Southside travels to Washington on Wednesday, looking to do something it has yet to do this year: win back-to-back games. The Seahawks had a chance to do just that when they met the Pam Pack in the Northside Christmas Tournament on Dec. 19. They were coming off a close, 58-56 win over Oakwood. However, Washington scooted by, winning 61-57.

It comes down to the fine details in a close contest like the last meeting between the two. One less turnover or foul, a couple more free throws or sinking an open shot can change the outcome entirely. That’s why Southside dedicated the majority of the holiday layoff to focusing on the basics.

Drills were run to make sure an errant pass wouldn’t cost the Seahawks a possession. Offensive and defensive schemes were reviewed over and over again to make sure each player knew where he had to be.

The team knew what it wanted to do on each side of the ball. The players just had to spend time executing it.

“We’re looking forward to (it). We’re looking for a little vindication,” said Southside coach Sean White. “This will go a long way, I think, in building our confidence by beating them.”

Execution on defense will be especially important to hampering the Pam Pack’s attack. When the two last met, Shaiquan Moore, Sharwan Staton and Tyshawn Cobb all scored in double figures. Washington has a handful of offensive threats with differing skill sets, so the Seahawks can’t afford to focus on just one player. However, Staton has been asked to take on a greater leadership role. He will hope to lead the Pam Pack by example, so he will be one to look out for.

“One thing we’re looking at is stopping them from penetrating,” White said. “We’ve been working on that on defense a little bit. That’s one reason our big guys have been getting in foul trouble in the first few games. … That will help us out a lot, especially playing against Washington. They have the kind of guards that like to penetrate.”

The traveling Seahawks started off the New Year on the right foot on Monday. They made their long-awaited home debut and defeated Lejeune 57-51 for their first 1-A Coastal Plains Conference win of the season.

“It went real good,” White said. “Our press was really good. We still have a few things to work on as far as our offense, a couple of things to iron out. … Pretty much everything else I was pleased with.”

Even though Lejeune has won just two of its dozen games thus far, the win proves that the downtime was well spent. Not only did they execute, but they were able to finish off a close, two-possession game.

“We played better at the end,” White said. “We actually were getting some turnovers. We were in position on our press and got some turnovers there at the end to help us win. The one thing (Monday) that hurt us more than anything was our foul shooting. … I think that was the big difference. There were a couple of times we had a big lead on Lejeune.”

Traveling to take on the Pam Pack presents a fantastic opportunity for the Seahawks to keep the ball rolling. They only have a home game versus Mattamuskeet to break up what would otherwise be a stretch of six consecutive conference games.

“Some coaches like to practice and some coaches like to play,” White said. “I’m kind of in between. Three games in a week is a lot to play, but that’s the situation we’ve been put in with football lasting so long. … After Wednesday we’re looking toward Pamlico County on Friday night.”

Washington, too, will hope to build momentum. The boys will be faced with the challenge of having traveled to Southwest Edgecombe for their 2-A Eastern Plains Conference opener the night before. Southside will be their last non-conference opponent of the season.

“I think that will help us out,” White said. “We try not to play back-to-back games. … I think that’s one thing that will help us. We got a day of rest.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Washington.