By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — After heading into halftime down by one point, Southside erupted in the second half with a 44-15 run to blow past Jamesville 76-48 on Wednesday.
The Bullets matched the Seahawks’ effort over the first two quarters and took a 33-32 lead into halftime after Clay Roberson nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The break in the action drained Jamesville’s momentum as the team managed only six points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth.
The Seahawks created separation in the third quarter thanks to Billy Murray’s six third-quarter-points and four each by Tony Grice and Kendrick Reddick. That effort allowed the team to take a 49-39 lead into the fourth.
Murray would finish the game with eight points, while Grice netted 12.
Southside delivered the knockout blow in the final quarter where Lonnie Williams scored 10 of his 14 points and Willie Ruffin tallied five of his team-high 15 to lead the team on a 27-9 run.
Southside coach Dwayne White felt conditioning and a deep bench might have made the difference.
“To be honest it just might have been that (Jamesville) got tired. They played us man-to-man in the first half and I think they started to wear down,” White said. “We also have a lot more depth this year and it started to show a little bit. … But I think our size advantage helped too.”
Depth was key for Southside (2-3, Four Rivers Conference) as it featured 12 players in the scoring column compared to seven for Jamesville.
The Bullets’ Rick Hardinson led all scorers with 19 points, while Roberson added 10.
Jamesville (0-2, Tideland Conference) coach Jerry Ange made no excuses for his team’s second half play.
“I think in the second half (Southside) played a little bit better and we just didn’t play as good,” Ange said. “We had a few more turnovers in the second half than in the first half … But it’s only our second game of the year.”
Hyman, Cradle carry Seahawks over Bullets
The Southside girls kept their perfect record intact as they rolled over Jamesville 59-30 on Wednesday.
The Seahawks held the Bullets to a combined nine points in the first and fourth quarter as they improved to 5-0 on the season.
Jamesville fell behind 11-4 in the first quarter and by halftime it was down 31-14.
Tamisha Cradle scored a game-high 14 points for Southside, while Katisha Hyman racked up 11. The Seahawks put forth a balanced effort as coach Bill Lake had 11 players enter the scoring column.
“I thought we came out a little slow, but we got it going,” Lake said. “We are starting to execute a lot better on our press and that showed. We got a lot of people playing time and experience tonight and I think that will help us down the road.”
The Seahawks pressed from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, creating havoc for the Bullets who struggle to score points the entire game.
Emily Griffin led Jamesville with 11 points and was the only player on her team in double-digit scoring. Paulish McCintye was the team’s second leading scorer with seven.
“We struggled a lot to get the ball in-bounds, they were tough pressing us full court for the entire game,” Jamesville coach Carrie Jones said. “Our biggest trouble was getting the ball in, once we got it in I think we did all right. The team was able to get some good looks at the basket.”
The Bullets (1-2) will attempt to bounce back on Friday night when they host Mattamuskeet, while the Seahawks will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Camden.
The Seahawks boys JV team also picked up a win as it topped Jamesville 55-31. K.J. Rouse led Southside with 12 points while Kyle White added nine to help improve their record to 4-1.
Girls game
Jamesville 4 10 11 5 — 30
Southside 11 20 15 13 — 59
Bullets (30)
Emily Griffin 11, Counts 3, P. Ange 4, C. Ange 6, McCintye 7, Goceres 5.
Seahawks (59)
Jones 3, Ruffin 5, Katisha Hyman 11, Bogart 2, Quaneika Thomas 10, Painter 4, Tamisha Cradle 14, Avery 3, Purdue 2.
Boys game
Jamesville 19 14 6 9 — 48
Southside 21 11 17 27 — 76
Bullets (48)
Rick Hardinson 19, Copeland 4, Whitehurst 1, Clay Roberson 10, Griffin 4, Landeis 2, Ward 3.
Seahawks (76)
Willie Ruffin 15, Jordan Benston 10, Murray 8, Green 3, Blount 5, Lonnie Williams 14, Aaron 3, Tony Grice 12, Reddick, Jordan 1, Selby 1, White 2.