CHOCOWINITY — Southside coach Sean White’s mantra has been to play each quarter like it’s a new game; that if you win each quarter, you’ll win the game. That message resonated with the Seahawks Wednesday evening when a 59-57 loss to reigning 1-A state champion East Carteret knocked them out of the Coastal Plains Conference tournament.

The Seahawks, playing in front of their home fans despite being labeled “visitors” on the scoreboard, tied the Mariners in the first quarter and won the third and fourth periods.

It was a lopsided 17-8 second quarter in favor of East Carteret that made the difference.

The two finished the first eight minutes tied at 16 apiece. The Mariners proceeded to score 12 unanswered points. Southside’s scoring drought was ended by a free throw from Tamazja Dixon with 3:27 left in the quarter.

“They were really rishing it,” White said. “We had two or three possessions I think that we took an ill advised shot that we probably shouldn’t have. … The biggest thing was trying to slow them down.

“I told my guys after the Northside game and I told them again today before the game and I told them again at halftime — we need to slow it down at our end. We need to take some time off the clock, work our offense to get good shots and stop their transition game. … I think that’s the reason we were in it at the end of the game.”

The Seahawks couldn’t get a field goal until the final minute of the half when Shondrea Roland got a layup on the run. Thanks to some free throws by Pat Coffey and another basket by Donshae Tatum, Southside pulled within nine points before heading into the locker room.

The Seahawks outscored East Carteret 21-15 in the third. They were able to get baskets down low and take some trips to the charity stripe. Johnny Sullivan knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game with the Mariners up only 46-40.

That lead was trimmed to just one possession when Lawrence Brown laid one in and Dixon hit one of two free throws.

East Carteret never led by more than two possessions in the fourth. Southside managed to pull within one point in the waning moments thanks to a pair of free throws by Tatum.

The Seahawks had the last shot. White called a timeout with 7.4 seconds left on the clock. The plan was to go for the layup and possibly draw a foul. Brown received the inbound pass, but was blocked off on the baseline. He managed to squeeze through a kick out to Johnny Sullivan, who was wide open on the wing. He put up a potential game-winning trey, but it was a few inches off the mark.

“If we could play every game like that and it comes down to the last shot, that’s basketball. That’s good basketball,” White said. “I’m an x’s and o’s type of guy. I love that kind of atmosphere.”

Claiming the conference championship was the goal, but there’s a silver lining to Wednesday’s game. The Mariners average over 76 points a game and haven’t lost to a league opponent all season.

Southside took them to the limit. The game, while ultimately a losing effort, is a blueprint for success. If the Seahawks can do that against the reigning state champions, they can stand a chance against anyone they meet in the playoffs.

“They know that,” White said. “To get blown out the previous two times we’ve played (East Carteret), but to be where we are, it’s playoff basketball time. That’s when upsets happen. It happens every year in college basketball and it happens in high school, too. This is definitely playoff basketball atmosphere.”

Postseason play continues starting Tuesday. The NCHSAA will release seeding and bracket information for the state playoffs over the weekend.