West Brunswick Holds Off Wolfpack In League Opener 74-69 BY JOHNNY CRAIG Ricky Daniels scored 38 points, including the last 10 Trojans' points, to lift West Brunswick over visiting Whiteville 74-69 last Friday in the Waccamaw 2-A Conference basketball opener for both teams. The Trojans led nearly the entire contest until tht midway point of the final quarter when Whiteville twice opened a five-point lead, the last being ai 64-59 with 4:37 to play. The Wolfpack led by four, 66-62, with 3:04 left when Daniels emerged to lead the Trojans to victory. A 10-0 Trojan spurt, including ' itfiTfciW fiiifl- iiii, ? eight points by Daniels, provided the spark that put West ahead for good, 72-66, with 1:16 remaining. "Ricky was the difference," said West Brunswick coach Billy Mims. " He took charge in the final min utes and hit some key free throws." Daniels connected on 18 of 19 free throws for the game while go ing 10-for-l 1 in the final quarter. "1 believe NVhitevillc played as well as they could. David Hall (sev en points) played very good ior Whitcville off the bcnch. I had scouted them earlier this season and he hardly played. Tonight he really contributed," said Mims. 1 SHOT REJECTED ? VVesf Brunswick's I.onnie Mitchell (40) blocks a Derrick Randall shot during the Trojans' 74-69 win over Whiteville last Friday in the teams' Waccamaw 2 -A Conference opener. The Trojans improved to 9-1 overall with the win after West rallied from a five-point deficit in the final three minutes. The Trojans host South Robeson on Friday in next action. SPORTING SCENE Road To Conference Title To Go Through Brunswick BY JOHNNY CRAIG The road to the Waccamaw 2-A Conference basketball championship appears headed for a second straight run through Brunswick County if the results of last Friday's league openers are any indication to local cage for tunes this winter. Both West and South Brunswick boys made loud statements last Friday with a pair of impressive wins over Whiteville and East Bladen, re spectively. The Trojans, who finished with a share of the WC title a year ago, edged an improved Whiteville team 74-69 on the 38-point effort of 6-foot 6 senior Ricky Daniels. The Wolfpack slipped last season, winning only 14 games, but was earlier predicted by many to be headed for another 20- win campaign and a run on the WC title this year. East Bladen, the team that the Trojans shared the Waccamaw crown with last year, returns enough veterans this season along with a number of versatile athletes to again challenge for league honors. South Brunswick cruised to a 79-63 romp over East Bladen as junior Preston McGriff scored a team-leading 24 points. The Trojans, still remembering their first share of a conference cham pionship in five years, and Cougars, fresh off their best season in the histo ry of the school, will have lots to say about who claims the current Waccamaw cage crown. And looking ahead, the two teams meet for the first lime on Friday, Jan. 25, at South Brunswick. The pair square off again on Friday, Feb. 22, in the final regular sea son game. It would seem logical to think the winner(s) of those two con tests might just bring home the WC championship. Don't forget Fairmont either. The Golden Tornadoes, both boys' and girls' teams, swept South Robeson in their first league contest last Friday. The Fairmont boys return their entire starting lineup from last year's team that advanced to the con ference tournament finals. The West Brunswick girls, also winners in their first league game last Friday and 8-1 overall, are having perhaps their best season ever to date. The Lady Trojans could likely go unbeaten in league play until hosting Fairmont on Saturday, Jan. 19. That matchup will likely be West Bruns wick's biggest conference lest in the first two weeks of league play. ***** Speaking of last Friday's West Brunswick-Whiteville matchup, the Trojan gym saw its first standing-room-only crowd of the season. Late-ar riving fans were forced to stand along the baseline. With both Trojan cage teams performing so well this season, large home crowds will likely be the norm for the remainder of the campaign. Tough Decisions For Local Trio At least three local prep basketball players will be deciding their fu ture on the college hardcourt in the coming months. Two seniors ? West Brunswick's Daniels and Acme-Delco's John Jacques ? along with South Brunswick junior Preston McGriff, arc all NCAA Division I prospects ac cording to most scouting services. It would be great for such a super crop of blue chip prospccts to select JNC-Wilmington and stay ir. the area to give their hometown fans and family a rare chance to see them perform regularly on the college level. Not since the days of North Brunswick's Chucky Brown has their been as much college recruiting action in the area as the trio of Daniels, Jacques and McGriff have caused. The likelihood of all three of these top preps selecting UNC Wilmington as their choice to continue their cage careers might be a pipe dream of sorts. However, it would be great to keep such area talent at home where they first developed into local prep stars. "Jerry Reaves came around late in the game after struggling early and Lonnic Mitchell played very well for a sophomore," added Mims. "We really don't know how good we can be because of our number of turnovers. I've said all along that foul shots and turnovers arc the keys to our success." 'Tonight was very similar to oth er games we have playa.1 including a one-point win over Southern Wayne here and a close win against Wallace-Rose Hill in our season opener. In all those games we turned the ball over early but were able to come back in the second half and play better." West Brunswick appeared headed for an easy win early taking an 18 12, first-quarter lead then scoring the first six points of the second pe riod for a 24-12 advantage. However, Whiteville scored 13 unanswered points in just over two minutes to take its first lead, 25-24, on a pair of Lonnic Smith free throws with 3:39 to play in the half. Daniels then scored six straight points to give the Trojans a 30-26 lead with 2:(M to play on two free throws and a pair of layups. Whiteville scored its final six points of the half from the free throw line but West Brunswick managed to cling to a 35-33 edge at the break. A pair of quick Trojan baskets by Daniels and Lo Perry Kill gave West a 41-36 advantage in the first two minutes of the second half but the Wolfpack rallied to retake the lead. Tim Wilson scored seven siraignt points for the Wolfpack including a three-point goal at the 4:43 mark of the period to give Whiteville a 43 41 lead with 3:30 remaining. Wilson again scored on a short jumper with five seconds left in the third period to knot the score 51-51. West Brunswick missed four straight free throws early in the fi nal quarter and the Wolfpack scored seven straight points to grab a 60-55 lead with 5:30 to play. The Whiteville lead remained at five points until a trio of free throws by Reaves at the midway point of the quarter that brought the Trojans to within 64-62. Reaves followed Daniels as the top Trojan scorer with 17 points and Hill added 11. Wilson led four Whiteville play ers in double-figure scoring with 15 points. Andy Spiccr and Derrick Randall added 13 each for the Wolfpack (0-1, 7-2) followed by Gerald Hemingway's 10. Whiteville was without the ser vices of starling guard Brett Har wood who was recovering from an illness. Wolfpack center Carlos Baldwin was limited to only four points. Both RalHwin and forward Vancc NO ENROLLMENT FEE SAVE $150 Now thru Jan. 31 TO RESERVE YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW! Call...1 -800-654-1 373 1-803-249-9437 Jet. Hwy. 17 and Hwy. 9 South of LittleJ^iver^SC^ ttlife Insurance that's right for you... that's what State Farm is all about. CALL ME. DWIGHT FLANAGAN Phone 754-9923 Jet. Hwy. 17 & 211 PO Box 78 Supply, NC 28462 State I arm life Insurance Company Home ( Hike Hloomington Illinois like a g< k nl neighbor. Slate Farm is there. 05} 50 .1 v STAFF rHOTOS BY JOHNNY CHAIG SPRINT TO THE BALL ? Ricky Daniels (50) and Jerry Reaves (44) along with Whileville's Derrick Randall (left) chase down a loose ball in last Friday's Waccamaw 2-A Conference opener. The Trojans, led by Daniels' 38 points, rallied in the final minutes to take a 74-69 win over the Wolfpack. Reaves added 17 points in the Trojan win. Harritan fouled out midway through the final quarter. Whitcville won the junior varsity game 56-33. West Brunswick continues league play Friday hosting South Robeson and then entertains West Columbus next Tuesday. Score By Quarters Whitcville 12 21 18 18?69 West Brunswick 18 17 16 23?74 Whitcville scoring: Randall 13, Baldwin 4, Hemingway 10, Harrington 5, Wilson 15, Hall 7, Smith 4, Spiccr 13. West Brunswick scoring: Bowcn 1, Lance 2, Hill 11, Mitchell 3, Reaves 17, Daniels 38, Hughes 2. Ramos & Lewis ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW MEADOW SQUARE, HIGHWAY 179 SHALIOTTE. 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