By By EUGENE L. TINKLEPAUGH, Staff Writer
The Washington Pam Pack saw what might have been its second win in a row slip by Friday as a two-point lead with seconds to play was nulled by a dominant D.H. Conley center.
Chris Smith like a bus rolled down the lane untouched for two to send the game into overtime. The Vikings rode bus 52 all the way to victory in post-regulation play, 67-57.
The “Big Blue” pack from the Pamlico, outsized and outmatched, couldn’t hold out against a Viking tough D while giving up bucket after bucket down low. Washington scored two points in OT compared to the Vikings 12.
Pam Pack coach Joe Lawrence looked for words after the game to express the team’s frustration.
The never-say-die boys in blue displayed their ability to hustle in the fourth quarter bringing a game back to life after a bucket full of Viking abuse.
The final minutes of the fourth had fans on their feet and nearly jumping onto the court.
Daquan Daniels hit a big three with 17 seconds left to play, pulling the Pam Pack up by two to make the game 55-53 and send the crowd into a frenzy.
Pam Pack was down by as much as 8 when the Vikings went on a third-quarter offensive blitz, scoring seven unanswered points. Rushed shots stalled Washington’s offense, but a three-pointer at the buzzer by Brendan Rogers energized the team for the fourth quarter fight.
Leading the Pam Pack with 14 points was Daniels. Cor-J Cox, who scored two mammoth dunks in the second quarter, added 13. The first was an alley-oop on a lob by Daniels. On the following play, Cox stole the ball in the back court and took to the sky for a Pamlico jam, giving Washington a six-point lead with four minutes to play in the half. The Vikings rallied to take back the lead and start the second half up by one.
Along with Smith, who ended the night with 21 points, Terrence Whittaker also had a big night with 19 points and a couple steals.
The Pam Pack girls’ team made a late effort to steal a game that was all Vikings but couldn’t find the strength to overcome the deficit. Without starter Harmony Simpkins for much of the game, the lack of Pam Pack depth resulted in another tick mark in the L column. The 65-52 loss to D.H. Conley was one coach Bobby Andrews said he could live with.
Free throws wouldn’t fall for the Pam Pack for the second night at home. The team missed 17 of 26 foul shots.
Davey Ann Burbage lead the Pack with 13 points, four rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal. Crystal Waters led the team in rebounding and added 12 points.
Overall, the Pam Pack was brutalized on the boards and consistently beat down the court. The Vikings built a 10-point lead in the first half. And by the third quarter Conley was up by 16. A valiant effort though late in the game was made by Waters and Tanisha Boston, who scored 7 of her 11 points in the second half.
Vikings top-scorer Ashton Venters with 15 was unshaken by the full-court defensive pressure the Pack attempted.
With 2:40 left in the game, the Pam Pack brought the game under 10, but missed opportunities to push the ball up the court and wasted a lot of time taking the ball out.
Boys Game
D.H. Conley 10 13 17 15 12 — 67
Washington 12 10 13 20 2 — 57
D.H. Conley (67)
Chris Smith 21, Terrence Whitaker 19, Germeil Daniels 12, Jaron Lane 6, Spain 3, Leavy 2, Abdullah 2.
Washington (57)
Daquan Daniels 14, Cor-J Cox 13, Brendan Rogers 10, Godley 6, C. Moore 5, Wiggins 4, J. Moore 4.
Girls Game
D.H. Conley 16 13 19 17 — 65
Washington 12 7 16 17 — 52
D.H. Conley (65)
Ashton Venters 15, Loren Bartz 14, Kendra Spruill 11, Andrews 6, Bria Wilkins 5, Brittany Wilkins 4, Roebuck 4, Ozmore 2, Hattern 2, Fulford 2.
Washington (52)
Davey Ann Burbage 13, Crystal Waters 12, Hayley Stowe 11, Tanisha Boston 11, Simpkins 3, Cox 2.
Tigers top Seahawks
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — The Tigers clawed their way to a 68-57 win over Southside on Friday, as Williamston fended off a 13-2 fourth quarter run by the Seahawks to hang on to its victory.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers (8-6, 6-2) were up 48-40, and took a 10 point lead on an Eric Smith bucket.
Just when it looked like Williamston would run away with the game, the Seahawks, led by Jeremiah Marable’s eight fourth quarter points, scored 13 unanswered points to take a 53-50 lead.
Though the Seahawks (6-7, 1-4) could not complete the comeback, the fact that Marable was able to comeback into the game was remarkable enough.
Marable had to leave the game in the second quarter when he jumped up to save an errant pass underneath his own basket, and made a mid-air attempt to spring himself off of the base of the basket so he could get his balance and make a proper landing. However, Marable ending up propelling himself into the wall, then landed harshly on his knee forcing him to temporarily leave the game.
Marable checked back in during the third quarter and finished with a team-high 19 points.
Marable wasn’t the only one to come up big late in the game, Williamston’s Ray Biggs and Jamel Moore also had huge fourth quarters.
Biggs led the Tigers with a game-high 22 points, and after a Williamston steal, it was a Biggs’ basket that gave Williamston back the lead a 54-53.
Moore sealed the deal when he drove the left baseline and fought off two defenders for a hoop and a foul. The Moore free throw put Williamston up 59-55 with 41 seconds left in the game.
The Tigers were clutch from the line in the final 30 seconds of the game, shooting 6-6 to keep the Seahawks at bay.
Williamston coach Steve Gilmore said his team’s free throw shooting, along with its team defense was the key to victory.
While hot shooting may have won it late in the game for Williamston, it was its team effort to contain Southside’s freshman phenom Mychal Parker for four quarters that provided the biggest advantage.
Paker finished the game with 16 points, but was held to four in the fourth quarter.
The girls’ game was not as close as Williamston rolled over the Seahawks 75-40 behind Katie Paschal’s 36 points.
After a tight first quarter, the Tigers held a 17-14 advantage. Things changed drastically in the second as Williamston went on a 26-9 run to close out the half 43-23.
Paschal herself out-scored the Seahawks 28-23 after two quarters.
Quiesha Miller led Southside in scoring with 20 points, while the Tigers got a strong game from Monee Jones who scored 17.
Williamston will look to keep its momentum going on Thursday when it hosts Manteo, while the Seahawks will look to bounce back against Gates County at home on Tuesday.
Southside 11 16 13 17 — 57
Williamston 14 16 18 20 — 68
Southside (57)
Kendall Ham 11, Dominique Holliday 11, Jeremiah Marable 19, Moore 2, Mychal Parker 16.
Williamston (68)
Coffield 7, Williams 7, Ray Biggs 22, Jamel Moore 15, Harvey 7, Smith 2, Northern 5.
Girls
Southside 14 9 8 9 — 40
Williamston 17 26 19 13 — 75
Southside (40)
Harding 4, Creddle 4, Marable 2, Quiesha Miller 20, Baker 2, Whitney 2, Bogart 2, Jones 4.
Williamston (75)
Katie Paschal 36, Monee Jones 17, Roberson 6, Clemmons 2, Peele 2, Northfleet 2.