By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
WINTERVILLE — Cor-J Cox and Quan Nobles went toe-to-toe, highlight reel for highlight reel, in the fourth quarter of Washington’s basketball game at South Central.
While Cox had a handful of jaw-dropping dunks during his 15-point outburst in the fourth quarter, Nobles made jumper after jumper and layup after layup en route to a 17-point quarter. Nobles got the better end of the deal as he helped lead the Falcons to a 66-60 win over the Pam Pack in Tuesday’s battle.
Washington, which started the season 7-0, is finding the second half of the Coastal Conference slate a bit more challenging than the first. The Pack defeated D.H. Conley, now ranked No. 8 in the latest NCPreps.com Class 3-A poll, and South Central in the teams’ first meetings earlier this season.
But the Pack fell to both those teams in the second meetings.
Lawrence believes the Pack (9-5, 5-4) got a little too tricky for its own good Tuesday night.
Nobles did all the little things and more on his way to a game-high 30 points. His two late free throws iced it for the Falcons (12-5, 6-2).
He also played a big part in leading the Falcons back from a 12-point deficit.
The Pack used a 13-2 run in the second quarter to take a 22-10 lead, but a Nobles’ 3-pointer ignited an 8-1 spurt that pulled South Central within 23-18 at the half.
Daquan Daniels, who finished with 13 points, hit a pair of layups in succession to give Washington a 34-28 lead late in the third, but the Falcons rallied again, pulling within 38-37 with a quarter to play.
That’s when the real fun started as the teams combined for 51 points.
Nobles helped the Falcons catch and pass the Pam Pack with five straight points, including a jumper off a missed free throw that gave South Central a 49-44 advantage.
Cox, who tallied a team-high 22 points, had a slam and a short jumper to pull Washington within one, 51-50. Cox’s three-point play a short-time later knotted the game at 53-apiece with three minutes to play.
Jarees Griffin, who finished with eight points, scored on a drive to give Washington a 56-55 lead with 2:22 showing on the clock. However, turnovers and missed free throws (the Pack hit 8 of 18) hurt Washington down the stretch.
Nobles had two buckets during a 6-2 spurt that gave South Central a 61-58 lead. Two free throws by Mark Ross made it a five-point spread before Cox’s final slam, a thunderous two-handed beauty, made it 63-60.
However, Cox missed a couple 3-pointers late and Washington failed to call a timeout during a crucial possession, helping South Central earn the victory.
The Pack, which ended a string of seven road games in eight contests, will be home Friday against West Craven.
Girls fall to No. 4 Falcons
South Central used a relentless trap to score early and often, jumping out to a 14-0 lead en route to a 65-25 win over the Pam Pack.
The Falcons, ranked fourth in the latest NCPreps.com Class 3-A poll, led 22-6 after the first quarter and 40-8 at the half.
Danielle Butts led South Central (17-0, 9-0) with 15 points while Emily Perkins added 12, including three 3-pointers.
Washington (8-10, 3-6), which has lost four straight, got a team-high seven points from Sharita Grice.
South Central made it a clean sweep with a 54-45 win in the junior varsity boys games.
JV girls win
The Washington junior varsity girls (5-2) erupted for 17 fourth-quarter points to secure a 51-39 victory over South Central. Ebony Lawrence led the Pack with 16, while Shonnita McIver added nine and Stanisha Griffin seven.
The JV Pack will return to action Feb. 8 at J.H. Rose.
Washington 9 14 15 22 — 60
South Central 8 10 19 29 — 66
WASHINGTON (60)
Cor-J Cox 22, Daquan Daniels 13, Griffin 8, Spencer 7, Rouse 4, L. Godley 2, Cogdell 2, M. Moore 2, Modlin, Mallison.
SOUTH CENTRAL (66)
Quan Nobles 30, Mike Haywood 11, Burrus 7, Ross 6, Carlton 5, Spears 3, Harper 2, Garrison 1, Clark 1, Cobo.
Girls
Washington 6 2 8 9 — 25
South Central 22 18 11 14 — 65
WASHINGTON (25)
Grice 7, Stowe 6, Simpkins 5, Smith 4, Burbage 2, Rogers 1, Palmer, Batchelor, Cox, Tacket, Weatherington, Alligood, Litzey.
SOUTH CENTRAL (65)
Danielle Butts 15, Emily Perkins 12, Clark 8, Bryant 8, Ebron 6, McCorkle 4, Daniels 3, Churchill 2, Edwards 2, Tyson 2, Johnson 2, Harris 1, Mills, Glover.