Kinston uses big second halves to sweep CBA

By David Williams
Published in Sports on January 30, 2004 2:00 PM

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- After three days of no school -- and no practice -- the key to both Kinston-Charles B. Aycock basketball matchups Thursday night had a lot to do with shaking the house-bound doldrums and getting back into playing shape.

Kinston's teams found their legs in the second half. Aycock did not.

That was the real story behind the Vikings' 62-33 romp in the boys game and 46-32 win on the girls matchup at the Golden Falcons' gym.

The victory was important for the Kinston boys, who are still unbeaten in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play at 11-0 and 17-1 overall -- coupled with Eastern Wayne's loss to West Craven, Kinston now has two-game lead. But the Kinston girls got a big bounce out of the victory, moving into sole possession of second place in the ECC. Kinston is a game ahead of third-place Aycock and two behind league leader Goldsboro.

Just as importantly, Kinston's girls got a split in the season series with Aycock, which could become important as tournament seedings and playoff spots are decided.

Both games followed the same script -- a predictably sloppy first half, followed by a return to form for the visiting Vikings while Aycock struggled to sustain an offense and scrambled to keep defensive intensity.

The Viking boys turned it over 14 times in the first half, while Aycock had the same trouble but looked a bit smoother in the opening frames. Alonzo Farrell ands Rob Phillips were important components as Aycock built a 12-7 early lead.

But Kinston found its rhythm behind a patient offense and the shooting of Jamell Walters, who racked up eight of his game-high 12 points in the opening half. Kinston used a 12-2 run to take the halftime lead at 19-14.

The second half saw Kinston vaunted man defense take control of the game, creating havoc in midcourt on the Falcon guards and converting it into points at the other end. Jay McBynum and Mike Jenkins led the way for Kinston, who dominated the boards with second- and third-chance put-backs.

Kinston outscored Aycock 24-6 in the third period and 43,19 in the second half to salt the game away. Brandon Hobbs put up eight points to lead Aycock.

Kinston coach Wells Gulledge said his team's late arrival did not help shake the cobwebs from waiting out the ice storm.

"I thought Aycock adjusted to the layoff better than we did in the first half," he said. "Their young kids were able to scrap. We stepped it up in the second half with defensive pressure. We were thinking our way through their zone, and that's a good sign for us."

"We stepped up, and they answered us," said Aycock coach David West. "We stepped up again, and they answered. We couldn't keep with their defensive pressure at the end. We have to learn to step it up.

"Our goal is to learn to play defense like Kinston does."

The Kinston girls led 17-13 at halftime after a poor first half by both teams shooting the ball. Joyce Warrick had seven of her team-high eight points in the first half, while Kinston took the lead sparked by eight points by ShoShonna Moore in the second period.

The decisive period for the girls was the final one, in which Moore and Krystal Fuller delivered a 1-2 punch for the Lady Vikings. From a spread offense, Moore would drive to the free-throw line and shoot an accurate jumper, or if defended, dump it to Fuller in the low post.

Aycock struggled to stop it and battled with the Kinston front line for key rebounds, only to come up short at the end.

Moore led all scorers with 16 points, while Fuller ended up with 10. Lela Reid added nine for Aycock.

"Shooting really killed us, but intensity-wise, we were not ready," said Aycock girls coach Gary Hales. "We can make up shooting problems with good defense, but we missed assignments and gave them two and three shots on rebounds.

"The girls got worried about the score and intangibles. You have to play through those things."

Aycock will travel to West Craven tonight.

Boys game

Kinston 6 13 24 19 -- 62

C.B. Aycock 8 6 6 13 -- 33

KINSTON (17-1, 11-0)

Jemell Walters 6 0 0-2 12, Jay McBynum 3 0 3-4 9, Montel Jones 3 0 2-3 8, Mike Jenkins 2 1 0-0 7, Darryll Jones 2 0 2-3 6, Jarius Harris 0 1 1-2 4, Teyon Marshall 2 0 0-0 4, Marquis Grant 2 0 0-0 4, Walt Taylor 0 1 0-0 3, Mike Small 1 0 0-0 2, LaPaul Foye 1 0 0-0 2, Ben Sutton 0 0 1-3 1. TOTALS -- 22 3 9-17 62.

C.B. AYCOCK (3-14, 3-8)

Brandon Hobbs 1 1 3-4 8, Alonzo Farrell 2 0 2-3 6, Rob Phillips 2 0 0-0 4, Montrell Sims 2 0 0-0 4, Michael Gurganus 0 1 0-0 3, Josh Coley 0 0 2-2 2, Dustin Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Wes Whitley 1 0 0-0 2, Brian Moore 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 10 2 7-9 33.

Three-point baskets -- Kinston 3 (Taylor, Harris, Jenkins), C.B. Aycock 2 (Gurganus, Hobbs). Turnovers -- Kinston 21, Aycock 22. Total fouls -- Kinston 7, Aycock 11. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.

Girls game

Kinston 5 12 13 16 -- 46

C.B. Aycock 4 9 11 8 -- 32

KINSTON (10-7, 9-2)

ShoShonna Moore 7 0 2-6 16, Krystal Fuller 5 0 0-0 10, Gabrielle Taylor 1 0 3-4 5, Krystal Suggs 1 1 0-0 5, Courtney Smith 2 0 0-0 4, Shamir Farmer 2 0 0-0 4, Kelly Bradshaw 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 19 1 6-9 46.

C.B. AYCOCK (13-4, 8-3)

Lela Reid 4 0 1-2 9, Joyce Warrick 3 0 2-5 8, Cassandra Worrell 2 0 1-2 5, Quaniesha Milner 2 0 0-0 4, Emily Stewart 2 0 0-4 4, Laquita Broadie 1 0 0-0 2, Mary Beth Hooks 0 0 0-1 0. TOTALS -- 14 0 4-14 32.

Three point baskets -- Kinston 1 (Suggs). Turnovers - Kinston 14, Aycock 17. Total fouls -- Kinston 11, Aycock 8, Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.