By JONATHAN ROWE

For the Daily News

CHOCOWINITY — In the second round of the Seahawks Holiday Invitational, Oakwood fell to Northside and Southside came up short against the Pam Pack.

A game that started slow due to tough defensive pressure and forced turnovers by both teams proved to be an even matchup with a low-scoring first half of 15-15. The Eagles would come out hot in the second half with Gabe Tippett hitting a couple of shots from the perimeter as well as contributing buckets from several of his teammates. Dwight Rish would also execute pick and roll plays that resulted in valuable points against the Panthers. Northside answered with scores from the arc, stout rebounding and a notable presence in the paint. Their defense also played a huge role in the win against the Eagles. In the second half, the Panthers alternated their “bread ‘n’ butter” man-to-man defense with half-court pressure. Oakwood would give Northside trouble until the last seconds of the game holding sophomore Edrice Adebayo to sixteen points and below fifty-percent shooting average. However, with 1:16 left in the game, Northside sunk three vital free-throws on several trips to the foul line and would rally to keep the Eagles scoreless the rest of the game.

“It was a good win, but now we have to go back to practice on Monday and build,” Adebayo stressed.

“I think we willed to win,” said Northside head coach, Mike Proctor.

Proctor went on to compliment Oakwood’s tough and competitive performance.

The second game on Saturday night between Washington and Southside would not end as closely as the first. The Seahawks would trail the Pam Pack for the majority of the game due to turnovers and missed shots. With the score 27-21 at the end of the first half, Southside’s fast break offense was not functioning as usual. In the second half, the Seahawks would fall further behind due to foul trouble and relentless defensive pressure from the Pam Pack.

Washington head coach, Steve Flowers, spoke about his team’s improvement on defense from the night before against Northside.

“Tonight we played good, hard pressure defense, but we didn’t foul,” Flowers stated.

Washington would demonstrate effective ball movement, rebounding and a good percentage in jump shots. Southside’s missed shots and turnovers from Washington’s half and full-court press would keep the Pam Pack ahead throughout the second half, increasing their lead to double digits in the last minutes of the game. The Seahawks would also stay in foul trouble, sending members of the Pam Pack to the foul line throughout the remainder of the game. Washington would sink the majority of their free-throws, sealing their 57-38 victory over the Seahawks.