CHOCOWINITY — Washington picked up right where it left off this time a year ago as the Pam Pack topped Pamlico 54-45 on the first day of the 2011 Southside Holiday Invitational Tournament on Monday to advance to the title game.
Last season, Washington topped Pamlico to win the 2010 tourney title and this year the Pack squeezed past the Hurricanes to make it back to the championship game where it will defend its title against Kipp Pride tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Jimmy Williams led Washington (2-4, Coastal Conference) with a game-high 12 points, but it was a strong second-half effort by D.J. Bell combined with a stingy defense that allowed Washington to advance.
Bell tallied nine points for the game and made pair of free throws along with a critical three-pointer in a 40-second span that gave Washington a 50-42 lead with 1:02 left in the game.
“It’s all heart,” Washington coach Steve Flowers said after the game. “We don’t have a dominant player so we just need guys to step up and (Bell) did today.”
Pamlico (3-4, Coastal Plaines) showed some grit as well as it trailed 30-27 at halftime and kept pace with the Pam Pack all the way up until Bell’s five-point run.
Jalyn Foines and Brad Bennett led the Hurricanes with nine points each and after the game Pamlico head coach Earl Sadler said his team needed to do a better job of banging with the Pam Pack.
“They just out-physicalled us,” Sadler said. “We’re just a young team and we don’t know how to come out and stand up to people physically. We got pushed around a little bit. Washington did a great job of pounding the glass and they just out-physicalled us.”
Pamlico will be back in action today when it battles Southside at 6 p.m. for third place in the tournament.

Kipp Pride 54, Seahawks 52
Southside got into the giving spirit a little bit too early as turnovers haunted the Seahawks during its second annual Holliday Invitational Tournament on Monday as Southside fell 54-52 to Kipp Pride.
The Panthers (2-5, Tar Roanoke) had their fair share of turnovers as well but in the end they were able to hold of the Southside (3-7, Four Rivers) to propel themselves into the championship round of the tournament where they will face Washington tonight after Southside takes on Pamlico at 6 p.m. in a battle for third place.
“We struggled pretty much the whole game with turnovers,” Southside coach Sean White said. “When we pressed we were able to get turnovers but then we couldn’t hold on to the ball on the other end to convert it into points. That’s the biggest thing that hurt us.”
After two quarters of play Southside found itself down 30-22, but used an effective press to outscore Kipp Pride 14-8 to enter the fourth quarter trailing only 38-36.
With the defense locking down, the Seahawks’ rode the back of guard Rokeem Miller whose game-high 29 points allowed them to keep pace with the Panthers. Byron Murray added nine points and Kyle White chipped in seven to lead the Seahawks’ attack.
After a Murray layup the Seahawks were able to tie the game at 38 early in the fourth quarter, but Kipp Pride, which was led by Shawn Evans 13 points and Terrance Rogers nine, ripped off an 8-0 run to reclaim momentum.
Southside continually chipped away at the Panthers’ lead and with 17 seconds left on the clock had a chance to tie the game when Miller made a diving steal and alertly called time out. However, on the ensuing possession the Seahawks turned the ball over and were forced to foul Evans who hit both his free throws with 10 seconds left in the game to seal the victory.

Game 1
Kipp    14    16    8    16    —    54
Southside    8    14    14    16    —    52

Panthers (54)
Shawn Evans 13, Ingram 6, Rogers 9, William Rothwell 11, Harris 3, Terrance Rogers 11.
Seahawks (52)
Rokeem Miller 29, White 7, Murray 9, Stokes 1, Dixon 2, Rouse 4.

Game 2
Pamlico    13    14    9    9    —    45
Washington    14    16    8    16    —    54

Hurricanes (45)
Dunn 6, Lewis 9, Fiones 5, Restro 4, Smoak 9, Bennett 4, Whitney 1.
Pam Pack(54)
Graham 7, Brunson 6, Jimmy Williams 12, Moore 2, Stevie Green 10, Bell 8, Wright 2, J. Moore 4.