PEMBROKE — It appeared the rematch between Fairmont and South Robeson was going to follow the same script as last week's game. The Golden Tornadoes jump out to a first quarter lead only to see the Mustangs rally and cruise to a victory.

This time, Fairmont used a 29-8 run over the last 9 1/2 minutes of the game to breeze to a 68-48 victory and advance to the Robeson County Shootout championship to face Red Springs.

"We didn't get down and this time we stayed with the game plan," Fairmont coach Richard Mitchell said. "We got a little sloppy at times and turned the ball over, but we stayed with it."

Donte Smith's steal and layup at the 1:21 mark of the third quarter gave Fairmont the lead for good at 41-40. Juwan Addison added a floater from the baseline to give the Golden Tornadoes a 43-40 lead going into the fourth.

Addison finished with a career-high tying 28 points, including four straight 3-pointers to open the game.

"After hitting those shots, it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game," Addison said. "I felt once I got my

game going, I was going to be able to

get the rest of the team involved in the game."

In the fourth, South Robeson (4-5) cut the deficit to nine points on two free throws by Tyray Belin with 3:56 left in the game. Those points would be the last of the game for the Mustangs.

Belin scored a team-high 27 points in the loss.

"We just were missing our shots tonight," South Robeson coach Bryan Grice said. "It's just sports, it's unpredictable."

The Golden Tornadoes will attempt to win capture their first Shootout title since winning back-to-back championships in 1992-93. A number of the players on Fairmont roster had not been born the last time Fairmont won the shootout.

"It's been a long time," Mitchell said. "Winning the shootout could be the start of something we haven't had here in a long, long time."