1Carteret: Students. Sports. Success.

ECHS Wins One for the Ages

December 3, 2007 at 10:21 am | In High | No Comments

The East Carteret / West Carteret sports rivalry pre-dates Gordy Patrick. And Friday night’s East-West B-Ball shootout ranks among the classic contests in this rivalry tradition. In a double-OT battle of attrition, the fleet feet and steely nerves of East proved to be the difference over the inside height of West.

New ECHS b-ball coach Billy Anderson has his team executing the fundamentals, and that kind of discipline can win the close ones. Down the stretch, the Mariners exhibited patience on offense, scrappiness on D, and near perfection on the foul stripe.

East Carteret took all of the joyous moments from that point on as the Mariners opened the overtime period taking the lead and never gave it up. West tied the game at 56 with 1:15 to go, but turnovers, fouls and missed shots doomed the Patriots as East eked out a 59-56 win, hitting three free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

Conversely, the Patriots—in their third OT contest of this young season— struggled at the line and inside the paint. Three Patriot starters fouled out.

“Our kids played hard,” said Patriot coach Craig McClanahan. “But like I told our kids in the locker room, you have got to knock down free throws, you have to make layups and execute on the offensive ends. You have to be able to handle pressure, and we did not do as good of a job as East Carteret did.”

True to form, the gym was packed with fans from both sides of the bridge. And, as in any storied rivalry, the fanbase wasted little time in getting into the action. In an ironic 1Carteret twist, harmony existed between the fans during the 3.5 minute halftime dance performance by the WCHS Dream Team.

Outside of that, it was classic Friday night cross-county rivalry to the nth degree on the floor and in the stands. Advantage ECHS.

“I think that when you have 30 turnovers and give up 19 offensive rebounds, you are going to lose. We lost,” McClanahan said.

Fortunately for West, the Patriots do not have to wait long to try and get their revenge. The two teams will renew the series Tuesday night at East Carteret.

“We are all going to go home and get a lot of rest and a lot of water,” said Anderson. “It is going to be another dogfight Tuesday. I am new to the area, but I know rivalries, and this is a good one.”