Moving on

Eastern View’s boys basketball team is the second team in the new school’s history to play in a regional tournament game, but with Tuesday’s win over Caroline, the Cyclones are now the first to win one.

The Cyclones forced seven turnovers in the final 3:00 of the third quarter to erase a 10-point deficit before going on to secure the 60-53 victory in the opening round of the Region-I tournament.

“Coming out after halftime, we knew we had to get down to serious business,” EVHS senior Stevie Strother said. “Our defense was the difference in the game because they (Caroline) didn’t like the ball pressure we put on them.”

Strother played a big part in the Cyclones’ late surge, as did Sophomore Drayton Shanks.

After Shanks cut the Cavaliers lead to five with a steal and a layup, EVHS senior Mo Safren nabbed a steal of his own and fired a long pass to Strother, who chased it down and dished to Shanks for a two-handed slam that cut the lead to one.

“Defensive intensity is the key,” EVHS coach Walter Wright said. “Our defense threw Caroline off in the second half, and those turnovers in the third were huge momentum boosters because then we knew we had them right where we wanted them in the fourth.”

After trailing the entire first half, the Cyclones (16-9) took the lead in the third after Strother fed senior Roger Davis under the basket with textbook assists on consecutive plays.

The Cavaliers (10-14) fought back and tied the game at 43, but another steal by Strother and a pass to Safren that resulted in a layup gave Eastern View the lead for good.

Strother’s defensive presence was pivotal to Tuesday’s home win, according to Wright.

“Defensively he (Strother) is our captain and offensively he’s our general,” Eastern View’s rookie coach said. “Everybody in the district knows he’s one of the best defensive guards around. I’m just thankful he’s on our team and not the opposing side.”

Strother finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds, six steals, five assists and a block, while Safren added a team-high 17 points, Davis finished with 14 points and three rebounds and Shanks contributed nine points, four rebounds, three steals and a block.

“The guys were confident coming in tonight,” Caroline coach Broderick Roye said. “We played Eastern View close all year, and we knew that if we lost our season was over, but we just couldn’t get it done.”

Caroline’s big men gave the Cyclones fits early in the game.

Senior center Anthony Martin scored eight of his 13 points in the first quarter, and junior forward John Helem finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Cavaliers built an eight-point lead heading into the intermission, but foul trouble and 21 turnovers were just too much for sixth-seeded Caroline to overcome.

“It seemed like once we had a couple turnovers everything fell apart,” Roye said. “We lost all of our composure and we turned the ball over so many times I’m surprised we didn’t lose by 20.”

Martin was relegated to the bench after picking up his fourth personal foul with a little over 5:00 left in the third quarter, and that’s when the Cyclones took over.

“That hurt us terribly because he (Martin) was carrying us offensively in the first half,” Roye said. “He has great scoring ability, he’s our best post defender and he’s a smart ball player. So we miss a lot when he’s not on the court.”

Martin, Helem and junior guard Quinton Broaddus all fouled out by the end of the game.

The Cyclones will be in action again Thursday when they travel to Yorktown to face TABB high school in second-round action.