LUMBERTON — Lumberton boys basketball coach Matt Hill had a conversation with Lacy Mitchell on Thursday morning.
“I said, ‘Lacy, you’re a senior. Are you ready to be the man?’ Hill recalled.
“I usually get a one-word answer. But he said, ‘I’m ready to step up and take it.”
Mitchell stuck to his word on Friday night against Seventy-First, tallying 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a key block down the stretch to help the Pirates (8-10, 3-5 SAC) snap their two-game losing streak.
“Lacy is a silent assassin,” Hill said. “He doesn’t have a lot to say.”
Mitchell’s energy and production against the Falcons (10-8, 4-5) did all of the talking throughout the night.
Thirteen players suited up and 13 played for the Pirates, who were without two of their top frontcourt players.
Each player did their part to help the team snap its losing skid.
“The guys were having fun. … they were enjoying themselves,” Hill said. “You could tell they were into the game. They did a great job contributing while they were in there. We were way undersized coming in here. We have a lot of small guys like little dogs just biting at your heels. We were everywhere.”
Steph Lloyd, who finished with 12 points and nine assists, made the go-ahead floater with just over three minutes to play to give Lumberton the lead for good.
Jordan McNeill added a few free throws to maintain the advantage and the Pirates’ defense did the rest. McNeill scored a team-best 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, nabbed five steals and dished out three assists.
Seventy-First had a pair of chances to win the game in the final seconds. Mitchell denied the first opportunity, swatting the ball out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left on the clock. The Falcons followed by missing the potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.
“What won us the game was that tenacious defense,” Hill said. “The guys communicated so well. You could look in their eyes and they were focused on what we were doing.”
Lady Pirates finish strong in win
London Thompson logged a triple-double to help the Lumberton girls basketball team earn a 64-44 win over Seventy-First on Friday.
Thompson finished with 15 points, 10 steals and 10 assists for the Lady Pirates (15-3, 6-2), who used a 20-8 fourth period to pull away from the Lady Falcons (12-7, 6-4).
Thompson scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half and ignited a 17-4 run in the final period for the hosts. Madison Canady finished with a game-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.
Pinecrest sweeps Purnell Swett
PEMBROKE — The Purnell Swett boys basketball lost a heartbreaking 42-41 game to Pinecrest on Friday night at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Kalan Locklear missed a putback in the final seconds for the Rams, who fall to 6-10 overall and 2-7 in the Sandhills Athletic Conference. Locklear finished with seven points and 10 rebounds for the hosts.
Darriante Parker scored a team-best 12 points and Lakeydron Morris added seven points for the Rams.
On the girls side, Purnell Swett was scoreless in the first quarter en route to a 51-13 loss to Pinecrest. Rebekah Chavis had six points to lead the Lady Rams (4-11, 0-8 SAC) and Nakyra Mitchell added four points.
Bulldogs take two from West Columbus
ST. PAULS — The St. Pauls basketball programs kept their winning streaks alive with a sweep of West Columbus on Friday.
The Lady Bulldogs claimed a 32-26 win over West Columbus for their fourth-straight win. TJ Eichelberger scored 12 points to lead St. Pauls (11-9, 9-5 TRC), with Diamond Simms-Moore adding seven points.
The Bulldogs claimed their second consecutive victory with a 66-48 win over West Columbus. Aaron Revels scored 23 points, including 17 in the second half, to pace St. Pauls (11-9, 9-5). Romeo Jordan tallied 10 points.
In Fairmont, the boys claimed their 15th-straight win with a 78-53 victory over East Bladen and the girls dropped a 62-40 contest against the first-place Lady Eagles.
