CHOCOWINITY — Southside had to wait a long time before it could finally play a game in Chocowinity. The Seahawks looked unprepared when they finally did get to play in front of their home crowd.

Riverside scored the first 17 points of Tuesday’s game en route to an 89-64 rout of Southside. The loss marked the team’s third in a row to begin 1-A Coastal Plains Conference play.

“I called a timeout and told them, ‘This is your first home game. This is your floor, and they’re disrespecting it right now,’” head coach Sean White said. “That kind of sparked them a little bit. … We just can’t let these good teams like them, Northside and Pamlico just run up and down the floor. That’s what they want to do.”

White called a timeout with 3:12 left in the first quarter. He sought to refocus his team after it fell deep into a 17-0 hole. Southside finally got on the board shortly after when sophomore Zack Green hit a 3-pointer.

Still, the Knights potted 24 of the game’s first 30 points. The Seahawks found some good fortune from the perimeter as they added three more treys in the second quarter. They scored 18 points in the period, which was triple their first-quarter output.

Brandon Sullivan gave the eager home fans a reason to cheer when he drained a 3 at the halftime buzzer. It was one of few big moments, but the Seahawks would need many more as they trailed 47-29 halfway through.

Demetrius Ebron joined the party with two quick makes from long range to begin the third. Southside’s shots were falling after the lethargic start, but Riverside still dictated the pace of the game.

The Seahawks finally found success after White issued them a challenge. The Knights led by 28 going into the fourth. He wanted to see his team slow the game down, which proved more favorable.

“I said, ‘Look, we need to run our half-court offense better than what we’re doing,’” he said. “If we do that, we’ve got a chance. We’ve just got to limit their time with the ball. We’re not that quick. We can’t get back on defense. That’s one thing we’re having trouble with.

“Three passes before we take a shot on offense. That started opening up things and they started seeing. It started working for them.”

The Seahawks took note of how slowing it down helped them on both ends of the court.

“Demetrius said, ‘Coach, we need to do this every game. Three passes before a shot every time in half court,’” White said. “I said he was exactly right. He’s the captain. He needs to get that through to everybody else’s heads.”

Southside is set to host rival Northside on Friday. White said the Seahawks are better than the 103-58 drubbing they received from the Panthers during Northside’s Holiday Tournament.

They’re eager to prove that, but White also said that he’s not confident the game will be played. Beaufort County is expected to be plagued by winter weather throughout the rest of the week.