Eastern Wayne overwhelmed by South Central defense in season opener

Two new-look Eastern Wayne basketball programs took the floor for their season opener and went through some early growing pains.

The Warriors fell in both contests to South Central Thursday night in Goldsboro. In the girls game, stifling Falcons defense led to Eastern Wayne losing via running clock, 75-35. While the Warriors got contributions from their guard duo of Na’Tyjaih Jones and Jada Hamilton, South Central didn’t make easy.

Their usual go-to scorers got the job done with Kayla Friend once again leading the way. The junior forward had 17 points for the Falcons after having 16 against C.B. Aycock in their season opener Wednesday. South Central also got a big night from guard Jayla Palmer who had 16. 10 Falcons scored as they now move to 2-0 on the season.

In the boys game, the Warriors were competitive throughout the first three quarters. However, their offense sputtered in the fourth leading to the Falcons pulling away from the home team, 65-42. It was another balanced effort for South Central led by junior guard Moses Tufts who had 17 points.

Junior guard Albert Brown paced the Warriors with 20 points while J.J. Murray added seven. Eastern Wayne was within four late in the third quarter, but South Central answered with 12 quick points to take a 17 point lead to the fourth. From there, the Warriors weren’t able to mount another charge despite an excellent effort defensively.

Eastern Wayne travels to Southern Wayne next Tuesday for an all-Wayne County matchup.

Laieke Abebe

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