By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — Pamilico’s star 6-5 point guard Shane Whitfield poured in 38 points, scoring from seemingly everywhere on the court to lead the Hurricanes past Southside 63-56 on Tuesday.
Whitfield scored his team’s first 10 points of the game, and 12 of the team’s 16 first-quarter points, to give Pamlico a 16-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
Southside (1-1) shrugged off its sluggish start and caught fire in the second quarter as it ripped off a 21-5 run that lasted nearly five minutes and gave the team a 27-21 lead.
Seahawks’ guard Reggie Selby led the attack as he hit big shot after big shot and scored nine of his 11 points during that run.
Southside center Tony Grice helped spark the team during that stretch as he was a force on the defensive end, blocking shots that helped ignite fastbreaks. Grice was also a factor on offense where he tied Selby with a team-high 11 points.
The Hurricanes (2-0) regrouped and cut Southside’s advantage to 34-31 by halftime, then used a big third quarter to reclaim the lead. It would be one that they would hold the rest of the game as they out-scored Southside 32-22 in the second half.
First-year coach Sean White praised his team’s effort and said that the group still needs some more time in the gym together.
“I think the biggest difference is that we just need more practice time,” White said. “With football going so long we have really only had two full practices.”
Aside from practice, White credited Whitfield for having a tremendous game. The Seahawks threw every defender they had from guard to center at the Hurricanes’ star but could not slow him down.
“He’s a great player. We tried to front him as much as possible and deny him the ball,” White said. “I had several guys on him but he’s just a great player.”
Pamlico coach Earl Sadler said he was proud of the way his team handled the Seahawks’ second half barrage.
“Southside just came out and punched us in the mouth in the second quarter and we didn’t react well. That’s a tremendous basketball team, they are very athletic,” Sadler said. “In the second half we were a little bit more aggressive ourselves and started cutting off their penetration to the basket.”
Girls game
Southside 52, Pamlico 36
Chante Painter and Katisha Hyman combined for 12 of the Seahawks 16 first-quarter points to help the team take a 16-7 early lead over the Hurricanes en route to a 52-36 victory.
Hyman and Painter each scored a game-high 14 points, while DeAndria Purdue tallied five points and 10 rebounds.
Pamlico fought back in the second quarter and was able to slash Southside’s lead to 23-20 at halftime, but the Hurricanes did not have the firepower to overtake the Seahawks.
Southside ran away with the game in the second half, out-scoring Pamlico 29-16 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
“The girls came out and played real strong from the start,” Southside coach Bill Lake said. “We got into some foul trouble and Pamlico did a nice job of adjusting and coming back. In the second half our girls game out and played real hard. … We got some new people playing who didn’t play last year and they started to feel more comfortable.”
Southside will be back in action on Friday when it travels to take on Pamlico, while the Hurricanes will be back on the court Wednesday at home against West Carteret.
Boys game
Pamlico 16 15 14 18 — 63
Southside 6 28 6 16 — 56
Hurricanes (63)
Shane Whitfield 38, Anthony McCray 10, Jones 2, Dum 1, Best 4, Heath 2, Brown 5.
Seahawks (56)
Tony Grice 11, Benston 6, Stanley 4, Blount 7, Myers 4, Reggie Selby 11, No. 20 9, Moore 2.
Girls game
Pamlico 7 13 9 7 — 36
Southside 16 7 15 14 — 52
Hurricanes (36)
Ward 9, Darian Roberts 10, Brown 4, Hollowell 5, Sawyer 8, Davis 3.
Seahawks (52)
Starkie 6, Katisha Hyman 14, Chante Painter 14, Hodges 4, Purdue 5, Dubles