The Pam Pack’s unprecedented 4-0 start is among the most impressive beginnings to a basketball season in school history. With Washington’s 68-54 victory over First Flight, Washington will head into a battle of undefeated teams in Kinston (3-0) next Tuesday.

The 3-point shooting First Flight team was kept at bay on Thursday night, thanks to a pesky Pam Pack defense. While the Nighthawks use a lot of screens to free up their shooters, Washington did a nice job of contesting shots and not getting too extended to allow easy buckets inside.

The first quarter was a three-for-all. Both teams let fly from long range, but the Pam Pack’s were on target at a higher percentage. Omario Blount had two 3’s in the first half, propelling him to an 18-point performance to lead all scorers in the contest.

In the second quarter, Washington created some separation, extending their lead to as many as 17 points before the Nighthawks hit three consecutive 3-pointers to narrow the Pam Pack lead to 41-33 at halftime.

While each team swapped runs in the third quarter, the Pam Pack kept responding. First Flight cut their deficit to five points with four minutes remaining in the game, but that’s as close as they could get it.

Messiah Ebron entered the game for the Pam Pack midway through the fourth quarter and his defensive effort turned into easy buckets for him on the other end. He scored eight points in the final frame to put the game out of reach.

“When he comes into the game, he’s like the energizer for us,” head coach David Allewalt said about Ebron. “Tonight, he came in and performed well on the defensive end and had some good finishes offensively.”

Justin Powell had another huge night for the Pam Pack as well. He pulled down close to 20 rebounds according to Allewalt, and scored 11 points.

“(Powell) worked his tail off tonight,” Allewalt said. “He was tired, he was exhausted, he had nothing left and (Ebron) came in and did a good job of filling into his role in that fourth quarter.”

Washington’s defense held First Flight to 8-of-44 (18%) from behind the arc. The Nighthawks averaged 73.4 points per game last season and shot 38% from the field. The Pam Pack kept them well below their averages on Thursday night.

“I know First Flight very well. I’ll just say this, if you can hold a First Flight team to 54 points, then you are performing on the defensive end,” Allewalt said. “It was sloppy, we were flat on offense, but playing on three consecutive days against D.H. Conley, Southwest Edgecombe and First Flight, that’s three state playoff teams. At the end of the day, finding a way to win the game is good enough for me.”

Washington only had six different scorers. Jamuari Bryant had 13, Rashod Smith had 15 along with eight assists, and Kash Godley splashed a 3-pointer in the first half.

The Pam Pack’s road won’t get any easier, they will have to travel to Kinston next Tuesday, host North Lenoir on Thursday and play a really good East Carteret team at the Good Guys Versus Cancer Tournament at First Flight High School next weekend.