Wind back the clock a complete decade to Dec. 16, 2009 the last time the Washington Pam Pack defeated the Greene Central Rams. On Tuesday evening, they ended the dry spell with a 79-71-overtime victory inside David W. Smith gymnasium.

A lot of shots were falling for the Rams early on from distance, and Rams’ guard Bobby Corbitt was usually the culprit.

A 24-point first quarter from Greene Central opened up a 10-point cushion, but the Pam Pack came right back in the second quarter. An Omarion Blount 3, and a one-handed slam from Terry Moore got Washington going on a 10-2 run .The Pam Pack closed the gap, and only trailed 35-32 at the halftime break.

The Rams came out firing again in the third quarter. Corbitt’s 3, and Lamar Pridgen’s vicious dunk silenced the crowd, re-extending the Rams’ lead to 56-46 at the end of three.

After a passionate speech from head coach David Allewalt in the huddle, Washington came out in the fourth with a vengeance.

“I told them, ‘Guys, lets keep it together. We were down 10 after they went on a run in the first quarter and we battled back to a 3-point game,’” Allewalt said.

Washington erased the deficit within the first two minutes.

Rashod Smith nailed a jumper, Moore grabbed a steal and Blount’s finish at the rim then gave the Pam Pack its first lead with 3:32 remaining in the game.

Washington built a five-point lead, but Greene Central wouldn’t go away. Corbitt’s 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining sent the game to overtime at 69-69.

The overtime period belonged to Washington. Smith’s driving and kicking, with a mix of finishing at the rim and sinking his free throws was easily the difference in the second half and in overtime. He went on to score 29 points and led all scorers in the contest. He had 10 assists on the evening to earn a double-double, and also brought down some crucial rebounds late in the game.

“My dribble drive was working. If the layup wasn’t there I passed it out, got somebody else a bucket,” Smith said after his near triple-double performance. “Coach has been talking about (how big of a win this is for the program) every day in the group chat. Heading into the Kinston game, we’re just looking to get that first-place in the conference.”

Blount had 18 points, Moore had 11 and Jamauri Bryant dropped 10 points on the night for Washington.

Allewalt was ecstatic after his team defeated the Rams for the first time in over a decade, and says his team continues to grow.

“This means everything for our program. I can’t tell you the last time Washington beat Greene Central. The adversity we fought through was unbelievable. We missed some easy ones, maybe due to some nerves and stuff. The heart that we showed; the fight that we showed; we grinded it out, and I’m just so proud of them. This is the most proud I’ve been in a long time,” Allewalt said. “This is probably the first meaningful game for everyone on this basketball team to have won. They just showed they have a no quit mentality, and we’re ready to dance on Friday.”

Washington heads into a battle for first-place in the 2-A Eastern Carolina Conference on Friday night against Kinston at home.