West Craven's Tate comes up big on Senior Night

VANCEBORO -- Aaron Tate doesn’t need any extra motivation on the basketball court. The West Craven senior is ruthless on the boards for any occasion.

But playing in his final regular-season home game, in front of friends and family, Tate had a little spark.

The Morehead State recruit scored 17 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead West Craven to a 75-62 win over rival Havelock on Senior Night on Thursday.

“This was my last regular-season home game,” Tate said. “This meant a lot, so I had to come out and play hard.”

The win put the Eagles (23-1, 13-1) into a tie with South Central, heading into the Coastal Conference Tournament.

A coin flip on Friday, at the Golden Corral in New Bern, will determined whether the Eagles get home court advantage throughout or settle for the No. 2 seed.

The Coastal Conference tournament begins on Monday. The loser of the coin flip could likely play on the road in the championship game.

“We have to stay focused,” Tate said. “We have to keep playing hard so that we can continue what we want to do and finish strong.”

But in the regular-season finale, West Craven had its hands full with Havelock.

The Rams trailed the No. 2 ranked team in the state, 18-15, after one quarter. The score was tied 30-30 at halftime.

Tate’s second dunk of the game cut West Craven’s deficit to 43-42 with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter.

Then the momentum turned into the Eagles’ favor.

Havelock coach Bill Fryczynski picked up a technical foul, sparking a 10-4 West Craven run.

Demetres Abrams hit a pair of free throws and Josh Cuthbertson added a layup to capitalize on the technical foul, giving the Eagles a 46-43 advantage.

“I kind of blew it by picking up a technical foul, but I thought we were getting kind of pushed around there and we needed to get a couple of calls,” Fryczynski said. “That really changed the momentum.”

The Eagles started the fourth quarter on an 11-4 run to extend their lead.

Cuthbertson scored a game-high 26 points, while Abrams went for 16. Tate, Cuthberton and Abrams combined for 29 rebounds.

“We have been playing together for a long time,” Tate said. “It helps out that we know where each other is going to be every single time.”

Havelock (12-9, 9-5), which secured its best conference record in Fryczynski’s 12 seasons, was led by senior Tyquan Nolan’s 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

“(Tyquan) is a smart player, and they were keying on him,” Fryczynski said. “He shows that he has the capability of playing with the top players in the area and in the state. This kid needs to be looked at (by college coaches). He can play at the next level.”

Bryant Searcy had 12 and P.J. Simmons added 10 for Havelock.

The Rams won just five games last season. In an incredible turnaround, they will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

Havelock will host Washington in Monday’s first-round game.

“In my mind, (Havelock) is the most improved team in the conference,” said West Craven coach Bryan Goehring. “Coach Fryczynski has got them working hard and playing hard and believing in themselves. The hit some shots on us tonight and got back and played some defense on us and made it tough on us in the first half.”

Havelock 15 15 17 15 -- 62

West Craven 18 12 22 23 -- 75

Havelock (62)

Tyquan Nolan 20, Zack Bruns 8, P.J. Simmons 10, Shondel Granison 6, Bryant Searcy 12, Pharoh Cooper 2, Matt Prichard 2, Kareen Moore 2.

West Craven (75)

Aaron Tate 17, Josh Cuthbertson 26, Demetres Abrams 16, Tyler Corey 3, Jeffrey Adams 6, M.J. Bryant 4, Tyrone Brown 3.

Adam Thompson can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at