Home Local Sports Hamlet basketball teams earn road wins over Cordova

Hamlet basketball teams earn road wins over Cordova

Gage Stewart had a team-high 11 points for the Red Rams in their win over Cordova.
Deon Cranford - The Richmond Observer.

CORDOVA — Hamlet Middle School’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were all business Thursday, each earning a road win at Cordova Middle School.

Stewart’s 11 points paces Red Rams to comeback win over Cavs

The Hamlet boys’ team edged the Cavaliers 33-27 thanks to a strong fourth quarter. Eighth grader Gage Stewart led the team with 11 points, including a pair of triples, but it was Cordova’s Davion Ingram who had a game-high 13 points.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a 7-6 lead after the first quarter, using baskets from Johnny Holmes and Khmari Morgan to take an early lead. 

Hamlet’s James Covington answered with a three-pointer, but a Morgan layup and an Ingram free throw kept the Cavs ahead. Stewart had his first triple of the game in the first quarter.

Cordova outscored the Red Rams 7-2 in the first eight minutes of the second quarter, with the final point in that run being a free throw by Morgan. That gave the Cavs a 14-8 lead, their largest lead of the game.

But in the final 1:50 of the second quarter, Hamlet outscored Cordova 10-0. Stewart and Ali West each contributed a three-pointer to that run, Jay Hamilton had a layup and Jason Walker and Jordan Bostick each added a free throw. At the break, the Red Rams held an 18-14 lead.

The Red Rams managed to score just three points in the third quarter, a triple from Hamilton, who finished with eight points. Cordova netted eight more points, four from Ingram and two each from Holmes and Lashon Goodwin.

Entering the fourth quarter up 22-21, the Cavaliers couldn’t slow down Stewart and the Red Rams in the final 10 minutes. Stewart scored his final five points on a putback and a three-pointer in the first two minutes of the frame.

A long scoring drought for both teams followed, but Ingram hit two free throws to cut Cordova’s deficit to 26-24 with 2:18 remaining.

Bostick was fouled on a layup attempt, but the ball went through. He missed the and-one attempt, but Hamilton pulled down the rebound and tossed it in for two more. Hamlet increased its lead to 30-24 with 1:35 left.

After Ingram hit one of two from the free throw line for Cordova, Walker connected on a short jumper in the paint giving Hamlet a 32-25 lead, its largest of the game, with 52.4 ticks on the clock. 

A putback by Holmes and a freethrow by Bostick were the final points scored in the game.

Hamlet (2-2) forced 23 turnovers and saw Bostick and Walker each score four points. Holmes finished with eight points for the Cavaliers (0-3) and Morgan had four points.

Lady Red Rams ease past Lady Cavs 

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Hamlet’s Saquanna Bostic had a game-high 13 points in Thursday’s win.

The first 28 points of the girls’ basketball game all belonged to the Lady Red Rams and head coach Mitch Coe, which helped Hamlet to a 31-10 victory over Cordova. 

“Saquanna Bostic led us with 13 points,” Coe said. “She’s worked hard at practice this week on her shot and it showed. O’Rena Drake was solid for us as well (with seven points), and Kaylan McCormick, a sixth grader, got her first start and took advantage of it to pump in six points.  

“I’m happy we got the win. All the girls have worked hard at practice and they all got to play and contribute to today’s win.”

A physical first quarter saw both defenses combine for a dozen turnovers. Hamlet got eight first-quarter points from McCormick, Bostic and Drake. McCormick had a short jumper and later hit a shot from the free throw line, Bostic drained a triple and Drake hit a deep two.

Hamlet used a 10-0 run in the second frame to take an 18-0 lead into the break. Bostic had two uncontested layups and Drake was 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

In the final 30 seconds of the half, Kelly Hodges stripped the ball away from Cordova and banked it in for her two points with 28 seconds on the clock. Bostic got a steal on the ensuing Cordova possession and took it coast-to-coast for two more points.

After a couple of jump shots from Bostic and a pair of three-pointers from McCormick and Drake to start the 3rd quarter, Coe began subbing players with a 28-0 lead.

Cordova scored the next six straight points. Two putbacks from Symone Terry and a short jumper from Amariah Gibson got the Lady Cavs on the board. Hayden Robinson splashed home a three-pointer for Hamlet to put the visitors up 31-6 after the third.

In the fourth quarter, Hamlet played keep-away and ran down the clock. Cordova’s Abby Wellman and Kenley Smith scored the only two baskets of the fourth quarter.

The Lady Red Rams (2-1) will play Rockingham at home Tuesday, and will play the Lady Rockets again on Thursday for the conference championship.

Deon Cranford contributed game information and photos to this article.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.