By By AARON CARPENTER, Sports Correspondent
CHOCOWINITY — The Williamston Tigers came into Southside and beat the winless Seahawks 73-54 Friday night.
The Tigers (4-12) went on a three-minute, 17-2 run in the second quarter and, as Seahawks coach Dwayne White (0-7) put it after the game, “We played with heart; we scrapped back in it; we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Southside did play with heart in the third and much of the fourth quarter, but the closest the Seahawks got was within six.
Coach Steve Gilmore of Williamston noted that even though the Tigers won, they let Southside back in the game.
Gilmore also praised the play of cousins Jarret and Kiyon Coffield, who combined for 21 points.
The Tigers got production from nearly everyone on the night with 10 players contributing to the point total.
A blistering pace was set in the first half and while the Seahawks never led, the score was tied at 19 one minute into the second quarter. That’s when the Tigers took over, sinking three 3s along with a few fast-break points and never really looked back. Williamston took a 40-28 lead into the locker room.
Southside did out-score Williamston in the third quarter, 16-11, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the second quarter. They battled valiantly, but good free throw shooting by Williamston late, 9-12 in the fourth, kept the Seahawks at bay. Southside was also outscored in the fourth quarter 22-10 as it seemed to tire a little bit because of a lack of depth on the bench.
After the game, White noted that “this is one of the better games we’ve played this year. We’re slowly starting to turn the corner, playing a lot better as a team (offensively).”
The Southside Lady Seahawks didn’t fare any better against the Williamston Lady Tigers, who are ranked No. 2 in the NCPREPS.com 1-A poll.
The Lady Tigers won the early game 58-32 behind a high-pressure, full-court defense that caused the Lady Seahawks problems from the get-go. The Southside women committed loads of turnovers against the Williamston defense and were effectively shut down when it came to scoring points in the first quarter.
Coach Jimmy Elks of Williamston said that “our press has been working real well pretty much all year. Our crowd has been real good about when we make a steal, pushing it up the court and running the lanes real well.”
The Lady Tigers led after the first quarter 19-5.
The second quarter saw the Lady Seahawks playing a little better, but Katie Paschal scored 15 of her 18 points in the first half and the entire Southside team could only muster 17.
In the third quarter, Williamston once again shut down Southside, allowing a mere 4 points. Southside coach Bill Lake noted that “we just had a lot of trouble adjusting and making shots.”
As for the fourth quarter, Williamston’s depth showed as most of its starters sat on the bench and the reserves played the Seahawks evenly, 11-11, not allowing Southside to make up any ground.
It was a good night for both the Williamston varsity teams, but there was a silver lining for Southside as its JV team beat Williamston 57-55.