By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
A furious fourth quarter rally led by Dakuan Spencer and Jarees Griffin fell short on Friday as 3-A Washington fell to Coastal Conference rival J.H. Rose (4-A) 65-57.
The Pam Pack headed into the fourth quarter down 52-38, but some adjustments on defense by coach Joe Lawrence, along with another stellar performance by Spencer and Griffin allowed Washingtonto cut the Rampants’ lead to 59-55 with 1:20 left on the clock.
Spencer and Griffin accounted for 11 points in the last eight minutes as Washington out-scored Rose 19-13 in the fourth.
Spencer led all scorers with 20 points, while Griffin was right behind him with 16.
What got Washington out of the game was a poor first quarter in which the Rampants, led by forward Marcus McLawhorn (18 points) bullied the Pack down low and jumped out to a 20-10 lead.
McLawhorn scored 14 first-half points as Rose went into halftime up 36-19.
The Pack fought hard the entire second half behind a solid team effort on defense, and sturdy game its young center Brandon Tripp.
Washington (5-3) will played its third game in as many days today, when it battles Southside in the Washington Daily News/Northside Holiday Invitational Tournament at Northside High School.
Corbett leads Rampants past Pam Pack
J.H. Rose forward Lindsey Corbett showed she has the complete package as she scored from the perimeter and in the paint en rout to 25 points and a Rampants 60-49 win over Coastal Conference foe Washington.
The Rampants jumped out to a 12-4 first quarter lead behind Corbett’s five points and Brittany Thomas’ 4. Thomas finished with 10.
The Pack (3-5) answered back in the second as Harmony Simpkins tallied 6 of her team-high 18 points to help Washington go into halftime down only 24-21.
The difference maker was the third quarter, when Washington continually tried to get the ball to its bigs, but had trouble making the entry passes which resulted in several turnovers.
The Pack almost pulled off a comeback, as Jordan Cantrell netted six points in the last eight minutes, while Simpkins added seven. However, the closest Washington got was 47-37 with 3:30 left to play.
Corbett kept making big plays down the stretch, while Rose did a nice job of hitting its free throws late in the game to hold on to the advantage.
The Pack will be back in action on Dec. 27, when it plays North Pitt in the Ayden-Grifton Christmas Tournament.
J.H. Rose 20 16 16 13 — 65
Washington 10 9 19 19 57
Rampants (65)
Tyrece Little 12, Marcus McLawhorn 18, Freeman 9, Clemons 3, Whicard 6, Swindell 2, Moore 5, Randolph 1.
Pam Pack (57)
Dakuan Spencer 20, Jarees Griffin 16, Moore 2, Langley 5, Tripp 9, Harris 1.
Girls
J.H. Rose 12 12 16 20 — 60
Washington 4 17 8 20 49
Rampants (60)
Lindsey Corbett 25, Brittany Thomas 10, Tonika Grimes 10, Reese 4, Fornville 1, Ann 1, Randolph 1, Abby 4.
Pam Pack (49)
Burbage 5, Jordan Cantrell 10, Grice 4, Burke 6, Harmony Simpkins 18, Stowe 4, Batchelor 2.