BLADENBORO — The Fairmont boys basketball team got away with a sluggish third quarter against East Bladen on Wednesday, escaping with a win in the opening round of the Woodmen Life Christmas tournament.
The Golden Tornadoes weren’t so lucky on Thursday against Dillon, losing 84-77 to the Wildcats in the semifinals of the three-day event.
The third-quarter woes have become a troubling theme for Montrell McNair’s squad, which survived runs by East Bladen and Lumberton in its previous two games. Dillon (2-2) wasn’t so kind, outscoring Fairmont (6-2) 47-33 in the second half, using a pair of runs in the third period to take charge.
“It’s the third quarter again,” McNair said. “I saw some things I haven’t seen in a long time from this team. I saw some selfishness. It wasn’t team defense and our turnovers and decision making on offense were terrible. I’m concerned about it because we’re not playing the way we’re supposed to play — as a team. That hurt us.”
Dillon opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 46-all after a three-point play by Javier Brookins. The Wildcats closed the period with a 9-2 run, taking a 63-62 lead into the final quarter after a layup by Ray Ray Green. They would lead the rest of the way.
Dillon’s Keenan Norman scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, with Tyquan Porters adding 22 points for the Wildcats. Fairmont trimmed the deficit to three points after a free throw by Sidney McKeithan with 3:23 left to play, but the Golden Tornadoes would get no closer.
Fairmont finished 20 of 30 from the free-throw line, but committed 18 turnovers — with most of them turning into transition buckets for Dillon.
“When you don’t do the little things, this is what happens,” McNair said. “We had some bad turnovers in crunch time.”
Derrick Arnette scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the first half to lead five Fairmont players in double figures. Corry Addison added 14, McKeithan tallied 12 and Jarique Moore — plagued by foul trouble in the first half — finished with 10 points.
Despite Moore’s foul trouble, Fairmont controlled the first half, leading by as many as nine points. The Golden Tornadoes used a 25-8 run, capped with a three-point play by Addison to carry a 44-37 lead into the break.
Before starting Three Rivers Conference play next week, the Golden Tornadoes will get a look at TRC foe Whiteville at 6 p.m. tonight in the third-place game. The Wolfpack dropped a 67-63 game to West Bladen on Thursday.
“(Our guys) need to get refocused,” McNair said. “I didn’t want to get them in the gym and practice after three days (of games), but we’re practicing on Saturday.
“When you’re not finishing games, you’re not focused. We’re not keeping our focus throughout the game.”
Dillon will face West Bladen at 8 p.m. in the championship. The Knights will be looking for their third straight title in the event.