Greene Central’s girls’ basketball team survived an overtime battle against Eastern Plains Conference rival Farmville Central on Monday night to advance in the EPC tournament.
The Rams (9-16) scored a 55-53 decision in extra time, outscoring the Jaguars (10-12) by a 12-10 count in overtime.
The win set up a showdown for fourth-seeded GC on Wednesday night against top seed North Pitt in Bethel.
Farmville was led in defeat by a 20-point, seven-rebound performance from senior Jamya Saddler, while Nakevia Phillips added 16 points and seven boards.
West Craven 52 Ayden-Grifton 13
The campaign ended in defeat for the Chargers girls on Monday night in EPC tourney action.
It was the third lopsided loss of the season for A-G (3-22) against West Craven.
The No. 2 seed Eagles moved on to face No. 3 SouthWest Edgecombe in Wednesday’s second round.
Boys
SouthWest Edgecombe 61 Greene Central 59
The Rams boys were bounced in the first round on Monday night, one of three local teams to bow out of the boys’ EPC tourney.
No. 4 seed Greene Central bounced back from a sluggish opening quarter to trim an early deficit to 30-27 at the half. GC then outscored SWE in the fourth quarter but fell a basket short of tying the game.
No. 5 SouthWest squared off with top seed Farmville Central on Wednesday.
West Craven 67 Ayden-Grifton 56
The Chargers could not overcome their late-season skid on Monday night the EPL tourney first round, losing their seventh game in eight tries.
For Ayden-Grifton (12-12), it was third loss of the season against West Craven, which had won the first two meetings by a mere four combined points.
The win for No. 3 seed West Craven vaulted the Eagles into the second round Wednesday against No. 2 Washington.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Feb. 16
Farmville Central 94, North Pitt 38
BETHEL — Farmville Central’s boys’ and North Pitt’s girls’ basketball teams had already wrapped up Eastern Plains 2A Conference regular-season crowns and sought to finish their regular seasons with perfect league marks.
Both did so in emphatic fashion.
Farmville Central’s boys dispatched North Pitt 94-38 for their 16th consecutive win, and the Panthers girls took care of the Jaguars 74-23 for their 14th consecutive victory on Senior Night at North Pitt.
Farmville Central’s boys (23-1, 12-0 EPC) trailed 4-2 only 90 seconds into their matchup, prompting coach Larry Williford to call an early timeout.
“Just got to get into the flow, get a little sweat going,” Williford said. “I thought once the tempo got going and we got warm, I thought we shared the basketball very well tonight.”
The tempo picked up in a hurry, and the Jaguars were passing the ball at will. Farmville Central led 62-24 by intermission, and already had four players — JD Daniels, Omaurie Phillips, Landen Barnes and Alex Moye — in double figures in points.
Tyler Whitehurst joined the scoring party with 15 points in the third quarter alone, including 10 consecutive for the Jaguars.
Daniels finished the game with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
“Triple-double — I mean, just a complete game with a running clock, which is very tough to do,” Williford said. “And I bet he got eight of those assists in the first half. JD was outstanding passing the basketball. He’s an outstanding offensive player, but he’s also an outstanding passer.”
Moye had 12 points and eight assists. Whitehurst had 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Phillips and Barnes had 15 and 12 points, respectively.
“Omaurie had the best practice last night he’s had in months,” Williford said. “It’s not that he practices badly, but he had a phenomenal practice. So you saw it carry over tonight. Landen is solid as always. You’re talking about a guy who signed a Division II scholarship as a quarterback (with Elizabeth City State). Very unselfish. Very good around the rim.
“You need those kind of pieces when you get into the playoffs because you never know what’s going to happen. I’m very blessed. Just a fun group to coach, so unselfish and shares the basketball.”
North Pitt started its five seniors — Sam Newkirk, Jamarcus Pippens, Keymauri Brooks, Jareon Howard and Nasir Little — in their final regular-season home game.
“They mean a great deal to me,” North Pitt coach Jumail Blount said. “A lot of them I coached at Wellcome Middle School, so I have a connection with them over quite a few years. I love them to death. As coach, you wear many hats and it’s not just about wins and losses. Sometimes, it’s about mentorship that won’t kick in until 10-15 years later.”
Brooks finished with 13 points for North Pitt, (3-21, 1-11), while Newkirk finished with 10 points — eight of those coming on putbacks — and six rebounds.
— Gabe Cornwall
South Central 85 D.H. Conley 55
The Falcons finished off their Big Carolina Conference title season with a win over struggling Conley.
SC headed into the BCC tourney armed with an 18-3 record and an 11-1 finish in league play.
Washington 82 Ayden-Grifton 61
The Chargers finished the regular season on a sour note, losing to a tough Pam Pack team for their sixth loss in seven games.
The Chargers led Washington 25-20 after a high-scoring first quarter and held a 44-40 edge at the half. But the Pack owned the second half, outscoring A-G 42-17 the rest of the way.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Feb. 16
North Pitt 74 Farmville Central 23
North Pitt also started its five seniors — Corine Beatty, Tealijah Bond, Gjahnice Chance, Kenae Edwards and Zamareya Jones.
The Panthers (21-3, 12-0 EPC) raced out to a 30-4 advantage after one quarter as Farmville Central (10-11, 5-7) did not score a basket from the field until Jamya Saddler’s layup with 3:40 to play in the first half.
“Special group,” North Pitt coach Antwon Pittman said of his seniors. “We always want to come out and do it for the seniors. The seniors were big on ending their four-year run the right way against Farmville Central. They were locked in from the jump.”
North Pitt was already up 57-18 by halftime. At that point, Jones already had 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and five steals, and freshman Jordan Speller filled the stat sheet with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Zihanna Lightfoot was strong in the paint and on the glass for the Panthers, pulling down 12 rebounds to go with her nine points. Jones finished with 25 points and six rebounds.
“They’re ready for the playoffs,” Pittman said. “We’ve been talking about flipping that switch for the playoffs, and they flipped that switch so it’s just taking care of business and staying healthy.”
Saddler paced the Jaguars with 10 points.
“I tell them ‘Don’t ever stop playing ball,’” Farmville Central coach Johnnie Joyner said. “I have a couple that stopped playing and that’s what I don’t like. You’re outmanned, so what you have to do is play hard, do the best you can.”
The Eastern Plains Conference began this week, including Farmville hosting Green Central on Monday night.
— Gabe Cornwall
Feb. 16
South Central 65 D.H. Conley 34
The Falcons showed just how much room there is between themselves and the rest of the Big Carolina with another resounding win over third-place D.H. Conley to cap an unbeaten run in league play.
SC (22-2, 12-0) won 11 straight to close out the regular season and led 11-0 after one and 34-8 at the half. The Falcons had a trio of double-digit scorers as Sabraya Baker had 14 points, Brook Evans had 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Akima Hukins added 11 points.
For Conley (16-7, 8-4), Aubrey Mayberry had her usual double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.
Both teams embarked on BCC tourney play this week.
Ayden-Grifton 47 Washington 45
The Chargers girls finished the regular season on a high note, breaking a 14-game losing skid against Washington.
A-G avenged a previous 11-point loss to the Pam Pack in the process.
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