Palyn Everhart and Jaeden Hudson tied for a team-high with six steals.

Ashley (8-4) will return home to take on New Hanover at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Wayne County Day 55, No. 15 Coastal Christian 18

The Centurions trailed 20-0 after the opening eight minutes before scoring 13 points in the second quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Leading the way offensively for Coastal Christian (3-7, 0-1 CPIC) was Evie Munroe, who scored six points.

Next up is a road game at Greenfield School on Friday at 6 p.m.

Other scores

No. 11 South Brunswick 50, West Bladen 45

No. 17 South Columbus 46, No. 12 Pender 39

Lake View (S.C.) 51, No. 18 West Columbus 23

BOYS BASKETBALL

No. 17 South Columbus 46, No. 15 Pender 38

Freshman Khalil Morgan poured in a game-high 20 points for the victorious Stallions.

South Columbus (6-8, 1-1 Waccamaw) held a slim 17-16 halftime lead before extending it to 31-26 after three quarters.

Andrew Todd scored eight of his nine points in the second half, while Rovaughn Graham and AJ Scott added six a piece.

Pender (2-6, 1-1) got 10 points from Cyrus Page as well as nine from Jordan Hansley.

Both teams are back in action Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Stallions play at East Columbus, while the Patriots welcome East Bladen.

No. 6 Trask 58, No. 16 Whiteville 44

The Titans remained unbeaten in Waccamaw Conference play by jumping out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter.

Sherrod Henderson had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Trask (8-4, 2-0 Waccamaw) also got 15 points and eight steals from Myron Mckoy.

Martez Davis was the third player to reach double figures by finishing with 13 points. Freshman Gio Driggers chipped in nine.

Will Fisher helped keep Whiteville (3-8, 0-1) within striking distance by leading all scorers with 23 points. Amari Best finished with 10.

The Titans host East Bladen at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, while the Wolfpack travel to West Columbus on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

No. 11 East Bladen 53, No. 18 East Columbus 38

Lee Barnes buried six 3-pointers and led all scorers with 19 points as the Eagles prevailed at home.

East Bladen (7-4, 2-0 Waccamaw), which trailed 25-23 at halftime, also got 10 points a piece from Dominick Collins and Ronnie Covington.

Cainan Patrick scored 15 points for East Columbus (3-6, 0-2), but just two after halftime. Jaden Troy also reached double figures with 11 points.

The Eagles travel to Pender on Friday night at 7:30, while the Gators welcome South Columbus at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

No. 8 West Columbus 64, Lake View (S.C.) 48

Despite playing without leading scorer and point guard Unique Kelly (sickness), the Vikings were able to earn a nonconference win.

Freshman Larry Graham and senior Tyler Watts-Brown tied for a game high with 21 points.

West Columbus (4-3) led 41-38 after three quarters before exploding for 23 points over the final eight minutes to pull away.

James Axelberg added seven points, while Tristian Tubbs chipped in six.

The Vikings resume Waccamaw Conference play at home against Whiteville on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

No. 7 Ashley 47, Croatan 42

A double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore forward Keyon Jones helped the Screaming Eagles snap a four-game losing streak and hand Croatan its first loss.

Senior point guard Coen Locklear also had a strong performance with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Ashley (3-8) welcomes New Hanover on Friday at 8 p.m.

Wayne County Day 75, No. 9 Coastal Christian 41

Aidan Davies and Ethan Adgent combined to scored 31 of the Centurions’ 41 points in the road loss.

Davies scored 12 of his team-best 19 points in the first half. Adgent connected on four 3-pointers for his 12 points.

Coastal Christian (9-8, 0-1 CPIC) will try to bounce back when it visits Greenfield School on Friday night at 7:30.

Other scores

West Bladen 57, No. 14 South Brunswick 26

BOYS WRESTLING

Ashley 36, New Hanover 34

The Screaming Eagles trailed 28-10 after eight bouts before ending the match on a 26-6 run to pull off a hard-fought road victory.

Noah Piper got Ashley (4-2, 3-2 Mideastern) on track with a pin in 3:48 at 126 pounds. Jarett Quinlan followed with a 19-2 tech fall at 132, while Cooper Heppner needed just 33 seconds to record a pin at 138.

A 4-0 decision at 144 from Chris Heppner put the Screaming Eagles on top 30-28. The victory was sealed when Alex Fragos received a forfeit at 150.

New Hanover (17-10, 2-3) got off to an incredible start by building a 25-0 lead thanks to wins from Jaden Scott (15-7 major decision at 165), Elijah Gillespie (pin in 1:05 at 175), Jesus Delgado (pin in 1:39 at 190), Shane Graham (10-3 decision at 215) and John Michael Carter (pin in 1:08 at 285).

Brian Trujillo had a 7-0 decision at 120, while Marqueze Higgins ended the match with a pin in 5:03 at 157.

The other victories for the Screaming Eagles came from Lucas Angstadt (pin in 1:59 at 106) and Noah Bowker (10-0 major decision at 113).

Ashley 60, Pender 24

A pin at 106 pounds from Lucas Angstadt started a 48-0 run that helped the Screaming Eagles battle back from 24-12 deficit.

The run also featured pins from Noah Bowker (113), Mason Winchell (120), Noah Piper (126) and Jarrett Quinlan (132). The match ended with three consecutive forfeits to Cooper Heppner (138), Chris Heppner (144) and Alex Fragos (150).

Pender (4-23) got four consecutive pins from Lazante Brown (175), Ronie Membreno-Andino (190), Andrew Robinson (215) and William Englese (285).

Ashley opened the match with victories at 157 and 165.

New Hanover 72, Pender 6

Matt Carter needed just 25 seconds to record a pin at 106 pounds, and the Wildcats got bonus points in 11 other bouts to roll.

Chris Braxton (120), Kenny Baxton (126), Alejandro Garcia (132), Marqueze Higgins (157), Jesus Delgado (190), Shane Graham (215) and John Michael Carter (285) had the other pins. New Hanover also received four forfeits.

Pender’s lone victory came via pin from Lazante Brown at 175.

There was a double forfeit at 150.

North Brunswick 60, South Brunswick 24

The Scorpions won seven of the nine contested bouts and also received 18 points thanks to a three forfeits to take down their county rival.

A forfeit to freshman Brock Campbell at 126 pounds started a 36-0 run for North Brunswick (3-4, 2-3 Mideastern).

Tyler Sznaider followed with a pin in 1:37 at 132, while Billy Bracy needed just 1:26 to earn a fall at 138.

The other pins came from Kellen Wilcox (1:18 at 157), Sebastian Hernandez-Velez (1:17 at 190), Nathan Hastings (3:23 at 215), Max Fleckinger (1:33 at 113) and Brayden Post (3:22 at 120).

Anthony Russ and Kirick Gurkin received forfeits at 144 and 150, respectively.

The fastest pin of the night came from South Brunswick’s (2-8, 0-5) Gabriel Arce, who needed just 25 seconds to deck his opponent at 165.

Ronald Tartt (forfeit at 175), Christopher Naurocki (pin in 2:34 at 285) and Dominic Schledorn (forfeit at 106) had the Cougars’ other victories.

Laney 64, West Brunswick 9

Four Buccaneers recorded pins in the opening period, including one in 23 seconds at 106 pounds from Ayden Arrington, in the dominant road victory.

Sam McQueen (46 seconds at 126), Tommy Gillespie (1:36 at 150) and Michael Williams (1:00 at 285) had the others.

Laney (8-0, 5-0 Mideastern) also got pins from Tyler Buonocore (3:23 at 144), Mac Kopelman (3:46 at 165), Holden Walker (4:25 at 175) and Mason Blue (2:25 at 215).

Freshman Abram Stoebig trailed 8-6 after two periods before rallying for a 12-10 decision at 138. Kaeden Smith won by a score of 8-2 at 190, while Tristan Cotto rolled to a 14-4 major decision at 157.

Jack Williams was awarded a forfeit at 113.

West Brunswick’s (4-4, 1-4) lone victories came from Austin Hill, who had a 26-second pin at 120, and Luke Connick, who prevailed at 132 by a score of 10-6.

GIRLS WRESTLING

South Brunswick 36, North Brunswick 0

Abby Hurlburt opened the match with a pin in just 24 seconds at 235 to help the Cougars secure a shutout victory.

Lily Prendergast remained unbeaten with a pin in 1:31 at 100. South Brunswick (9-3, 2-1 Mideastern) also got a 24 points via forfeits to Isabella Raygoza (107), Trinity Wiley (126), Sara Sparks (132) and Emma Yopp (165).