By Staff
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
ROBERSONVILLE — If Roanoke’s gym seemed a little hot on Wednesday, it was because Dyquail Lloyd and Kenneth Hyman were on fire.
The duo combined for 47 points to lead the No. 1 seed Redskins to an 82-60 victory of the second-seeded Southeast Halifax Trojans in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 1-A state playoffs.
Roanoke (26-2) came out firing right from the tip off and ripped off a demoralizing 14-4 run to start the game.
Led by Hyman’s four 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Redskins bombed away from behind the arc and closed out the quarter up 24-14 on the Trojans (20-5).
Hyman devastated the Trojans’ defense from downtown, making 3-pointers from way behind the line en route to a game-high 25 points.
While the crowd was in awe of his shooting performance, Roanoke coach Darryl Pittman said it didn’t surprise him.
Hyman didn’t lose his touch going into the second as he started the quarter making the fifth of his seven 3-pointers to give the Redskins a 28-14 lead.
After that it was Lloyd’s turn to take over. Roanoke’s man in the middle dominated, scoring 10 points in the quarter, while also doing a nice job of rebounding and distributing the ball. Lloyd finished right behind Hyman with 22 points.
Roanoke also got some added offense from Shan Wiggins and John Griffin, who each had five points in the quarter.
While the Redskins were running and gunning, their defense was clicking on all cylinders, holding the Trojans to 12 second-quarter points to go into the break up 49-26.
Led by Elton Williams and his team-high 16 points, the Halifax offense stepped up in the third by scoring 24 points, two shy of their first two quarters combined.
However, the Trojans were only able to make up four points on the Redskins.
In the fourth quarter it was business as usual for Roanoke as it coasted to a 22-point victory.
Pittman said his team’s first quarter play was pivotal in Wednesday’s win.
Next up for the Redskins will be the sectional championship game Saturday at Northside High School. The Redskins will play Camden, a 52-37 winner over Norhampton-East.
NCHSAA Class 1-A state playoffs
Second Round
Southeast Halifax 14 12 24 10 — 60
Roanoke 24 25 20 13 — 82
Southeast Halifax (60)
Edward Allison 12, Julius Pryor 14, Elton Williams 16, Abrahams 8, Lloyd 5, McGuire 5.
Roanoke (82)
Kenneth Hyman 25, Higgs 5, Green 3, Griffin 11, Hudson 4, Alt. Higgs 3, Wiggins 7, Dyquail Lloyd 22.