North Pitt hands North Lenoir untimely lost
LA GRANGE — North Pitt and North Lenoir entered Friday night’s game looking to improve upon pedestrian league records and gain a much-needed win in a tight EP2A race.
North Pitt (9-10 overall, 3-3 Eastern Plains) left with a 60-49 victory and an ever-improving shot at one of the league’s four postseason berths. North Lenoir (11-9, 3-3) left wondering what might have been.
“(A win) would’ve really helped us,” said NL coach John Eric Waters. “The playoff picture would have looked a little better.”
The Panthers led 18-14 after the first quarter, 32-27 at halftime and 46-41 after three quar-ters.
“We knew would couldn’t half-tail it over here, or we’d get embarrassed against a good team,” said North Pitt coach Mark Carson.
Despite jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, North Lenoir found itself playing from behind most of the game. While neither team shot well — 22-for-77 (29 percent) for North Pitt and 19-for-66 (29 percent) for North Lenoir — the Panthers were able to build a seven-point lead midway through the second quarter. The Panthers scored on multiple sec-ond- and third-chance looks and out-rebounded the Hawks 46-25 on the evening.
The Hawks cut the deficit to 38-36 with 3:15 to play in the third quarter on a lay-up from senior forward Tim Roberts, who led NL with 13 points.
But the Panthers quickly rebuilt the lead on a pair of steals and transition lay-ups. NL twice cut the margin to six in the fourth quarter but failed to score over the final 3:19.
“It’s about composure and not being able to execute,” Waters said. “We were able to weather the storm a few times, but we just couldn’t get over that hump.”
In the girls’ game, North Lenoir beat the visiting Panthers 57-49. The score was knotted at 10-10 after the first quarter; North Lenoir led 28-19 at the half and 42-26 after three quar-ters.
Helena Davis, Enjoli Mason and Jordan Hudson led the Hawks with 15, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“I’m proud of the girls and the way they played,” NL coach Anthony Loftin said. “At home, you’re supposed to use a lot of energy, and I thought we did.”
With the win, NL improved to 12-8 overall and 4-2 in league play.
