By By KEVIN TRAVIS
Sports Editor
Washington coach Joe Lawrence was looking for somebody to step up Wednesday night. He got two players to step up.
Lindsey Harris, who had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Phillip Horton, who proved to be a beast down low, helped lead the Pam Pack to a 79-58 win over the Greene Central Rams.
“They rose to the occasion,” Lawrence said. “Both of them stepped up.
“It seemed like they were focused and they were doing what I asked them to do.”
Horton finished with only three points, but he did a good job on defense and on clearing the boards, which included three offensive rebounds. He also disrupted the offense of the Rams, which eventually led to some easy baskets for the Pam Pack.
Washington also got 18 points from Ridge Hodges, 15 from Brandon Tripp and 13 from Taraja Langley in a balanced effort. Ball distribution and shooting certainly helped Washington.
“Two things that won the game was that we had excellent ball movement and our shooting was good,” Lawrence said. “We had only one game where we shot 50 percent (at the free throw line), and tonight it was 73 (percent). From the floor, we hit 43 (percent).”
Hodges scored six of his points in the first quarter, when Washington (4-4, 1-1 Coastal Conference) raced out to an 18-7 lead.
The Rams pulled within 20-15 early in the second, but an 8-3 spurt by the Pack pushed the advantage to 28-18. Keane Graham’s two free throws made it 33-20 at the half.
Washington kept the pressure on and built its lead to 20 points, 57-37, after three quarters.
Greene Central, which got 17 points from Malcolm Dawson and 13 from Desmond Sheppard, never threatened.
“I’m really proud of the guys tonight,” Lawrence said. “This was fun.”
Washington plays at Havelock on Friday, then squares off against Southside on Saturday during the WDN/PotashCorp Aurora Holiday Tournament.
Pack girls fall
Washington was within three points of Greene Central after the first quarter, but Greene Central was able to run away with a 57-37 win.
Hayley Stowe scored eight of her nine points in the first quarter for Washington (2-6, 2-0 Coastal Conference) to keep things close. However, Shonice Pettaway, who had a game-high 17 points, started to take over in the second quarter. Her 12 halftime points helped the Rams (6-3) take a 34-24 lead into the half.
A 14-2 run to start the third put the game out of reach, giving the Rams a 48-26 advantage.
Staneshia Griffin was a bright spot for the Pack, pouring in 13 points. Beth Batchelor added seven points.
Greene Central got 14 points from Brittany Jones and 10 from Dominique Graham.
The Pack plays at Havelock on Friday, then faces North Pitt at 6 p.m. Monday in the Ayden-Grifton holiday tournament.
BOYS
Greene Central 7 13 17 21 — 58
Washington 18 15 24 22 — 79
Greene Central (58)
Malcolm Dawson 17, Desmond Sheppard 13, Bynum 7, Speight 5, Waters 5, Barnes 5, Biggs 2, Dixon 2, McPhail 2.
Washington (79)
Lindsey Harris 20, Ridge Hodges 18, Brandon Tripp 15, Taraja Langley 13, O’Neal 4, Graham 4, Horton 3, Conner 2, Chance, Windley.
GIRLS
Greene Central 16 18 16 7 — 57
Washington 13 11 6 7 — 37
Greene Central (57)
Shonice Pettaway 17, Brittany Jones 14, Dominique Graham 10, Cannon 8, Dawson 4, Connor 3, Beamon 1.
Washington (37)
Staneshia Griffin 13, Stowe 9, Batchelor 7, Ward 4, Williams 3, McIver 1, Hiatt, Redmond, Rascoe, Hines.