Former KHS, GC stars help PCC reach first national tournament

From left, Reginald Clark, DonQuez Davis, Rujon Walters and Taji Moore have helped Pitt Community College clinch the team’s first NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship berth. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

WINTERVILLE — A quartet of players who added to the history of two high schools have brought the same success to Pitt Community College.

For the first time in school history, the Bulldogs qualified for the NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship after a stellar regular season. PCC heads into the Region X tournament Thursday as regular-season conference champions, going 17-3 in Region X and 22-7 overall. The Bulldogs also registered an 11-game winning streak between Dec. 12 and Jan. 26.

Darrick Mullins, head coach of the Bulldogs since 2010, said it’s an incredible accomplishment.

“We have 10 freshmen and five sophomores who have bought into the system and have made it a great year,” Mullins said.

Included in the total of first-year players are Reginald Clark, DonQuez Davis, Taji Moore and Rujon Walters. The Eastern Carolina Conference knew what the players were capable of, as Kinston’s Clark, Moore and Walters enjoyed plenty of success, along with Greene Central’s Davis. The teams played each other four times last season, splitting the contests, including the Vikings’ 61-60 win in the Eastern Carolina 2A tournament championship before the Rams got revenge with a 42-41 victory in the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs.

It didn’t take long for chemistry to build among the four, according to Walters.

“We were good friends outside of the Kinston-Greene Central rivalry,” Walters said. “On the court, we’ve been strictly business.”

Davis shared similar sentiments.

“We knew who the better team was,” Davis said with a laugh. “It has been good playing with these guys, especially after the rivalry games in the past.”

Walters and Davis have provided sparks off the bench, with Davis second on the team in 3-point percentage (46.2 percent) and Walters leading the Bulldogs in steals at 1.6 per game. Clark has started most of the season, leading PCC in scoring (14.3 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.8 rpg).

“We’ve had our ups and downs at the beginning of the season, but once we started going, we didn’t stop,” Clark said. “The chemistry has gotten a lot better as the season’s gone on.”

Moore missed the beginning of the season with an injury, but has come back to lead the team in assists with 3.9 per game.

“I thought Pitt had made it here before, but it feels great to be a part of the first team,” Moore said. “It’s definitely something to be proud of and we want to leave out with some jewelry.”

Mullins said the personalities of the players are different, but they’ve been important to the team’s success.

“Taji has been a great floor general and a glue guy,” Mullins said. “He’s got a winning personality, offensive prowess and has been strong on defense. Rujon comes in and brings a different flavor — he’s not afraid of a challenge and has shown an ability to stop a team’s best scorer.

“DonQuez brings a winning pedigree from Greene Central, considering what he did his junior and senior year and he’s someone you can trust with the ball. (Clark) is an undersized dog — a high-energy guy who’s a workhorse, but I’m the happiest with his work in the classroom.”

PCC will compete in the Region X tournament Thursday, followed by the national tournament, which lasts March 19-23 in Danville, Ill.