The Columbia Boys Wildcats suffered a tough, but well-played 50-43 loss to the Gates County Red Barons on Friday Dec. 13.

“I thought our kids played their hearts out. We were playing without two of our starters. They did what any coach would want. We had a chance to win, but we just did not make shots at end,” said Coach Bill Manning.

The game itself was a tough, defensive battle as both teams struggled to get going in the early minutes of the game.

Columbia would miss the first five of their free throws before being able to convert at the line.

Gates County would miss several uncontested layups before they found their rhythm.

The Wildcats were neck to neck with the Red Barons at 13-12 in the first quarter before Daniel Carlos hit a three to stretch the lead to 16-12

Donnie King fed of an entry pass down low moments later to extend the lead to 18-12.

From there the Red Barons stayed out in front as King converted on two foul shots and Nathan Jernigan hit another three to pull Gates County out to 25-14

Columbia got back into the game in the fourth quarter with smart execution on defense and careful substitution.

The score see-sawed back and forth with Columbia behind 38-33 at 7:43,38-35 at 6:40, and 38-37 at 6:23.

A 32-20 deficit was erased in the closing minutes of the third quarter and the two teams stayed within a point or two of each other until the final two minutes of the game.

Andrew Wiggins and Rashawn Wilkins hit key three throws for the Red Barons to close out the game.

Wiggins followed throught on a pair to help keep a 46-43 lead. Wilkins would make the finals shots of the game to help get a 50-43 win for his team.
Girls
The Lady Wildcats lost 49-21 on Dec. 12 to Gates County.
Stats from other games include:
December 6, 2013 :The Lady Wildcats lost their first conference game to Camden. The Lady Wildcats, plagued by injuries were led in scoring by senior Alexa Foor with 9 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds. Lakitia Basnight had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Juniors, Keosha White and Ashante Spruill chipped in 9 and 8 rebounds respectively. Freshman, Talissa Spruill played very well off the bench scoring 2 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

December 10, 2013 The Lady Wildcats won a tough conference game against Ocracoke. The lady cats trailed at halftime but battled back in the second half forcing the game into overtime where they dominated the lady dolphins winning by a score of 53-35. THe lady cats were led by Lakitia Basnight’s 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Elizabeth Moran came back strong after missing the game against Camden with an ankle injury, scoring 14 points. Alexa Foor and Keosha White both added 8 points. Dana Maltman had 6 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Ashante Spruill and Talissa Spruill played key minutes off the bench adding 8 and 5 rebounds respectively.