Feb 22

Feb 22 Kinston boys, girls continue tourney streaks, win ECC titles Friday

Kinston’s Dontrez Styles slams home two of his 17 points during Friday’s Eastern Carolina Conference tournament championship game. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy

Status quo reigned supreme in the Eastern Carolina Conference basketball tournaments Friday, as Kinston continued its great streaks.

In the boys’ ECC title game, the Vikings overwhelmed Greene Central in a 60-25 contest. A highly touted matchup between two of the top-five basketball teams in the NCHSAA 2A rankings was decided early as Kinston (22-6) won its 15th consecutive conference tournament title. Last year, the Vikings defeated the Rams 61-60 on a Taji Moore free throw with 11 seconds to play in the tournament finals, but didn’t need late-game heroics in this matchup.

The victory meant even more to Vikings senior Judah McBynum, who celebrated his 18th birthday in style.

“This was the biggest gift anyone could’ve given me — we blew them out,” McBynum said. “We knew it was a big rivalry game, we handled our business and now it’s time to party.”

Greene Central (19-7) took a 6-5 lead midway through the first on an Imajae Dodd free throw, but Dontrez Styles’ 3-pointer sparked an 8-2 run as Kinston started to take over. The Vikings held the Rams to 4 of 18 shooting in the first half and took a 23-12 lead into halftime.

Donte Johnson scored inside to start the third off for Greene Central, but Kinston dominated from there, closing the quarter on a 19-2 run. Stylez had a pair of big dunks, including one on an alley-oop from Isaac Parson to get the crowd going.

Kinston’s Issac Parson cuts through the lane for two points during Friday’s Eastern Carolina Conference tournament championship game. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy

Defensively, the Vikings remained strong, holding the Rams to 24 percent shooting overall.

“Coming into this game, we knew we had to play great defense,” Styles said. “We performed well on that end and then our offense came.”

Kinsotn coach Perry Tyndall said it has been a wild year, but it felt good to head into the NCHSAA 2A playoffs Tuesday with great momentum.

“First of all, I’m so proud of my guys,” Tyndall said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but for them to bring it on this stage tonight and etch their names into the legacy of Kinston basketball — I couldn’t be happier for them. They were locked in, especially (after the first quarter) and while we’ll enjoy this win tonight, we’ll be ready for practice Monday because from here, it’s win and advance or lose and pack up the Rubbermaid containers for next year.”

Greene Central coach Blue Edwards said the focus is now on the state playoffs and not replicating a performance like Friday’s.

“When you show up to a game like this and don’t play with heart, toughness or passion, you get your (butt) kicked,” Edwards said.

There was a highlight for the Rams in the second quarter, as Imajae Dodd scored his 1,500th point in his storied Greene Central career.

KINSTON 60, GREENE CENTRAL 25

K 13 10 19 18 — 60

GC 10 2 4 9 — 25

KINSTON — Dontrez Stylez 17, Judah McBynum 11, Minott 9, Parson 6, Wooten 5, Koonce 4, Luter 3, Pitts 3, Dixon 2

GREENE CENTRAL — Imajae Dodd 11, Hudson 6, Johnson 4, Evans 3, Pettaway 1

Three-pointers: K — Styles 3, Minott 2, Luter, McBynum. GC — Hudson 2.

Highlights from the boys championship

Kinston’s Samantha Lee drives against Washington’s Reagan during Friday’s Eastern Carolina Conference tournament championship game. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy

In the girls’ game, Kinston received another scare from Washington, but recovered to win its sixth consecutive tournament title with a 45-42 victory.

In a rematch of last year’s title game — won by the Vikings 52-47 — Kinston (21-5) started strong, but had to come back against a Pam Pack team who nearly picked up their redemption.

“We know it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season, but we were able to find a way to finish the game strong,” Kinston coach Christopher Bradshaw said.

Sheriece Jones’ 3-pointer sparked a 9-2 run to start the game for Kinston, but Washington (13-10) fought back, tying the contest at 13 on a pair of Reagan Ruther free throws early in the second. The Vikings’ Zykia Andrews broke the tie with a 3-pointer, but Washington remained in striking distance trailing 20-19 at halftime. Andrews started the third with another 3-pointer, but the Pam Pack kept fighting, taking their first lead at 26-25 on a Briasia Somerville 3-point play midway through the third and going into the fourth up 31-29 after Ruther’s layup as time expired.

Washington went up 40-35 on Ruther’s steal and layup with 4:15 remaining, but Kinston rebounded. Anzaryia Cobb’s 3-point play, followed by a Taliyah Jones basket tied the game. After the teams traded runners from Cyntavea Blackledge and Samantha Lee, Kinston’s Lesley Sutton stole the ball on the next possession and Sheriece Jones was fouled with 15.3 seconds left.

Jones hit the front end of the 1-and-1 to put Kinston ahead.

“All I thought about was winning the championship and not letting my teammates down,” Jones said. “We picked each other up all game and we were able to get it done.”

The Vikings forced another turnover, followed by Lee canning a pair from the charity stripe with 9.2 seconds remaining. Washington nearly turned it over again before a rushed 3-point attempt that didn’t come close.

“It’s amazing to get another tournament championship,” Lee said. “We just told each other when we were down that it’s not over and we needed to do what we’ve always done.”

KINSTON 45, WASHINGTON 42

W 9 10 12 11 — 42

K 13 7 9 16 — 45

WASHINGTON — Reagan Ruther 15, Briasia Somerville 12, Blackledge 7, Jones 4, Boomer 2, Hopkins 2

KINSTON — Anzaryia Cobb 13, T. Jones 7, Dove 6, Andrews 6, S. Jones 4, Powell 3, Rivers 2

Three-pointers: K — Andrews 2, Powell, S. Jones.