Washington holds off Southside
Published 10:50 pm Friday, November 30, 2012
![WHS BK Trey Brunson SS web](http://www.wdnweb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2012/11/WHS-BK-Trey-Brunson-SS-web.jpg)
Washington’s Trey Brunson (right) goes to the basket during the Pam Pack’s 63-60 win over Southside Friday at Southside High School. (WDN Photo/Brian Haines)
CHOCOWINITY — Down 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter, Southside surged in the final eight minutes of the game but its rally fell just short as the Seahawks fell 63-60 to Washington on Friday.
The action-packed game was filled with ups and downs and several highlights, but took a dramatic turn with 2:01 left in the game when Seahawks’ forward Andrew Jones sustained what was initialed cited as a back injury.
With the score 57-55 in favor of the Pam Pack, Jones ran near the sideline and dove for a loose ball landing backwards over the Washington bench and appeared to hurt his back on a chair.
Jones lay on the ground in pain for several minutes as the Seahawks medical staff and EMS workers attended to him before he was taken off the court on a stretcher. Jones would eventually be taken to the hospital.
“During the break we prayed for Andrew and I think he’s going to be ok from what we’ve heard,” said Seahawks coach Sean White immediately after the game. “We think it’s a bad lower back bruise. He had movement in all his extremities.”
Washington held a lead at the end of each quarter and put forth a balanced offensive attack that was led by Stevie Green and Tarahje Burke, who had 11 points each, as well as Trey Brunson, who added eight.
After the game, Washington coach Steve Flowers was happy to get the win but disappointed that his team allowed the Seahawks to threaten in the fourth.
“We did some things down the stretch that were just not smart,” Flowers said. “We let them hang around. We took rushed shots when we should have been holding it.”
The Seahawks were powered by a tremendous effort from seniors Rokeem Miller and Kyle White. Miller scored a game-high 29 points, with 15 of them coming in the fourth quarter, while White tallied 12.
Washington 55, Southside 34
It was a tale of two halves for Washington as it turned a three-point halftime deficit into 21-point victory by topping Southside 55-34 on Friday.
The Pam Pack (1-1 Coastal Conference) put forth a dominating second-half effort as it outscored the Seahawks (1-2 Four Rivers) 35-11 over the final two quarters to pick up its first win of the year.
Washington’s junior guard Shayla Midgette led all scorers with 16 points, with 10 of them coming in the fourth quarter, while fellow junior Sheema Blount racked up 15 points to pace the Pack.
In the first quarter it was Southside who could do no wrong as it blitzed the Pam Pack with a suffocating press from the opening tipoff and stormed out to an 11-1 lead after DeAndria Purdue went 2-2 from the foul line with 2:18 left to go in the quarter.
Seahawks guard Rosiland Clark was on fire early and scored six first-quarter points. Clark would finish the game with a team-high 13, while Kyajia Mourning added 10.
After the two Purdue free throws Washington got defensive and was able to turn its stops into points as it closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run.
“We were able to make a few adjustments. We stressed to our girls that they had to front the posts,” Washington coach Allison Jones said. “Then, our guards just stepped up their intensity. We have spent the last two days of practice talking about defense and it just took a little bit for what we talked about to finally sink in.”
By the second half the team had definitely gotten the message as the Pam Pack displayed solid team defense to quiet the Seahawks.
Southside coach Bill Lake, whose team scored 23 first-half points to take a 23-20 lead into the break, said his team did not adjust properly to Washington’s adjustments.
“I thought the game was about thinking and they thought the game better than we did,” Lake said. “We came out and we did things to them and scored points. But, then they called timeout and their coach got them thinking and they adjusted but we didn’t. We failed to make the necessary adjustments to come back.”
Girls’ game
Washington 11 9 14 21 — 55
Southside 13 10 4 7 — 34
Pam Pack (55)
Jefferson 5, Walker 2, Midgette 2, Sheema Blount15, Shayla Midgette16, Boston 2, Anglim 4, Alligood 2, Smith 6.
Seahawks (34)
Rosiland Clark 13, Kyajia Mourning 10, Purdue 2, Olds 2, Blango 2, Standbridge 1.
Boys’ game
Washington 17 12 19 15 — 63
Southside 11 11 15 23 — 60
Pam Pack (63)
Brunson 8, Jackson 2, Austin 6, Whitley 2, Moore 7, Bell 4, Copeland 7, Tarhje Burke 11, Stevie Green 11.
Seahawks (60)
Kyle White 12, Rokeem Miller 29, Whichard 5, Moore 2, Jones 8.