By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
A focused approach has worked well for Southeast Alamance’s boys’ basketball team so far in the state playoffs.
The Stallions won three home games in a five-night stretch, capped by Monday night’s 78-50 conquering of Wilson Hunt in the fourth round of the East Region.
“We understand what we’re trying to get done,” Southeast coach Bo Williamson said.
Davian Edwards’ 35 points and Donnie Fairley’s 19 points led the way in the latest triumph.
Top-seeded Southeast (25-4) will meet second-seeded Wilson Fike (22-5), a 60-58 victor against Northeast Guilford on Monday, in the regional final at 8:00 p.m. Saturday at East Carolina’s Minges Coliseum in Greenville. The winner goes to next week’s state championship in Winston-Salem, where either Gastonia Huss or Concord Robinson will be the opponent.
Edwards has been scoring at a high clip during the Stallion’s seven-game winning streak. He made a dynamic drive for a basket off a Wilson Hunt turnover to close the first quarter and that seemed to spark a productive night.
“It was good defense at the start,” Edwards said. “I just knew I had to bring my energy.”
Fairley picked up two first-quarter fouls and sat out the second quarter, but the Stallions got rolling anyway. James Kenan, who tallied 12 points, converted back-to-back three-point plays as Southeast built a 22-12 lead.
“I think they did very well without me,” Fairley said. “Then they all picked it up.”
A 28-22 halftime advantage grew when Southeast posted the first 12 points of the third quarter, beginning with five points from Fairley before Nate Yellock’s 3-pointer. Fairley posted 11 third-quarter points.
Fourth-seeded Wilson Hunt (18-5), which blew out No. 5 seed Currituck County 80-55 in the third round, didn’t have answers.
“Our assistant coaches put together a plan and we were extremely prepared for them,” Williamson said.
Southeast has compiled its best two-game stretch of offense in more than a month.
“We got some easy points off the fast breaks,” Fairley said. “Swinging the ball and finding the mismatches and going up and scoring.”
Southeast’s swarming defense ignited much of the transition opportunities. The frantic pace worked well for the Stallions.
“That’s just how we play,” Fairley said. “We’re athletic, so teams can’t stop us if we do that. If we play slower, that’s not going to work.”
Edwards said the Stallions, who won six games in 13 days, have had the right mindset in preparing for the postseason games.
“We locked in on film,” he said. “We’ve been locked in on practice every day. That’s what it takes.”
- Earlier, Edwards poured in 40 points and Fairley contributed 26 points when the Stallions handled eighth-seeded Fayetteville Byrd 85-68 on Saturday. Southeast led by only three points in the third quarter before pulling away. Fayetteville Byrd finished at 18-8.
Southeast defeated Roxboro Person for the fourth time this season with last Thursday’s 66-52 second-round result.
Eastern eliminated in home loss
Also in Class 5-A, third-seeded Eastern Alamance came up short in a 71-59 home loss to No. 11 seed Northeast Guilford on Saturday.
The Eagles ended the season with a 20-7 record. Mason Murphy scored 16 points, Christian Hester provided 14 points and Hunter Eichmann and Kamaal Smith both scored 12 points.
Eastern’s Xavier McPherson played limited minutes because of injury, while teammate Jamarious Toney, a key reserve, missed the state playoffs because of a hand injury suffered in the Mid-Carolina Conference Tournament final.
With Monday’s loss, Northeast Guilford finished with a 20-10 record.
- With Eichmann providing 27 points, Eastern topped No. 14 seed South Brunswick 73-63 in the second round last Thursday. Murphy’s 16 points, Smith’s 15 points and Hester’s 12 points also boosted the Eagles. Eichmann made five 3-point shots.
