LUMBERTON —Energizing the Lumberton boys basketball team from start to finish on Monday night against South View, Braylan Grice saved his best for last with the go-ahead basket in a 72-70 win for the Pirates.
Grice scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first and last quarters, none bigger than his two-handed layup with eight seconds left to help Lumberton improve to 2-0 in Matt Hill’s first season at the helm. The sophomore also pulled down 12 rebounds to log a double-double.
“Braylan’s just such a smart player,” Hill said. “He catches on to things so fast. It’s hard to take him out of the game. It’s very good to have a sophomore that’s that dependable. The kids got a little antsy at times, but when we needed to take care of it, we did. Then we got the bucket that put us over the top.”
The Tigers trailed by double digits throughout the night, but battled back to tie the game at 70-all with one minute to play in regulation. With 35 seconds left, Stephon Lloyd gave the Pirates a chance to take the lead, holding his ground in the lane to draw a charge. Grice delivered on the ensuing possession.
“You see freshman and sophomore mistakes, but I’m willing to live with those as long as they’re playing hard and they learn from those mistakes,” Hill said. “I was telling the boys, I’ve never given up 70 (or more points) two games in a row and still won. It kind of hurts my heart, but a win is a win.”
Lloyd finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for Lumberton, who jumped out to an 22-6 lead in the first quarter. South View battled back to cut the deficit to 36-27 at the break.
Tyreik McCallum filled the box score for the Pirates, tallying eight points, eight boards and six assists. Jordan McNeill added five assists, with Brion Willlis contributing 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and three steals for Lumberton.
Reginald Walton scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, with John Wanambawa adding 16 and Vernon McWhite tallying 12.
While Hill was happy with the result, he hopes his guys can make things easier on themselves — and him — down the road.
“If we keep having games like that, I won’t live to see 50,” Hill said with a laugh. “I was very proud of the team. We got a big stop there and got a big rebound. Then we got the bucket we needed. It was a heckuva game.”
Lumberton returns to action tonight against Pine Forest.
Lady Pirates run away from South View
Behind a double-double from Madison Canady and 16 points from Merlena McClure, the Lumberton girls basketball team claimed a 62-41 win over South View on Monday to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Canady finished with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Pirates, who scored 22 points in the third quarter to widen the margin.
London Thompson finished with eight steals, seven rebounds and six assists. Destiny Hardin pulled down nine rebounds, with Jasmine McBride dishing out six assists and swiping four steals.
Asia Henderson scored 11 points to lead South View.
Bulldogs win in Thompson’s debut
ST. PAULS — Behind three players in double figures, the St. Pauls boys basketball team earned a 63-56 win over Scotland on Monday, giving Corey Thompson a victory in his debut as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
Cole Humphrey scored 17 points to lead St. Pauls, with J.J. Oxendine adding 14 points and Romeo Jordan contributing 10 for the Bulldogs, who travel to Grays Creek tonight.
Justin McRae and Niem Ratliffe led Scotland with 12 points each.
In varsity girls action, Scotland won 52-26 over St. Pauls. Khasiya Sellers scored 24 to lead the Scots and Hall scored 10 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs.
Purnell Swett, Pine Forest split basketball doubleheader
PEMBROKE — Sophomore Kyler Page scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, with a pair of buckets in critical times, to lead the Purnell Swett boys basketball team to a 63-60 home non-conference win over Pine Forest.
Entering the fourth quarter down by nine points, Pine Forest (0-1) rallied to cut the Purnell Swett (1-1) lead down to two points with 1:30 left. Page answered quickly with a bucket on the other end and hit 4-of-5 free throws to keep the lead in the Rams favor to close out the game. Shawn Williamson had a game-high 23 points. The Trojan’s Tyshun Archie had 15 points.
In the varsity girls game, Pine Forest held the Lady Rams to two points in the second half to take a 59-12 win. Elayne Locklear and Patience Epps had four points apiece for Purnell Swett (0-2). Pine Forest was led by Ree Pruitt with 20 points.
Purnell Swett hosts South Robeson tonight.
Middle school fall sports drawing to close
LUMBERTON — In the middle school volleyball playoffs, Prospect rallied from a two-set deficit to win in five sets over Magnolia on Monday.
Magnolia won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-12, with Prospect winning 26-24, 25-9 and 17-15 to win the match.
In the other semifinal, Pembroke won 3-0 against Fairmont to earn a spot in the title game against Prospect at Pembroke next week.
In middle school football tonight, Prospect hosts Pembroke at Purnell Swett and St. Pauls hosts Orrum at St. Pauls
Purnell Swett grabs third in Cape Fear tourney
FAYETTEVILLE — Behind seven medalist finishes, the Purnell Swett wrestling team finished third of 14 teams at the Mike Stanbridge Colt Stampede tournament hosted at Cape Fear High School over the weekend.
Rommie McNeil was the only Ram to finish first in the event with his run through the 138-pound class. Second-place finishes came from Jon Locklear at 145 pounds, Millard Lockear at 220 pounds and Rayshaun Baker at heavyweight. Jastan Simmons earned third at 126 pounds, Will Deese wrestled at 132 pounds and finished third and Ronald McNeil claimed third in the 170-pound bracket.
Purnell Swett wrestles in a quad match at West Brunswick today.
