First Posted: 1/23/2015
Friday’s basketball scores
Boys
Fairmont 72, St. Pauls 44
Scotland 75, Lumberton 53
Red Springs 62, South Robeson 57
Hoke 70, Swett 45
Girls
St. Pauls 41, Fairmont 36
Scotland 44, Lumberton 43
Red Springs 55, South Robeson 49
Hoke 62, Purnell Swett 35
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LAURINBURG — Scotland senior forward Destiny Campbell was frustrated.
The Scots’ leading scorer, who averages 18 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, was held to 2 first-half points by a feisty Lumberton defense. They were sending constant double teams her way — she barely had enough room to breathe, let alone the space to knock down one of her patented 12-foot jumpshots.
Scotland coach Janie Hodges said the Lumberton defense bothered Campbell early and often.
“She was getting double teamed in the post,” Hodges said. “She has to learn to use her arsenal and be able to step out and do what she wants to do with the ball. She was frustrated.”
But in the fourth quarter that all changed, as she scored 9 huge points to propel Scotland to the top of the Southeastern Conference standings with a 44-43 down-to-the-wire win over the Pirates at home.
The victory improved Scotland’s record to 10-8 overall and 4-0 in the SEC, while the loss dropped Lumberton to 12-5 and 3-1 in the conference.
It was a game where both teams got off to fast starts.
The Scots scored the first 4 points of the game, but Lumberton rallied to notch the next nine to take a 9-4 lead. In a game-long theme, Scotland had trouble holding on to the ball and making crisp passes because of the Pirates’ in-your-face style of defense. Those early miscues gave Lumberton fast-break opportunities, which they used to convert into easy transition baskets.
Five different Pirates scored in the quarter, but Scotland regained their footing and closed within two points by the end of the period.
In the fourth, it was Scotland who took control early, as they went on a 7-2 run thanks to the tenacity of Campbell. She scored all three baskets after grabbing offensive rebounds, including a putback while getting fouled. She added another score off one of her five offensive rebounds for the game, but Bullard responded with another huge three for the Pirates.
With less than three minutes remaining, Campbell fouled out on a defensive possession, leaving the Scots without their top scorer. Hodges said after that, the onus was on the Scotland guards to bring home the victory.
“We just told our guards that they had to take care of the ball,” Hodges said. “We had to take some time off the clock and go out there and don’t force it … we just had to take care of the basketball to finish the game.”
Down 41-36 with 2:26 remaining, Lumberton made a free throw, then forced two straight Scotland turnovers with their press defense. Those steals were turned into four points, and the Pirates tied the game at 41 with 1:12 left. Then, after Scotland couldn’t get any points on their offensive trip, Jasmine McBride gave the Pirates the 43-41 lead.
They didn’t hold it for lonh as Scotland pounded the ball into the paint against the small Pirates, as 6’2” sophomore center Khasiya Sellers scored underneath the basket. Then, with 45 seconds left, she got the ball on the block and was fouled. She missed the first free throw, but calmly sank the second to give Scotland the 44-43 advantage.
Mariah Locklear missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining and Scotland recovered the rebound. Lumberton fouled Stanton, who missed the front end of the one-and-one, but the agile point guard stole the ball back with 3.7 seconds left and passed it to Sellers. Lumberton fouled her as well, and Sellers missed the shot, but they failed to get off a shot of their own in time before the buzzer sounded.
Campbell nearly recorded a triple-double, scoring 13 points while blocking 9 shots and grabbing 15 rebounds. Stanton had 6 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals, but she also turned the ball over 9 times. Lumberton had six different players score, with Bullard recording a team-high 10 points.
Scotland boys run past Lumberton
LAURINBURG — Scotland boy’s basketball coach Michael Malpass didn’t like the way his team attacked the Lumberton Pirates’ defense in late December.
Instead of relying so heavily on jumpshots and individual play-making, he told his kids in practice this week to attack the basket and look for driving teammates.
The result? A Scotland shellacking, as they ran away in the second half en route to a 75-53 conference home win.
Both teams came out of the gate sluggish — Lumberton built an early 5-0 advantage before Scotland made their first basket with 4:28 remaining in the quarter. After Jordan Ratliffe’s bucket, the Scots went on a 11-3 run to end the period to give them the 11-8 lead.
But as they had in the first, the Pirates came out with more energy in the second and went on a 6-1 burst to regain the lead. Lumberton’s Tyriek McCallum led all scorers in the quarter and was rewarded for his aggressive drives to the paint with 9 points in the period.
The Scotland 2-3 zone defense forced a few turnovers midway through the quarter, and balanced scoring helped them go on a 9-0 run. Senior Travis Miles hit two corner three-pointers during the run, and by halftime, the Scots built a 32-24 lead.
Lumberton’s Travis Suggs sank a three-pointer on the first Pirate possession after the break, but that was the last bit of momentum they would enjoy. Scotland churned out an 11-0 run after Suggs’s shot, as junior Randy Leak, senior Jeremias Easterling, and junior Jordan Ratliffe combined for 18 points of the team’s points in the quarter.
