The Tar Heels entered the weekend with an undefeated record and showed now signs of slowing down as they topped the Pirates 42-14 in the 10-year old division of the Washington Youth Basketball League on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (6-0) were hot from the opening tip off as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to six first-quarter points by center Tyler Turner.
Turner combined with point guard Rashad Smith to form a dynamic duo as Turner tallied 12 points and Smith poured in a game-high 14 points and dished out numerous assists.
With his smooth jump shot and knack for finding passing angles, Smith controlled the court and helped maintained his team’s perfect record.
“I’ve never seen a 10-year old as advanced as him. He can pass the ball and shoot it. He’s talented beyond his years” Tar Heels coach John Lampkins said. “When he gets older it’s going to be scary.”
The Tar Heels defense was scary early as they limited the Pirates to four second-quarter points to go into halftime up 16-4.
“We played good defense and rebounded and the kids played extremely unselfish,” Lampkins said. “This is the best 10-year old team I’ve ever been associated with and we’ve been dong this for 15 years.”
Though they were down, the Pirates kept pushing and turned in a strong finish as they tallied 10 points in the final two quarters.
“We might have gotten a little discouraged early, but other than that they played pretty good,” Pirates coach C.J. Stevenson said.
The Pirates were led by Toshua Glaspie’s eight points, while Pezre Moore, Benjamin Beach and Tyshawn Ebron scored two each.
“They work hard every game,” Stevenson said of his team.
With the Tar Heels’ Tuner patrolling the paint, points where hard to come by for the Pirates. After the game, Lampkins praised the effort of his center.
“He’s awesome and he works really hard on defense,” Lampkins said. “He towers over everybody so all he has to do is keep his hands up.”
The Tar Heels also got a big game from Antonio Godley who scored seven points. Will Crisp added four for the Heels, while Jamari Nelson scored three and Devon Thigpen added two.
Offensively, the Tar Heels stepped it up on in the third quarter and exploded for 13 points to go ahead 29-8 as the fourth quarter began.
In the final quarter, the Heels did not rest on their big lead as they again tallied 13 points to cement victory.
“They do not quit till the buzzer goes off,” Lampkins said. “This is the type of team I would go sit in the bleachers and pay money to watch because they play so hard and they are so unselfish. They have great attitudes and they just go out there and have fun.”

Pirates    0    4    4    6    —    14
Tar Heels    10    6    13    13    —    42
Pirates (14)
Pezre Moore 2, Benjamin Beach 2, Toshua Glaspie 8, Tyshawn Ebron 2.
Tar Heels (42)
Devon Thigpen 2, Antonio Godley 7, Rashad Smith 14, Tyler Turner 12, Will Crisp 4, Jamari Nelson 3.