North Duplin boys snap two-game skid

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 12, 2010 1:50 AM

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CALYPSO -- Start with some red-hot outside shooting.

Add some stingy defense.

Finish with a balanced offensive attack.

Those ingredients make up a blowout.

North Duplin held Hobbton in check long enough to build a double-digit lead in the game's opening minutes and never looked back in a non-conference, 76-56 victory Friday evening.

"The biggest thing for me was that we played hard from the opening tip," said North Duplin head coach Ricky Edwards. "The points kind of speak for themselves, but the difference was the defense and the hustle plays that we made tonight."

The Rebels broke free with a 9-0 scoring run to open the game.

A basket by Devin Oliver and a putback by Tyler Royal extended North Duplin's advantage to 13-2 just five minutes into the contest.

By halftime, the lead had ballooned to 15 points, but trouble was brewing on the horizon. Three North Duplin starters each collected their third foul before the intermission.

"The first half we held them to 15 points which was nice to see," said Edwards. "We were able to control the tempo, and get out and run a little bit."

North Duplin got a 3-pointer from James Kornegay to open the second half and Oliver added eight points in the third quarter as the Rebels extended their lead to 53-30. Edwards found plenty of time for his bench players while holding the big lead.

The Wildcats used an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter, but never pulled closer than 15 points. Hobbton shot just 14-for-37 from the free throw line on the night. The teams combined for 46 total personal fouls.

Deshaun Newkirk paced the Wildcats with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Kornegay led the Rebels offense with 20 points. Breyon Johnson added 17 points and Oliver finished with 15 points.

North Duplin (1-2 overall) travels to Lakewood on Monday.