ROCKINGHAM – On Monday, the Rockingham Middle School basketball teams played host to the Eagles of East Hoke Middle School and both came away with big Southeastern Conference victories.
Lady Rockets Go on 29-0 Run; Erase Early Deficit to Beat East Hoke 38-19
The girls game started off a little shaky for Rockingham. The Lady Rockets struggled to get their shots to go down, and East Hoke took advantage of several fastbreak opportunities to take a commanding 11-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Allyiah Swiney started things off for Rockingham in the second with an early jump shot, but East Hoke quickly responded with an old fashioned three-point play – and just like that, the Lady Rockets were down double digits, 14-4.
From there, momentum drastically shifted in favor of Rockingham. Over the course of the game’s next 14 minutes and 53 seconds, the Lady Rockets went on an amazing 29-point run.
After a Mariah Waddell free throw cut the lead to 9 with 2:28 remaining in the second quarter, Swiney stripped the ball away from East Hoke’s Ayanna Tewolde and delivered an easy layup to make it 14-7. About a minute later, Swiney connected on a mid-range jumper, and the Lady Rockets entered the break down only five, 14-9.
The Lady Rockets made some good shot choices and played aggressively on defense to outscore the Lady Eagles 19-0 in the third quarter. Swiney, Waddell, Kyla Sampson, and Daniah McDonald each netted field goals during the period and Keyoni Nichols also contributed to the run with two free throws.
The Rockingham run continued on into the fourth. After a Sampson free throw, McDonald bullied her way into the paint and banked one in for two to extend the lead to 31-14 with 4:09 left in the game. After Swiney’s next shot missed its mark, Waddell forced her way up between two Lady Eagles to possess the rebound and then returned it to the hoop for the final two points of the long run.
The nearly 15-minute East Hoke drought ended on two free throws with only 2:24 remaining in the ballgame. Their success was short lived.
On their next possession, the Lady Eagles lost control of the ball and Sampson scooped it up and found a wide open Kenleigh Frye running down the court. The ball was just off the mark, but Frye made an acrobatic save by flying out of bounds with the ball and tossing it back into the waiting arms of Swiney before crashing into the floor. Swiney’s easy layup put Rockingham ahead 35-16 with only 1:34 left in the game. The Lady Rockets held on to win 38-19.
Swiney was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 12 points. Waddell, Sampson and McDonald each contributed six. Nichols added five points, and Frye finished with three.
Rockets Defeat East Hoke 38-25; Kellan Hood Nets 12 Points
Like the girls’ game, the first quarter of the boys’ game ended with an 11-2 score, but this time the Rockets had the advantage. The first two points of the game went to the Eagles, but Kellan Hood tied it up quickly with a short jumper and then connected again with a layup just eight seconds later following an Eagle turnover.
Micah Jackson got into the action with a layup of his own for Rockingham with 4:02 remaining in the first. The ensuing inbound pass was mishandled and Hood stripped the ball away from the Eagles and dropped it in the hoop for two more at the 3:59 mark.
About a minute later, Will Dawkins grabbed the rebound off a Jackson miss and tossed it back up and in to extend the lead to 10-2 with 2:53 remaining in the first. Cason Douglas later connected on one of two free throws to account for the remaining first quarter point.
The first five points of the second quarter went to East Hoke cutting the Rocket lead to just four, but just like the first quarter, Rockingham responded with a run of its own. In the quarter’s final 3:30 Hood, Dawkins, and Noah Hogan accounted for one basket each. Those points, along with a Dawkins free throw, sent the Rockets into the halftime break with an 18-7 lead.
Hood started things off in the third when he hauled in an Eagle miss, dribbled the length of the court, split two defenders, and let loose a floater that caught nothing but net to extend the Rocket led to 13 with 5:30 on the clock.
Then Hogan, who was limited to only two first-half points, caught on fire. First he banked one in on a short range jump shot over the outstretched hands of East Hoke’s Antonio Underwood. After East Hoke was able cut Rockingham’s lead to eight late in the quarter, Hogan scored a put-back with just 1.7 seconds remaining in the third to extend the lead back to ten at 27-17. East Hoke’s deficit would never reach single-digits again.
The Rockets reached their biggest lead of the game at 15 when Jackson hit Rockingham’s only three-pointer with 51 seconds remaining in the game making the score 38-23. Only two East Hoke free throws were added to the scoreboard after that resulting in a 38-25 victory for the home team.
Hood finished the game with 12 points for Rockets. Dawkins was just behind with 11, Hogan netted seven, Jackson scored five, and Douglas added three.
Hamlet Middle School Boys and Girls Sweep Anson
HAMLET – Hamlet Middle School’s boys and girls basketball teams each earned conference wins against Anson Tuesday.
The Lady Red Rams and Lady Bearcats kept the game tight for three quarters with Hamlet carrying an 18-17 advantage into the fourth.
In the final period, Hamlet’s Sanavia Patrick dribbled into traffic, but was able to muscle her way above two Anson defenders and deliver the ball to the hoop to extend the Hamlet lead to three with 5:32 remaining.
Moments later, Jaimaya Ratliff drove down the right side of the lane and finished with a floater that bounced off of nearly every part of the rim before falling in for two points. Patrick added a free throw with 4:46 on the clock and the Lady Red Rams were now up 23-17.
Anson was able to close the gap to two points at 24-22 with exactly two minutes remaining, but a pair of Da’veah Robinson free throws and one from Rayana Shubert down the stretch had Hamlet back up by five with just 45 seconds left.
Kaitlyn Huff iced it when she collected a loose ball, outraced Anson defenders to the hoop and laid it in which ignited a celebration in the home crowd. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Red Rams had earned a 29-22 victory.
When the boys game started, Anson appeared to be the more physical, confident team. The Bearcats raced out to a quick 7-1 lead with 3:45 remaining in the quarter forcing Hamlet to call an early time out.
The time out paid off. Hamlet came out firing on all cylinders and ended the quarter on a 10-1 run. Jaleak Gates, KeSean Ingram, Dakota Chavis, and Traveon Short each contributed to the run that gave the Red Rams an 11-8 advantage heading into the second quarter.
An early Anson layup cut their deficit to one at 13-12 with just over four minutes remaining in the half, but Hamlet’s Harley Honeycutt started another big Red Ram run. After a jump shot by Ingram bounced off of the front iron, Honeycutt fought off multiple Bearcats to secure the rebound and then banked it in.
Ingram and Gates combined to score nine more points before the break, and the Red Rams ended the first half on an 11-0 run.
The 24-12 advantage was all of the cushion that the Red Rams needed. They coasted through the second half holding on to a double-digit lead en route to a 42-24 victory.
Ellerbe Teams Sweep Cordova; Sisters Lead the Way for Lady Wildcats
ELLERBE – After more than a month off due to the holidays and winter weather, the Ellerbe Middle School basketball teams got back to action Monday with a rare sweep of visiting Cordova Middle School.
The Lady Wildcats improved to 2-1 on the season with an impressive 42-14 win. Seventh grader Nyla Stroman had a game-high 12 points, while her older sister Raven Robinson drilled 10 points of her own. Fellow eighth grader Paris Douglas added eight points in the victory.
The WIldcats picked up their first win of the season 45-34 against the Cavaliers. Seventh grader Emoni McBride had 15 points, while eighth graders Omarion Covington (eight points), Tyreese Collins (seven points) and Kevon Gause (six points) added to the scoreboard. The boys team is now 1-2 on the season.
