By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — Dominating with a smothering defense and an unselfish offense, Roanoke showed everybody why it was the No. 1 seed heading into the Atlantic Conference tournament championship game on Friday when it blew past Williamston 90-54 victory to win the conference crown.
After winning the regular season championship along with the tournament title, Redskins’ coach Darryl Pittman said he was happy — for now.
The Redskins (24-2) should ride into sectional competition with a ton of momentum and confidence as they wrapped up Friday’s showdown with the third-seeded Tigers (13-11) with relative ease.
Roanoke jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and, though Williamston made a few runs, the Redskins were never in danger of losing.
Once again Dyquail Lloyd came up big for Roanoke as he netted a game-high 22 points and was a major factor in the paint.
While Lloyd lurked down low, Redskins’ guard Kenneth Hyman handled things in the backcourt knocking down several big shots enroute to 18 points.
Overall, Roanoke finished with four players in double figures, with two others falling just short of the mark.
Alonza Higgs chipped in 14 points while Altonio Higgs added 10.
Pittman attributed his team’s scoring spree to its defense.
For Williamston, Friday’s game was its second in as many days and the team showed signs of fatigue.
After playing a strong first quarter in which they trailed by only five points, the Tigers lost their steam and went into halftime down 41-29.
Williamston’s defense looked a step slow all night as the Redskins were able to penetrate for most of the game.
William Harvey led the Tigers with 11 points, all of which were scored in the first half.
Roanoke’s sweep of the Atlantic Conference cemented the Redskins a first-round home game in the sectional tournament, which will begin Monday at 7 p.m. Perquimans will most likely be Roanoke’s first opponent.
Williamston 15 14 16 9 — 54
Roanoke 10 21 19 30 — 90
Williamston (54)
William Harvey 11, Moore 7, Biggs 9, Andrews 9, Coffield 9, Northern 3, Peele 2, Auton 2.
Roanoke (90)
Green 9, Kenneth Hyman 18, Alonza Higgs 14, Dyquail Lloyd 22, Altonio Higgs 11, Griffin 8, Hudson 4, Wiggins 5.