PINETOWN — A full house in Pinetown was treated to a great basketball game between Beaufort County rivals. Northside used a 15-0 run in the second quarter to take control of the game against Washington, leading to a 76-71 win.

The game started off pretty close, as neither team couldn’t find its rhythm, evident of the 16-15 first quarter in favor of Washington.

The tides of the game changed drastically in the second. The game was still pretty close as Washington held a 25-23 lead when Northside hit its big spurt of 15 straight points.

The Panthers took a 38-26 lead into the second half.

From there, Washington had to play comeback. The Pam Pack played valiantly, coming within two with two minutes left, but could not get that one big shot to fall.

“It’s always good to get a win, first game against Washington,” said Panthers head coach Mike Proctor. “We came out and played hard, but I think we made a lot of mistakes. But we played well, and made enough plays to win the ball game.”

Proctor added, ”It’s a good win against an archrival. It’s just big. It’s a big win for us.”

Washington had the more athletic team, yet Northside’s size inside was too much for the smaller Pam Pack. Northside’s starting bigs Bryson Ratcuffe and Atia Shamseldin had 15 and 21, respectively.

“Our four bigs are all returning players from last year,” Proctor said. “We expect them to play well. Our bigs played really good.”

Northside also got big play out of their guards. Rashod Smith played with a Stephen Curry-esque swagger, and with sweet-looking jumper and big free throws down the stretch finished with 11 points. The scrappy wings Cooper Braeden and Jonathan Clark chipped in 11 and 13, respectively, as well.

While Northside had balanced scoring with all five starters scoring in double digits, Washington had a more individualistic approach as three players scored 15 or more points. Only two other players scored.

Nazzir Hardy, Sharwan Staton, and Malik Bell had 65 of the Pam Pack’s 71 points. Hardy was the high man as the Panthers couldn’t keep him off the glass. With the use of his long, athletic frame, he finished with 26 points. Staton had a quiet, but effective 24. Bell’s attacking style helped him finish with 15.

Washington was coming off its first win of the season on Thursday. It will be back in action on Tuesday when Greene Central visits, while the Panthers host Edenton on Monday.