Kinston sweeps Washington on the road
WASHINGTON — It took a little time for Kinston to get going, but Washington was in trouble when it happened.
The Vikings defeated the Pam Pack 73-37 Tuesday in their final road game of the regular season. Kinston (18-6, 9-2 Eastern Carolina Conference) maintained its second seed in the conference heading into Senior Night Friday against North Lenoir.
“Hopefully, Senior Night won’t be the last night some of our guys play in our gym,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “We’re thankful for everything they’ve done for our program and there’s still a lot at stake. We’re still fighting for conference positioning and anything can happen in this league — we just have to handle our business.”
Washington (6-13, 2-9) took advantage of a slow start and scored the game’s first four points, but a Dontrez Styles 3-pointer keyed a 15-2 run to put Kinston ahead for good.
“We came out and played down to our competition, which is something we can’t do right now,” Styles said.
It didn’t take long for the Vikings to shift gears, building their lead to 41-20 at halftime and continuing the onslaught into the second half. Styles had the play of the game, finishing emphatically off an Isaac Parson pass during a 22-1 third quarter spurt, ending on a Savyon Davis layup late in the frame to start the running clock.
“We started off slow, but we got back to how we play, especially in the second half to get the dub,” Will London said.
Kinston led by as many as 40 points in the second half. Styles led all scorers with 14 and London added 11. For Washington, Jamauri Bryant had 10 points.
KINSTON 73, WASHINGTON 37
K 18 23 26 6 — 73
W 10 10 10 7—37
KINSTON — Dontrez Styles 14, Will London 11, Parson 9, Koonce 8, McBynum 7, Burton 5, Roberts 4, Davis 4, Dixon 4, Williams 3, Minott 2, Evans 2
WASHINGTON — Jamauri Bryant 10, Powell 8, Blount 7, Godley 4, Hambric 3, Je. Bryant 2, Barnes 2, Moore 1
Three-pointers: K — Styles 2, Burton, Williams.
In the girls’ game, Kinston won its 13th straight game, 66-59, despite a rough showing at the foul line.
The Vikings (18-5, 11-0) remained undefeated in conference play despite connecting on just 17 of 42 free throws, allowing the Pam Pack (10-9, 6-5) to stay within striking distance.
“We lost our concentration,” Kinston coach Christopher Bradshaw said. “When you go to the line, it’s just you and the ball, and we’ve got to do a better job there. Still, we were able to tough it out and clinched at least a share of the conference title. We’ve still got some more work to do and Senior Night Friday will be big, but we’ve at least got one element taken care of.”
Kinston went up by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Washington cut the lead to 30-25 by halftime and eventually tied the game at 38 with 2:26 left in the third on a Reagan Ruther basket. On the other end, Sheriece Jones would counter with a 3-point play to spark a 9-2 run for the Vikings.
Kinston would use a Lesley Sutton basket to go ahead 62-51 with 2:14 to go, but the Vikings couldn’t quite seal it at the line. The Vikings would hit just 8 of 19 free throws in the fourth quarter and the Pam Pack got within five before Jones eventually ended it with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
“We knew we played hard, but missed some close baskets inside,” Washington coach Ralph Biggs said. “It was a good game, but in the end they got the win.”
Taliyah Jones scored 15 for Kinston with Powell adding 11 and Sheriece Jones contributing 10. For Washington, Daria Jones had 15 points and Briasia Soomerville added 10.
KINSTON 66, WASHINGTON 59
K 16 14 17 19 — 66
W 10 15 17 17 — 59
KINSTON — Taliyah Jones 15, Quiaira Powell 11, Sheriece Jones 10, Sutton 8, Baker 6, Rivers 6, Lee 5, Andrews 3, Cobb 2
WASHINGTON — Daria Jones 15, Briasia Soomerville 10, Redmond 8, Ruther 7, Boomer 7, Blackledge 5, Hopkins 5, Cobb 2
Three-pointers: K — Powell 3, Andrews, Lee, Rivers. W — Jones, Boomer, Blackledge.
