CHOCOWINITY — The third annual Seahawks Holiday Invitational ended on a positive note for the Pam Pack as it pushed past Trinity 48-30 to place third in the four-team tournament.
After suffering a tough loss at the hands of Pamlico in the first round, Washington (5-4) looked like it might be doomed for a repeat performance as it held a slim 11-8 margin over underdog Trinity after the first eight minutes. However, the Pam Pack picked up the intensity and pieced together strong second and third quarters to outscore the Tigers 31-13 to get the win.
Despite the strong finish, Washington coach Steve Flowers regretted not being able to play in the championship game for the third straight year but said he was happy to be able give the backups some playing time.
“We’re still a little disappointed that we didn’t win the tournament,” Flowers said. “Tonight was more of an evaluation process. We played a lot of guys that don’t get a lot of minutes just to see what we had.”
Flowers liberally emptied his bench as the Pam Pack had 10 players record points in the romp. D.J. Bell led all scorers with 11 points, while Stephon Moore had eight and Eric Peartree had seven.
“Our guards were good,” Flowers said. “Jamond Ebron, John Whitley and Trey Brunson did a good job tonight.”
The Tigers were led Paul Jacobs who had 11 points, and tied the game up at 14 with 4:44 to go in the second quarter. From that point on Trinity struggled as it would get outscored 17-3 as the Pam Pack took a 21-17 lead into halftime.
The win allows Washington to go into the holiday break on a positive note and gives the Pam Pack time to address its defense and rebounding.
“We were weak defensively tonight. From watching that game it’s clear we need a lot of work,” Flowers said. “(On the glass) we are small and we’re not aggressive. Rebounding is all about heart. Somebody’s got to want the ball.”

Washington     11    20    11    6    —    48
Trinity                8    9    4    9    —    30
             Pam Pack (48)
Moore 8, Peartree 7, Spencer 4, Ebrond 3, Jackson 2, D.J. Bell 11, Burke 2, Green 2, Tate 4, D. Moore 2.
              Tigers (30)
Mills 5, Sloan 2, Heathcock 6, Paul Jacobs 11, Lane 2, Evans 1.