CHOCOWINITY — A flat start to the second half cost Southside in its 83-74 loss to Jones Senior on Wednesday. The traveling Trojans held a 36-32 lead at halftime before they stormed out in the second half to ensure they’d remain undefeated in 1-A Coastal Plains competition.

Things looked promising to start the third. The Seahawks grabbed almost a half a dozen offensive rebounds on an early possession, but couldn’t get a basket to go down. They made a stop on the other end and Josh Keyes hit a baseline jumper to make it a two-point game, 36-34.

That was the closest Southside would get for the rest of the game. Janari Hill responded by knocking down a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-0 run by the Trojans that put them up 47-34.

Seahawks coach Sean White called a timeout after Khadre Brooks hit a layup in transition in the middle of that run.

“We came out flat in the second half right at the beginning,” White said. “Against teams like them and East Carteret, you can’t come out flat. You’ve got to come out guns blazing.”

Pat Coffey finally ended his team’s scoreless with a 3-pointer. Keyes had knocked one down earlier in the contest, but the Seahawks were largely unsuccessful from beyond the arc. Coffey hit two more from long range in the third, but they struggled to get shots to drop throughout the second half.

“That’s one thing we struggle with this season: 3-point shooting. I don’t know why. We work on it in practice,” White said. “It’s just something in the game. That rhythm we get in practice just doesn’t carry over to the game. We’re just not shooting well from 3-point like we were last year.”

The Seahawks got plenty of opportunities at the free-throw line, but their shooting was frustrating. Coffey hit a trey to cut the Trojans’ lead to 49-42, but his side would keep going cold as soon as it seemed to heat up.

“When they go up and all of a sudden they start hitting, it’s frustrating to get those spurts like that,” White said. “Pat had three (3-pointers) in the third and one in the fourth and Tatum had one early in the fourth, but that was pretty much it.”

Southside started the game flat, too. Jones Senior kicked things off with a trio of 3’s — two of which came from Hill. The Seahawks didn’t find their way onto the scoreboard until a pair of free throws from Donshae Tatum that cut into the 9-0 lead the Trojans had quickly built.

Tamazja Dixon made a pair of layups and a free throw to help carry Southside on a 12-0 run that erased Jones Senior’s lead.

The Trojans started pulling away a bit in the second quarter. Malik Brooks hit a 3 and then rolled a layup in that put his team ahead 29-19. Dixon scored nine points in the latter part of the second period, helping make it a two-possession game heading into the break.

In the fourth quarter, Southside had to settle for scoring most of its points at the charity stripe. Even when someone was able to get a basket, the Trojans would respond with one of their own.

Brooks’ language got him whistled for a technical foul late in the game, which afforded Lawrence Brown and Tatum some free throws. They each converted on both, Tatum got two more and Dixon hit a late layup to make it a respectable seven-point loss.

Southside hits the road for Lejeune on Friday and Bear Grass on Monday. The two opponents have just eight wins — and only two in conference — between them, providing an excellent chance to bounce back.

“If we can play with the intensity we played with tonight, we won’t have a problem Friday night,” White said. “I’m coming out like we did tonight. … We’re going to get that win that’s been elusive for the last three of four games.”