FAIRMONT — The last thing that South Robeson boys basketball coach Ryan Bullard wanted his team to get into on the road at Fairmont was an up-and-down contest.
Many teams have tried to control the pace against Fairmont, and very few have succeeded, and the Mustangs were one of the majority on Monday in their 80-51 Three Rivers Conference loss, as the final three quarters were controlled by the Golden Tornadoes.
“That was not the game plan at all. Our game plan was going to be like how we played Red Springs,” Bullard said. “We didn’t want to press them and we know they like to run. We didn’t do that and they still sped us up with their press defense.”
Through the first five minutes of the contest, South Robeson (4-7, 3-5 TRC) kept within reach of Fairmont (12-1, 6-1 TRC). But the rest of the game was controlled by the Golden Tornadoes, especially in the third quarter.
After taking a 39-20 lead into halftime, Fairmont came out with fire on both sides of the ball as its full-court press suffocated the Mustangs, leading to transition buckets courtesy of steals in the back court. The margin grew bigger and quickly for Fairmont with Corry Addison and Derrick Arnette scoring eight points each in the third quarter as the head of the press defense.
A 24-9 run through the first five minutes of the quarter stretched the lead that grew to as much as 37 points in the third.
“We just didn’t come out with the energy we were supposed to come out with,” Fairmont coach Montrell McNair said. “I saw determination. They came out and were determined to get up on the high side, get steals, play good defense and shut the passing lanes.”
After leading 11-10 with three minutes to go in the first quarter, a 6-0 run from the Golden Tornadoes was the push that led to the momentum changing the rest of the game.
Going up against a South Robeson frontcourt that has several players that had the height advantage, Fairmont’s bigs did not back down. Junior Jayvon Morris came off the bench for 11 points, Sidney McKiethan added six point and Kaheem and Nalijha Pittman each chipped in five points to help out the cause in the paint, along with coming away with several rebounds each.
“I saw a lot of heart from our guys. They battled even though they were undersized,” McNair said.
Arnette scored 21 points and had five steals and five assists, while his backcourt partner Corry Addison had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. South Robeson’s Cameron Werrell had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebunds and Daniel Murray had 11 points.
In the victory, Fairmont claimed its 20th straight win over the Mustangs in the series and now will prep for Three Rivers Conference-leading West Columbus on the road Friday. The last time the teams met, the Vikings won 84-75 in triple overtime, and McNair said his team wants to make up for the one blemish on its record this season.
“We want to stay solid defensively and maintain our focus throughout the rest of the week,” he said. “This game could decide the conference right here. They will bring a lot more energy this time.”
Big second half guides Fairmont girls
The Fairmont girls basketball team was able to make up for a 24-point second quarter from visiting South Robeson on Monday to stay in third place for the Three Rivers Conference thanks to its play in the second half.
After halftime, the Lady Golden Tornadoes outscored the Lady Mustangs by seven to claim a 66-51 win.
Fairmont (7-6, 5-2 TRC) led 22-6 after the first quarter, and then by 32-14 midway through the second quarter before South Robeson (1-7, 1-10 TRC) made its move. A 13-0 run cut the lead to 32-27.
South Robeson wouldn’t draw any closer from there with the Fairmont lead growing to 13 points.
Leading Fairmont’s offense was Kiara Page with 34 points and 10 rebounds.
South Robeson’s Zaneta Ellerbee had 14 points and seven rebounds, Tellia Page had 12 points and Nytia Lewis had 13 rebounds.
South Robeson will play at St. Pauls on Friday.
Fairmont forward Jayvon Morris rises up for a layup against South Robeson in the Golden Tornadoes’ 80-51 win on Monday. Morris scored 11 points in the contest.
