East Carteret takes care of business in Chocowinity

Published 11:52 am Saturday, February 15, 2014

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS

 

The Southside men’s basketball team had its hands full on Friday night matched up against Class 1A’s No. 1 team, unbeaten East Carteret. The Seahawks laid it all on the line in the first half, but were unable to match the Mariners offensive output over the final 20 minutes, taking the loss, 86-52.

“That’s what we talked about in the beginning of the year is playing with heart,” said Head Coach Sean White. “We’re a younger team and a somewhat undersized team, and playing with some heavy weights like we do in this conference, we’ve been playing with heart all year long. Not taking anything away from them because they’re a good team, No. 1 in the state in 1A.”

White knew entering Friday’s game he would have to change his defensive scheme. The collapsing interior zone defense employed against Northside’s paint presence Edrice Adebayo on Thursday would have little to no effect on East Carteret’s pure perimeter shooting. Despite the change in philosophy, the Mariners’ guard play overwhelmed the Seahawk defenders.

East Carteret Head Coach Billy Anderson had his squad apply pressure to Southside star Donshae Miller, successfully holding him to just 11 points. With Miller contained, the offensive burden fell on junior Rashaun Moore to capitalize on good looks and keep his team in the game. Moore finished with 17 points, but it wouldn’t be enough to match Ty Simmons’ performance. Simmons finished with a game-high 25 points.

“They’ve got multiple—it’s not just one—it’s several guys that can score,” White said. “You guard one and you have to continue with someone else. They have a lot of weapons and are a very good team.”

East Carteret outscored the Seahawks 15-7 in the third quarter and would completely take over in the final quarter, dropping 30 points in the final 10 minutes.

“I think our guys kind of ran out of gas towards the end a little bit because they started playing kind of sloppy,” White said. “We just weren’t in sync tonight.”

Southside will spend the next few days preparing for the 1A Conference 11 Tournament likely beginning on Monday. The Seahawks are a projected No. 4 seed.

East Carteret heads into the tournament as a sure No.1 seed with state tournament aspirations.