In the opening minute of his team’s Coastal 3A Conference opener against White Oak, Havelock coach Bill Fryczynski saw his Rams fall behind 6-0 and quickly took a time-out.
"Let’s get our heads out of our behinds and start playing basketball," Fryczynski said was his message to the team.
The Rams took the message to heart.
Michael Bowman scored 26 points and Zach Bruns added 21 as the Rams rolled past White Oak 95-68.
"Obviously we did a good job on offense with 95 points, but a lot of that came off our defense," Fryczynski said. "Mo (Bowman) was outstanding and Zach was Zach. He’s going to get his points."
The Rams took their first lead at 9-8 on a Bruns 3-pointer with 3:48 left in the first quarter and they would never look back.
Havelock led 24-15 after the first quarter and started the second quarter with a quick 8-0 burst. By halftime, the Rams led 44-30.
"We do have to tighten up our halfcourt defense a lot," Fryczynski said. "We do gamble a lot, and you’re going to give up some points because of that, but I think we just overwhelmed them a bit. That’s what we’re looking to do is just wear people out."
The Rams are somewhat rejuvenated now that those who played on Havelock’s state championship team have returned to the lineup. Fryczynski believes some of that state championship attitude will help in basketball.
"There’s a lot of enthusiasm on this team," he said. "I think a lot of it is from football, and hopefully it’s carrying over to us. Half our team is football players, so it should."
After White Oak (2-4, 0-1) scored eight straight points midway through the third period, Bowman made a steal and put home a dunk to spark another Havelock run that produced a 71-53 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
"The way Mo played today really opened everybody’s eyes. He’s capable of doing just about everything out there," Fryczynski said. "And when you pair him up with Zach, you’ve got a pretty good one-two punch."
Havelock next plays New Bern at 8 p.m. Friday at Havelock High.
Boxscore
WOak 15 15 23 15 —68
Hav 24 20 27 24 —95
White Oak (68)— Kendal White 16, , Javen Garrison 8, Antione Robinson 8, Noah Snowden 8, Walter McClendon 7, Mike Barton 6, Anthony Sloane 5, Elu Riley 4, Anibal Aviles 3, Q. White 3.
Havelock (95)— Michael Bowman 26, Zach Bruns 21, Matt Prichard 12, David Carter 8, Matt Boykin 6, Mike Richards 5, Maurice Frazier 4, Jordan Cuthbertson 4, Julian Cuthbertson 4, Shondel Granison 3, Will Blythe 2.
