SPORTING SCENE
Sectional Playoffs Continue;
Union Pines To Host Finals
BY JOHNNY CRAIG
Union Pines High School in Carthage is where the four boys' and four
girls' Waccamaw Conference basketball teams hope to be playing Saturday
in the Eastern 2-A Sectional III and IV championships.
Sectional play began Monday and Tuesday in the area for six of the
eight WC qualifiers, while the South Brunswick boys and Fairmont girls
won't see action until tonight (Thursday) in second-round play.
Both Cougar and Lady Golden Tornado teams clinched first-round
byes in the state piayOtls alter winning the Waccamaw Conference regular
season.
The two teams also added WC tournament titles to their list of accom
plishments last Friday in championship games played at North Brunswick
(see stories this section).
South Brunswick and Whitcvillc boys' teams, along with Fairmont and
West Brunswick girls' squads, arc participating in the Sectional III tourna
ment.
West Brunswick and Fairmont boys and South lirunswick and
Whitcvillc girls arc seeing action in the Sectional IV tourney.
WC Tournament Notes
Last week's Waccamaw 2-A Conference boys' and girls' basketball
tournament at North Brunswick was the county's first league tourney in
over a decade.
Not since the Three Rivers 3-A Conference cage tournament was held
at West Brunswick in the late 1970s has a county school served as a league
tourney host site.
After years of traveling to Whiteville for league's first three tourna
ments, to East Bladen in 1989 and Fairmont last year, it was nice for
Brunswick County to host what has become the Waccamaw Conference's
basketball showcase.
And North Brunswick should be commcnded for the great job dor.e in
hosting the finals and semifinals that included three nights of prep play.
A number of other individual and team performances during the tour
ney are certainly worth mention as well.
By winning the boys' tournament championship, South Brunswick ran
its unbeaten streak to 17 consecutive games.
The Cougars, now 23-3, haven't lost since the United Carolina Bank
Christmas Tournament held in late December at UNC-Wilmington.
Coach Gene Doanc's Cougar cagers enter the scctional playoffs tonight
certainty with legitimate chances of bringing a state championship to the
Boiling Springs Lakes school.
The South Brunswick girls' team continues perhaps one of the biggest
single-season turnarounds in eastern North Carolina after advancing to the
WC tournament finals against regular-season champion Fairmont.
The Lady Cougars (16-10) played even with powerful Fairmont for
over three quarters before losing the tourney title in the final three minutes.
The 16 games won by this year's South girls' team are more victories
(14) than the Lady Cougars claimed in the previous three seasons com
bined.
South Brunswick stumbled to a 6-15 finish last year and went 4-17 and
4-16 the two seasons prior.
The Lady Cougars' 55-48 win over South Robeson in the opening
round of the tournament was their first-ever victory in WC toumcy play.
The play of Fairmont sophomore guard DcMorris Winningham was al
so certainly worth mention.
Of Winningham 's team-leading 30 points in the championship game
against South Brunswick last Friday, 18 came in the final quarter including
a trio of three-point goals.
Winningham also led his team with 24 points in Thursday's 86-82
semifinal win over West Brunswick.
However it was James Moore (18 points) who was the three-point whiz
for the Golden Tornadoes against the Trojans. Moore nailed four three
pointers in the Fairmont win including three in the third quarter that keyed
the deciding Tornado rally.
Getting Focused Is The Key
Focusing on one game at a time is the key to state playoff success, ac
cording to South Brunswick veteran prep basketball coach Gene Doane.
The Cougar coach met with his team earlier this week and discussed
getting the right mind-set to enter the state playoffs with.
"One bad game can do you in," said Doane. "You've got to be focused
down the stretch and have your mind focused on what you are doing."
"Now is the time when wc can't allow any outside interference in our
players' thinking."
"If our kids play well, we've got a legitimate shot to win it all," Doane
said of his Waccamaw Conference championship team. "Monroe and
Clinton are supposed to be super teams that will probably go a ways in the
2-A playoffs."
Doanc's goal, as with any other prep team, is to win the slate champi
onship.
"I've always thought my best teams played their best basketball down
the stretch," said Doane, who is in his 30th year coaching high school bas
ketball.
Fairmont Bounces North
Boys From Waccamaw
Conference Tournament
DeMorris Winningham scored 16
of his game-high 21 points in the
first quarter, including a pair of
three-point goals, to lead Fairmont
over North Brunswick 93-57 in last
Tuesday's opening round of the
Waccamaw 2-A Conference boys'
basketball tournament at the West
Brunswick gym.
The loss ended the season for the
Scorpions (6-17) after finishing the
regular season tied for sixth placc
with South Robeson and West
Columbus.
Dwayne Waddell scorcd 18
points to lead North Brunswick
while Greg Waddell added 15 and
Maduka Ballard 10.
Johnathan Grisseu also scored 21
points to share the scoring lead for
the Golden Tornadoes (20-6) fol
lowed by Corey Addison with 19
and James Iviumc 11.
Fairmont grabbed a 32-25 lead in
a fast-paced first quarter before
North Brunswick managed only
eight second-period points and fell
behind 54-33 at the half.
The Golden Tornado lead grew to
70-45 in the third quarter. Fairmont
outscored the Scorpions 1 1 -2 in the
first four minutes of the final period
enroulc to a 23-12 scoring edge in
the final period to cap the win.
Score By Quarters
North Brunswick 25 8 12 12 ? 57
Fairmont 32 22 16 23 ? 93
North Brunswick scoring: D.
Waddell 18, G. Waddell 15, Walker
2, Baldwin 8, Ballard 10, Toomer 2,
Ellington 2.
Fairmont scoring: Page 7, Watson
2, Grisseu 21, Addison 19, Win
ningham 21, Moore 11, Hunt 3,
Tayiui 4, Vaugiii 3, Ghcc 2.
Lady Scorps Bow In WC
Tourney Opening Round
Regular-season champion host
Fairmont blasted the North Bruns
wick Lady Scorpions 87-26 in the
opening round of the Waccamaw 2
A Conference girls' basketball tour
nament last Monday.
The loss ended the season for
North Brunswick (1-22) while
Fairmont (22-1) went on to capture
the tournament title (see story this
section).
Rhonda Moore scored 12 points
and Tosha Robbins added 10 for
North Brunswick.
Tonya Watser. led Fairmont with
23 points followed by Shalonda
Townscnd with 18 and Jennifer
Renfrow 15.
North Brunswick scoring: Moore
12, T. Robbins 10, Grady 2, Dowe
2.
Fairmont scoring: Watson 23,
Townscnd 18, J. Renfrow 15, R.
Page 2, McCormick 4, Currie 2,
Fields 4, S. Page 8, Taylor 1, Butler
4, Spencer 6.
South Edges Fairmont For Waccamaw Tourney Title
BY JOHNNY CRAIG
The Soulh Brunswick boys added a Wacca
maw 2-A Confcrcncc tournament championship
to their rccord-sciling season last Friday topping
third-seeded Fairmont 78-70 at North Bruns
wick for the league title.
Sophomore guard Josh White led four
Cougars in double figures with 23 points while
center Preston McGriff added 20. Greg
Williams followed with 19 and points and Carl
Parker 11 for South Brunswick, who extended
its winning streak to 17 games after breezing
through the regular season with a perfect 14-0
WC mark.
Winning the regular season title assured the
Cougars of a first-round bye in this week's
Eastern 2-A Sectional III tournament. South
Brunswick won't sec state playoff action until
tonight (Thursday) when the Cougars entertain
the winner of the Capital Area #3 vs. Central
Tar Heel #4 opening-round contest played
Tuesday.
"It's been a great year so far," said South
Brunswick coach Gene Doane. "We talked at
halflime about coming out in the second half
and really getting after them (Fairmont). In the
first half we had to put two of our big rebound
ers (McGriff and Parker) on the bench due to
fouls. It really hurt us on the boards."
With McGriff and Parker out of the lineup,
Fairmont center Johnatnan Grissett responded
with 14 of his 18 points in the second quarter as
the Soulh Brunswick lead dwindled to 32-31 at
the half.
"We were willing to give up some points with
the absence of McGriff and Parker in order to
get ready for the second half," said Doane. "You
never lose a game in the first half but rather
spend that time to put yourself in a position to
win the game in the second half."
"We were hoping to get Fairmont tired in the
first half. Our biggest problem was our defense
of Grissett in the half. We simply didn't play
him right," explained Doane.
"We had to make some mental and physical
adjustments to keep him from scoring. Grissett
doesn't like to take the ball and go to his left.
We made him do that in the second half and as
result, he didn't score as much."
McGriff returned the the lineup to start the
second half. His two quick baskets along with a
White lay up gave Soulh Brunswick a 38-31
lejwl with 6 S4 to play in the third quarter.
Fairmont cut the gap to 38-36 minutes later
but the Cougars quickly went out front by 45-36
with 3:33 left in the period. McGriff scored
twice following a pair of missed shots, sank a
free throw and Parker added a two more baskets
for the Soulh Brunswick bulge.
The Cougars maintained their nine-point
lead, 49-40 on a lob to McGriff.
DeMorris Winningham kept Fairmont within
seven, 57-50, on a jumper with seven seconds
left in the period.
Parker ignited a 7-0 South Brunswick run on
a short jumper for a 61-52 Cougar lead.
White added two free throws for a 63-52 ad
vantage and moments later stole the ball and
scored on a layup for a commanding 65-52 lead.
Williams' allcy-oop dunk sent the Soulh
Brunswick lead to 67-52 and Fairmont never
threatened in the lime remaining.
Winningham scored 18 of his team-leading
30 points in the final period including three
three-point goals. James Moore added 10 for the
Goidcn Tornadoes (20-6).
"It was hard preparing for this game bccausc
we didn't know if we would play Fairmont or
West Brunswick until the day before," said
Doane. "It is now a new season. We break the
season down into segments ? the preseason,
scrimmage games, nonconfcrcnce and confer
ence contests, the Christmas tournament and the
post-season. We make a list of the things we
want to achieve in each segment"
"We forgot the whole regular season when
we began play in this tournament. I challenged
the kids to sec how many games we can win.
Now we've got to go 5-0 to win the state title,"
added Doanc.
Score By Quarters
Fairmont 11 20 15 24 ? 70
South Brunswick 17 15 21 25 ? 7H
Fairmont scoring: Winningham 30, Grissctt
18, Page 2, Taylor 2, Addison 6, Moore 10,
Watson 2.
South Brunswick scoring: White 23,
Williams 19, Parker 10, McGriff 20, Stringficld
2, Fullwood 4.
?????
South Brunswick advanced to the finals after
defeating East Bladen 79-68 in the semifinal
round at North Brunswick and South Robeson
73-58 in its tournament opener at the Cougar
gym.
Williams scored 15 points and McGriff 14 in
the Cougars win over South Robeson.
Tracy Jacobs led South Robeson (6-18) with
21 points.
The Cougars opened an 18-11 lead in the first
quarter before extending their margin to 17
points, 40-23 at the half.
South Brunswick led 52-34 in the third quar
ter and the Mustangs managed to outscore the
Cougars 24-21 in the final period.
Score By Quarters
South Robeson 11 12 11 24?58
South Brunswick 18 22 12 21?73
South Robeson scoring: Jacobs 2i, Graham
7, Locklear 5, Taylor 5, Pierce 5, Davis 5,
Odom 6, Alford 4.
South Brunswick scoring: McGriff 14,
Williams 15, K. Smith 10, Hankins 2, White 5,
Brown 2, Fullwood 4, Johnson 4, Parker 4, Cole
2, Stringfield 2, M. Smith 5, Moore 2,
McLaughlin 2.
Fairmont Girls Race Past S. Brunswick To Capture Title
The South Brunswick Lady
Cougars had regular-season cham
pion Fairmont on the ropes after
three quarters in last Friday's Wac
camaw 2-A Conference tournament
championship game.
However, the once-beaten Fair
mont team was good for one more
quarter and South Brunswick ran
out of gas as the Lady Golden
Tornadoes took a 56-47 win and the
WC tournament championship at
North Brunswick.
Fairmont broke from a 38-38 tie
after three quarters to outscore the
Lady Cougars 19-8 in the final peri
od to clinch the win.
"1 thought the girls played really
hard," said South Brunswick coach
Mike Isenberg. "With liirae minutes
to go we felt like we were in posi
tion to win the game. We just got
some bad breaks in the final min
utes and just fell out of the running
for the championship."
Fairmont was whistled for only
eight fouls in the game compared to
South Brunswick's 23 and the Lady
Golden Tornadoes used the advan
tage to outscore the South girls at
the free throw line.
Tony Watson scorcd 22 points to
lead Fairmont (22-1) and Jenny
Renfrow added 20.
Tessa Lee led South Brunswick
(16-10) with 12 points followed by
Erika Bryant with 10.
"Both Tessa and Erika did a good
job on the boards until midway in
the fourth quarter when they both
got in foul trouble. From that point
on, Fairmont started to control the
rebounding and was getting two and
three shots at the basket each time
down the court," said Isenberg.
The two teams battled to a 12-12
South Brunswick Girls
Win Sectional Ooener
The South Brunswick Lady
Cougars opened play in the Eastern
2-A Sectional IV basketball tourna
ment Monday with a 48-40 win
over visiting Northwood (Pitts
boro).
Tessa Lee scored 13 points and
Tasha Sellers added 11 to lead the
South girls in their first state playoff
game ever.
South Brunswick trailed 13-8 in
the first quarter and 27-24 at half
time but used a 17-6 scoring edge in
the decisive third period to go ahead
for good, 41-33. Both teams scored
seven points each in a slow-paced
fourth quarter.
Jan Baker scored 17 points to
lead Northwood, the fourth-place
team of the Capital Area Confer
ence.
The Lady Cougars (17-10) were
to have visited Central Tar Heel
Conference runnerup Clayton on
Wednesday in a sectional semifinal
game.
In other girls' sectional playoff
action Monday, Warren County
eliminated Whiteville 60-5 1 .
The Lady Wolfpack (15-10), the
Waccamaw Conference's second
seeded team, trailed 37-21 at half
time and could get no closer to the
Eagles than nine points in the sec
ond half.
Beverly McCray scored 13 of her
team-leading 15 points in the sec
ond half to pace Whiteville.
Score By Quarters
Northwood 13 14 6 7 ? 40
South Brunswick 8 16 17 7 ? 48
Northwood scoring: Baker 17,
Stone 2, Poe 4, Crump 7,
Harrington 4, Taydus 6.
South Brunswick scoring: Cum
bee 9, Lee 13, Davis 2, Sellers 11,
Isenberg 6, Fullwood 1, Bryant 6.
NORTH i J* CAROLINA'S
BRUNSWICK ISLANDS
The Brunswick County Travel Package expresses sincere
thanks to the following businesses for sponsoring the 1-40
Goodwill Blitz March 3-8. Through the combined efforts
of the South Brunswick Islands and Oak Island chambers
of commerce and these businesses, a special invitation will
be extend :d to North Carolinians to vacation in Brunswick
County this year.
Sunset Vacations
Sunset Properties
Sabra's Gifts
Williwwmfj RfsMy
The General Store
Brunswick! and Realty
The Arboretum/Ocean Greens
Cooke Realty
Ait Skipper Realty
Alan Hoiden Realty
Brunswick Community College
The Odom Company
Fox Squirrel Golf dub
The Winds Oarion Carriage Inn
Francis Housing Rentals
Craig Realty
Island Equities & Resort
Sand Dollar Realty
Ocean 1 Realty
Oceanus Marketing & Mgt.
Bald Head Island Indigo Plantation
Island Realty
Sea Trail Plantation
llobbs Realty & Construction
Brierwood Golf Qub
The Sign Shoppe
N.C. Electric Membership Corp.
Brunswick Electric
Membership Q>rp.
USS North Carolina Battleship
St. James Plantation
Carolina Power & Light
Atlantic Telephone
Membership Corp.
United Carolina Bank
NCNB
Brunswick Islands Bd. of Realtors
S.B.I. Homebuildcrs Assoc.
Mac Construction
Coastal Insurance A Really
Brunswick Farm Supply
Security Savings & Loan
The Pearl Golf Links
Sandpiper Bay Country Club
Lockwood Golf links
Carolina Shores Golf dub
Brick Landing Plantation
Cellular One
Sloane Realty
Resources Development Com.
Southern National Bank
The Brunswick Hospital
Shannon Services
Dutchman Creek Acres
Real Estate
Island Resort
Red Carpet Dorothy Essey
A Assoc.
Shoe Port
Hughes Gas & Grocery
Margaret Rudd & Assoc.
ERA Sunland Properties
Caswell Dunes Realty
Coldwell Banker Willetts Realty
Oak Island Golf & Country Qub
Oak Island Florist
Scruggs & Morrison Realty
Sea Captain Motor Lodge
State Port Pilot
first-quarter deadlock before South
Brunswick managed to go ahead
24-23 at the half.
Score By Quarters
South Brunswick 12 12 14 9 ? 47
Fairmont 12 11 15 18?56
South Brunswick scoring: Cum
bee 6, Hankins 6, Lee 12, Sellers 6,
Fullwood 7, Bryant 10.
Fairmont scoring: Townscnd 7,
Renfrow 20, Page 3, Taylor 4,
Watson 22.
*****
South Brunswick advanced to the
toumey finals by edging Whileville
42-39 in the semifinals and nipping
South Robeson 55-48 in the open
ing round.
Lee scored 18 points and Allison
Cumbcc 15 to lead the Lady
Cougars in the opening win over
South Robeson.
South Brunswick rallied with a
big 20-9 scoring edge in the final
quarter to gain the win.
South Robeson led 6-4 in the first
quarter and South Brunswick pulled
even 25-25 at halftimc.
The Lady Mustangs retook the
lead 41-35 in the third quarter be
fore the Lady Cougars took control
of the final period.
Chastity Oxcndinc scored 24
points to lead South Robeson (8-13)
while Tonetta Killcns and Mary
McKoy added 10 each.
Score By Quarters
South Robeson 6 19 14 9 ? 48
South Brunswick 4 21 10 20 ? 55
South Robeson scoring: McLean
4, Killcns 10, McKoy 10, Oxcndinc
24.
South Brunswick scoring: Cum
bce 15, Hankins 2, Sellers 5, Is
enberg 6, Brown 5, Bryant 4, Lcc
18.
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