By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Down 56-52 with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter, Havelock guard Josh Wall did his best Reggie Miller impersonation as he nailed two 3-pointers in under 10 seconds to spur a 60-56 win over Washington on Friday.
With time running out on the Rams, Wall calmly drilled his first three to pull Havelock within a point of the Pam Pack, making the score 56-55.
Applying a full-court press, Havelock was able to tip Washington’s inbounds pass and deflect the ball back to Wall who fired up another trey from the left wing to give Havelock a 58-56 lead, and the game.
After Wall’s heroics, Andrew Taylor iced the victory when he nailed both his free throws to close out the scoring for either team.
Wall finished with a game-high 16 points, 11 of them came in the fourth quarter.
Down four with 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Washington (2-11) failed to connect on five 3-point attempts and was forced to head back into the locker room with its third loss of the week.
Pam Pack coach Joe Lawrence said his plan was to go for a quick score after the Taylor free throws, but felt his team got caught up in the moment.
However, Lawrence was quick to take responsibility for his team’s loss.
The loss wasted a strong performance by Pack guard Chris Moore and center Paris Wiggins. After a quiet first half Moore exploded for 14 points in the second with nine coming in the fourth quarter to finish the game with a team-high 16.
Wiggins who played an aggressive game under the boards for the Pack finished with nine points.
The Pack girls’ also lost a heart-breaker, as a they fell 53-43 to Havelock. Harmony Simpkins led Washington with 15 points as she was able to break down the Rams’ defense with dribble penetration, then pull up for short jumpers.
A Simpkins seven-footer gave the Pack a 40-39 lead midway through fourth, but that was the last time they would hold the lead.
The Rams went on a charge in the final four minutes of the game going on a 14-3 lead to blow by the Pack for a 10 point win.
Crystal McCaffin paced the Rams with 17 points, while Havelock’s frontcourt duo of Alyssa Luebs and Ariel Johnson played strong on both ends of the court.
After the game Pack coach Bobby Andrews said he was pleased with the play of his girls, especially in the third quarter when they went on a 12-6 run to coach up to the Rams.
Washington will look to snap its losing streak on Tuesday when it hosts West Carteret.
Havelock 14 20 10 16 — 60
Washington 7 20 14 15 — 56
Havelock (60)
Hudson 8, Andrew Taylor 16, John Godyette 13, Josh Hall 18, Ince 6.
Washington (56)
Rogers 8, Cox 12, Daquan Daniels 11, Wiggins 9, Cor-J Cox 10, Chris Moore 16.
Girls
Havelock 14 13 6 20 — 53
Washington 8 11 12 12 — 43
Havelock Hill 2, Luebs 7, Crystal McCaffin 17, Kahla Godyette 11, Ariel Johnson 10, Thomas 6.
Washington (43)
Smith 8, Duke 2, Burbage 2, Harmony Simpkins 15, Boston 6, Stowe 2, Grice 2, Cox 3.