By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Angelo Sharpless and his Plymouth teammates were feeling a little greedy. They wanted state championship rings in basketball to go with the football rings they won in the fall. It would have capped off a dream year.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the Jones Senior Trojans dashed those dreams with a 56-48 victory in Thursday’s N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A East Regional game.
The Trojans (22-4), who outscored the Vikings (19-3) 21-12 in the fourth quarter at East Carolina University’s Minges Coliseum, will play Pamlico for the East Regional championship on Saturday. Pamlico advanced with a 64-53 win over Perquimans.
Sharpless finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and three steals to lead the Vikings, who made their first regional appearance since 2004. However, the senior, who will play basketball and football at Elizabeth City State University next year, was forced to the bench with three minutes remaining in the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul.
When Sharpless went back into the game, he had to play cautiously so he wouldn’t pick up his fifth. Josh Brown, who scored 24 points, and Thomas Fryer, who added 12 points and 19 rebounds, took advantage by going hard to the basket.
The usually high octane offense of the Vikings had trouble getting started. Plymouth didn’t score until Sharpless drained a triple four minutes into the game. The Trojans used a 9-0 spurt to build a 13-4 lead and settled on a 17-7 lead after the first quarter.
Jones Senior pushed its lead to as many as 12, including 23-11 after a Brown bucket, but the Vikings responded. Sharpless buried two treys and Jason Kornegay (12 points) had five points in an 11-0 run to end the first half, pulling the Vikings within 23-22. The Trojans went the final 3:30 of the second quarter without a point.
After Jamari Hargett (8 points, seven assists) hit a layup for the Trojans, Kornegay nailed a 3-pointer at the other end to tie the game at 25-25. The teams were tied again two other times, including 29-29 after a ferocious tomahawk slam by Sharpless.
Andre Mitchell (12 points) got inside for a layup moments later to give Plymouth a 31-29 lead, its first of the game. Kendrick Norman, who replaced Sharpless after the senior picked up his fourth foul, got inside to give Plymouth its biggest lead at 33-29.
The Vikings held that one-point advantage, 36-35, heading into the fourth.
Fryer, who added five blocks and three steals to his night, slammed one home to give the Trojans a 37-36 lead with 7:12 remaining. It ignited an 8-0 Jones Senior run as the Trojans built a 43-36 lead with 6:04 to play.
The Vikings were able to get as close as four points, 48-44, with 2:48 remaining on a layup by Akeem Webb.
However, Brown scored twice during a 6-0 spurt that gave the Trojans a 10-point lead, 54-44, with just over a minute to play. Plymouth didn’t have a final answer.
Jones Senior 17 6 12 21 — 56
Plymouth 7 15 14 12 — 48
JONES SENIOR (56)
Josh Brown 24, Thomas Fryer 12, Hargett 8, Willis 4, Lawson 2, Williams 2, Frost 2, Ward.
PLYMOUTH (48)
Angelo Sharpless 14, Jason Kornegay 12, Andre Mitchell 11, Webb 4, Simpson 3, Norman 3, Davis 1, Jones, Hunt, Allen.