Williams leads Carvers Bay boys past Green Sea Floyds

Carvers Bay star forward Arkel Williams was sick Friday night.

That didn’t stop the senior from doing everything he could to help his team.

Fighting through an illness, Williams – who leads the Grand Strand in scoring – put up a game-high 18 points to lead the Bears to a 72-51 road victory over Green Sea Floyds.

“Arkel has been sick for the last few games,” Carvers Bay coach Jeff Mezzatesta said. “He’s still leading the area in scoring, but he’s been fighting a cold and there’s been a virus going around the school so he’s been fighting that off. He’s still a trooper and even though it’s hard for him, he’s still been stepping up.”

Also coming up big for the Bears on Friday was their three starting sophomores as Dijon Goss had 14 points, Tyrek Reed scored nine and Quevon Dickerson added seven.

“I’m proud of all three of my sophomores,” Mezzatesta said. “I think Dijon is really coming along and he’s a really great kid, too. He’s a hard worker and you throw into that mix, Quevon Dickerson and Tyrek Reed and we’re starting three sophomores. They’ve carried the load well.”

After a loss to Latta in which the Bears let a lead slip away in the third quarter, Mezzatesta made it a point for his team to come out strong.

And the Bears did just that.

Carvers Bay had a huge second quarter, outscoring the Trojans 26-16 to take a 16-point advantage into halftime and the Bears never looked back.

Mezzatesta wants his squad to ride that momentum into a tough matchup with Region VIII-A rival Hemingway on Saturday.

“I think that was real important,” Mezzatesta said of the run. “It gave us a little bit of confidence, especially for tomorrow’s game. We need to come out and do the same thing.”

J’shine Brownlee and Calogero Miles had 15 points apiece, and Jacquez Geralds scored 13 for Green Sea Floyds, which kept fighting until the buzzer.

“Hats off to [Mezzatesta] and Carvers Bay. They were better than us tonight and did a great job, but I thought our kids played hard,” Trojans coach Emmett Lay said. “It was one of those nights. I’m just proud of our kids for finishing strong.”

The Trojans sit at 2-4 in Region VI-AAA play, and will look to right the ship as they travel to take on Hemingway on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re fighting for playoff position like everybody else,” Lay said.

Meanwhile, Mezzatesta and the Bears will try to keep it up in Saturday’s big game.

“The community is great and, after losing to Latta, we’re back on track again,” Mezzatesta said. “For the most part we’re happy, but not satisfied.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Williams leads Carvers Bay boys past Green Sea Floyds."