By LAEIKE ABEBE

Washington 63, Southwest Edgecombe 54

For the first time since 2002, the Washington boys’ basketball team is 3-0.

After going down 10-1 early, the Pam Pack used a 34-12 run to close the half en route to a 63-54 win over the Cougars.

Washington has only won 11 games in the last three years combined, including six last season. Under first year head coach David Allewalt, they’re already halfway to last seasons win total.

“We knew coming in that (Southwest Edgecombe) would have the size and athleticism advantage,” Allewalt said. “The advantage we had was our group of guards and they made a lot of great plays for us. In all three games, we’ve been able to come out strong in the second half. Their hard work during the offseason has translated into early season success, but we want to get better.”

The Cougars started the game on the front foot, but Washington responded to close the first quarter. An 11-0 run punctuated with an Omarion Blount 3-pointer gave them a 12-10 lead after the first eight minutes.

Washington would add to their lead with a 19-8 run to start the second quarter. Their three-two zone defense disrupted the Cougars offense for most of the night. Radford signee Keishon Porter dealt with foul trouble, throwing head coach Shelton Langley’s team out of sync.

Coach Allewalt got great minutes from his second unit: Messiah Ebron, Kash Godley, Terry Moore, and Jaden Hambric. Hambric had a tip in at the second quarter buzzer to give the Pam Pack a 35-22 halftime lead. Then, it was the Justin Powell show.

Rashod Smith found Powell for three layups to start the second half. Washington pushed their lead to 52-39 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Cougars have athletic forwards, but Powell combated that with freakish athleticism and strength of his own.

“I think we can be really good this year,” Powell said. “Tonight, we played good team defense, rebounded well, and got up and down the floor. We have to do that against good teams. (Coach Allewalt) had us prepared with good conditioning throughout the offseason and it’s helped us get off to a good start this season.”

Southwest Edgecombe made a late run to cut the deficit to single digits with about a minute left, but it was too late. Smith made some big plays in the final minutes for the Pam Pack to maintain control.

Blount led the Pam Pack with 15 points and Smith added 12. Cougars guard Ray Wooten had 13 points to lead the team and Porter put in 12.

Washington returned to the floor Thursday night against a solid First Flight team.

 

Lady Cougars 67, Washington 31

Washington’s girls basketball team were unable to take care of the ball in their home opener against Southwest Edgecombe.

The new-look Pam Pack fell to the Cougars, 67-31 on Wednesday night. Head coach Ralph Biggs saw his team struggle with turnovers similar to the beginning of last season. This game had a lot of teaching moments for the Pam Pack coaching staff.

“(Southwest Edgecombe) was a lot tougher than we were,” Biggs said. “They played harder than us in the last three quarters and it showed on the scoreboard. We gave them a lot of open looks because of our turnovers, but they’re a really good team that’s well coached.”

Washington played a solid first quarter, but gave up a lot of offensive rebounds in the first few minutes. That led to second chance points for Southwest Edgecombe and they led 17-10 after one.

The Pam Pack were held to only three points in the second quarter, as the Cougars broke the game open. Southwest Edgecombe started the quarter on a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 19 and they led 34-13 at halftime.

Washington gave a good effort in the third quarter, but the Lady Cougars were too much for the Pam Pack. Their defense led to transition opportunities on the other end. While the Pam Pack were able to trade baskets with them early the quarter, the Cougars extended their lead to 25 points.

Coach Biggs comes into the season with a new group of guards and forwards outside of junior Reagan Ruther. His team has potential, and even though they didn’t get the results, progress is what will matter for this Pam Pack team.

“We want to get better everyday,” Biggs said. “Our conditioning and decision making has to improve for us to be a good team this year. It’s a long season, so we’re going to put in a lot of work and hopefully we can get to where we want to be.”

Washington returns to action on Thursday when they host Kill Devil Hills First Flight at home.