West Columbus wins…barely

ELIZABETHTOWN — The West Columbus Vikings defeated the East Bladen Eagles for a 47-46 victory on Wednesday night in a Waccamaw Conference match-up.

The Vikings escaped with the win after the host missed the go-ahead shot at the buzzer to secure their ninth victory on the year.

West Columbus senior guard Unique Kelly was unstoppable driving to the hole as he led all scorers with 21 points and the visitors dominated the offensive boards to give them a slight edge over their opponents.

East Bladen sophomore forward Keyshawn Kemp led his team in scoring with 12 points and his clutch three-point shots down the stretch gave his team a fighting chance in the end.

The first quarter started with the Eagles on the board first after Kemp put away the lay-up from in close. West Columbus failed to respond and sophomore guard Chace Butler would dance around his defender before flipping his shot in for two as the host took an early 4-0 lead.

The Vikings finally got on the board with a jumper at the free throw line from Jaylen Bellamy and then they forced a turnover on the other end of the floor. Senior forward Triston Freeman was fouled as he drained his lay-up but would miss the free throw; Freeman would grab his missed free throw and kick the ball out to Bellemy for a three-pointer to take the Vikings first lead of the night at 7-6.

East Bladen missed their opportunity to answer and Kelly would get his first basket of the night to stretch the visitors lead to three. Butler would waste no time getting to the basket and flipped his shot in to bring the Eagles back within one. Senior guard and sharpshooter Lee Barnes drained a three-pointer to reclaim the lead for the host at 11-9. Collins kept the offense flowing after lulling his defender to sleep before splashing his three-point shot from the top of the key.

West Columbus refused to go away and after making some free throw attempts they were within two points of making it a tied game. East Bladen would turn the ball over and their opponents take advantage with Freeman converting his field goal to tie the game at 14-14. East Bladen senior center Rodney Lacewell would snatch his teammates missed shot and put the ball back in at the buzzer to take a two point lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter started with Kelly converting a tough shot through traffic to kickstart a dominant offensive quarter from the Vikings. Their lead quickly ballooned to a seven point difference as their opponents went cold from the field. East Bladen sophomore guard Tevin McLean provided a much needed spark for his team off the bench as he made himself a nuisance on the defensive end to slow the visitors down.

McLean penetrated the lane before dropping in a rainbow floater for the Eagle first points of the second quarter. West Columbus went ice-cold momentarily on the offensive side but were able to fend off their opponents from slicing into their narrow lead. Barnes would drain the final shot of the first half as the Eagles went into the intermission down 27-20. The host carried momentum into the third quarter and started the second half with senior center Payton Tatum converting a 2-and-1.

West Columbus would turn the ball over and Butler would make them pay on the other end with a driving lay-up. Freeman responded with a lay-up of his own for the Vikings first points of the second half to make the game 29-25. Both teams suffered turnovers on their next few offensive possessions but the host continued their hunt for the lead. Kemp put his team within one of the visitors after Barnes snatched an offensive board for the second chance opportunity.

Freeman kept the Vikings in front with a floater but the Eagles kept on their heels after Shannon Hankins drained from three. The Vikings went 100 percent after a trip from the line but the host came right back with another three-pointer from Hankins to tie the game at 35-35. Kemp would snatch the lead before time expired in the quarter to give the Eagles a three-point lead going into the final quarter of action.

The fourth quarter was a battle at the free throw line and the Vikings weren’t making the most of their freebies but rebounding what saved them. They pulled within one point after Kelly and Freeman combined 2-for-4 at the charity stripe in a single trip. East Bladen were able to keep a slight three point lead after Lacewell went 100 percent from the free throw line.

The Vikings went into the bonus with 5:11 left to play in the quarter and Kelly pulled his team within one after 1-for-2 trip at the line. Collins responded immediately with a drive towards the basket to make the game 42-39. Kelly took it personally and drove the lane to finish through traffic as the gap went back to one. The Eagles would turn the ball over on their next possession and Freeman would snatch the lead back in favor of the visitors. Kemp would catch the ball in the corner and drain from behind the arc to reclaim the lead once more.

Kelly answered right back to tie the game at 45-45 with under three minutes remaining in the game. East Bladen would turn the ball over once more and Kelly took the opportunity to snatch the lead after driving through the lane for another two-points. After a series of turnovers from both teams, Lacewell would eventually find himself at the line again and he’d cut the visitors lead to one by going 1-for-2 at the free throw line with 43.7 seconds left before the final buzzer.

The Vikings were able to run some precious seconds off the clock before the host was forced to foul Kelly and send him to the line for two with 17 seconds remaining. Kelly would go-on to miss both shots and Freeman snatched the offensive board but was blocked by Lacewell on his way up towards the rim. The Eagles looked to quickly move the ball up the floor and Kemp would have a good shot from three but unfortunately the attempt would rattled out at the buzzer.

The Eagles suffered their second straight one point loss of the week after losing to East Columbus on Tuesday and now fall to the fourth spot in the conference standings with a 3-5 record. They’ll have an opportunity to bounce back against the last place Pender Patriots this Friday night as the season begins to come down to the wire.

West Columbus bumps into second place of the conference standing as they move to 5-2 in Waccamaw Conference action. They’ll take on Whiteville away from home this Friday and they’ll meet the Eagles again at home next Tuesday.