LAURINBURG —Scotland girls basketball coach Janie Hodges said her team plays better when playing from behind, and for much of Tuesday night’s game against Lumberton it did just that.

In the end, the Lady Scots weathered one final storm from Lumberton to break away with a 61-58 win at home to pull them in a tie atop the Southeastern Conference standings with one game left in the regular season.

“We’re used to a team coming out and being on top and us fighting back,” Hodges said. “Putting us in that position, it makes us want it more.”

After Lumberton girls (20-2, 8-1 SEC) took a six-point lead with 5:53 left in the game, the Scotland defense tightened down and the frontcourt came up with timely baskets to take the lead, 59-57, with 1:38 left on a Breanna Williams jumper in the lane.

“We got stops when we needed to get stops so I’m just proud of my kids,” Hodges said.

Over the final three minutes of the game, the Lady Pirates did not hit a shot from the floor while Williams and Khasiya Sellers scored the final six for Scotland (15-8, 8-1 SEC) to close out the game.

“Late in the game, they executed better than we did,” Lumberton coach Danny Graham said. “They did the little things well. They got the big rebounds and made the big free throws.”

Each time Lumberton built a lead in the second and third quarters, Scotland fought back to cut the score to a one-possession game at the end of each frame. In the second, Lumberton went up five before ShanQaylia Stanton brought the Lady Scots back to 29-27 at the half. Lumberton built an eight-point lead midway through the third before Stanton and Ashlyn Dial cut it to a 43-41 lead going into the fourth.

“It shows, growth, heart and determination,” Hodges said. “Lumberton did what they normally do, they take the punch and this time we decided to fight back a little bit more.”

Stanton finished with a game-high 21 points and Dial added 14.

“Those are our two go-to guards and they just played basketball,” Hodges said of Stanton and Dial. “They played basketball within the set, they were aggressive and didn’t get frustrated.

Lumberton got off to a slow start, going down 6-0 in the first three minutes of the game before mounting a 13-2 run to take a 13-10 lead after one quarter.

“We didn’t rebound and we didn’t do the little things well,” Graham said. “We didn’t make free throws and didn’t make layups and that was the difference in the game.”

The Lady Pirates went 13-for-26 at the charity stripe.

“That was the difference in the game for us, our inability to make the easy play like free throws and layups,” Graham said.

London Thompson and Kiara Page had 15 apiece for the Lady Pirates.

If both teams are tied in first after Friday’s games, a coin flip will decided who has the No. 1 seed for the state playoffs. Lumberton host Purnell Swett and Scotland travels to Richmond on Friday night in the regular season finale.

“It’s real important for us,” Graham said of getting the top seed.

Jonathan Bym can be reached at 910-816-1977. Follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_Bym.

Lumberton boys finish off Scots

The first time Scotland and Lumberton met this season, the Pirates led most of the way before faltering in the fourth quarter, allowing the Scots to overcome an eight-point deficit to force overtime.

Scotland would go on to win that Jan. 27 contest in the extra session, but Lumberton coach Brandon Meadows said after the defeat that his team lost the game in regulation due to poor shot selection and turnovers forced by the Scots’ full-court pressure defense.

Lumberton found itself in the same situation during Tuesday’s rematch, but this time, the Pirates slammed the door shut on the Scots’ comeback bid. Meadows’ squad built a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter and never allowed the hosts to get any closer than five, winning 71-59 to spoil Scotland’s senior night festivities.

“We’re growing up some, it’s tough that it’s this late in the season but I can honestly stand here and say that we can be the best team in this conference” Meadows said. “We lost to Richmond in a tough one Friday, and I thought that might take the wind out of the rest of our season. But the guys stepped and answered the call.”

Lumberton (9-13, 4-5 SEC) controlled the action from the opening tip as six different players scored in the first quarter to help the Pirates take a 17-15 advantage heading into the second period. Scotland (10-11, 5-4 SEC), as it has for much of its three-game losing streak, struggled to hit outside shots. Matt Justin’s team didn’t hit a 3-pointer during the first half and only made one during the course of the contest.

“If you’re not making shots from the perimeter, you definitely need to be even or win the rebounding battle and probably win the turnover battle too and it seems like lately we’ve struggled to make any perimeter shots,” Justin said.

The Pirates led 33-28 at halftime, but the Scots were able to close the gap to two during the final minute of the third quarter. However, the visitors ended the period on an 8-0 run that was fueled by Scotland turnovers in the half court which led to easy transition baskets.

“Turnovers for straight, direct wide-open layups are backbreakers, especially if you have three, four, five of them in a game,” Justin said.

Trailing 53-43 entering the fourth quarter, Scotland opted for a full-court pressure look in an attempt to rattle Lumberton like it did under similar circumstances two weeks ago. Though the Scots closed it to 64-59 after a Niem Ratliffe layup, they never got any closer as the Pirates made efficient passes and converted their layups after breaking the press.

“We’re fortunate enough to come out of here with a win,” Meadows said. “We protected the ball — that was a huge thing. We could have easily folded when that pressure hit us.”

Randy Leak finished with 14 points for the Scots, and Willie Douglas and Daekwon Tyson added 13 and 10 respectively. Josh Smith paced Lumberton with 20 points and Tyreik McCallum chipped in 16.

Scotland will look to end its three-game skid Friday when it travels to Rockingham to battle rival Richmond Senior.

‘It’s disappointing to not send (the seniors) off with a win for probably their last home game, but at the same time I’m proud of them,” Justin said. “They stuck it out, competed and gave a good effort.”

Logan Martinez can be reached at 910-506-3170. Follow him on Twitter @L_Martinez13.

Jonathan Bym | The Robesonian Lumberton sophomore guard London Thompson fights for the ball against Scotland’s Breanna Williams. Thompson scored a team-high 15 and Williams hit the go-ahead basket for the Lady Scots in the win.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Thompson.jpgJonathan Bym | The Robesonian Lumberton sophomore guard London Thompson fights for the ball against Scotland’s Breanna Williams. Thompson scored a team-high 15 and Williams hit the go-ahead basket for the Lady Scots in the win.

Logan Martinez | The Laurinburg Exchange Lumberton’s Stephon Llyod tallied 12 points for Lumberton in its 71-59 victory over Scotland Tuesday.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_DSC_0193.jpgLogan Martinez | The Laurinburg Exchange Lumberton’s Stephon Llyod tallied 12 points for Lumberton in its 71-59 victory over Scotland Tuesday.
Lady Pirates drop 1st SEC game, boys win

By Jonathan Bym and Logan Martinez

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