ST. PAULS — After a game earlier this week where the St. Pauls boys basketball team was outworked in a one-point loss, the Bulldogs looked to send a message against one of the two teams tied for the Three Rivers Conference lead in West Columbus on Friday.

Behind a gritty defense that forced turnovers and also limited the Vikings’ post play, St. Pauls rebounded from a the loss in a 46-44 win at home against West Columbus.

“We wanted to send a message to the rest of the conference that we are going to keep playing hard,” St. Pauls senior Anthony Campbell said. “We knew that earlier this week we got outworked.”

St. Pauls (15-5, 9-3 TRC) lost 56-55 to South Columbus Tuesday in a game coach Corey Thompson said his team failed to execute well to start.

“I told the guys that Tuesday night was a learning lesson. We had to come out and play, and we can’t just rely on our talent,” Thompson said. “I think Tuesday night we knew we got outplayed and it really woke those guys up and we responded in practice.”

St. Pauls hung with West Columbus (16-3, 10-2 TRC) for the first quarter, and over the two middle frames the Vikings took the lead, but never by more than eight points as the Bulldogs had their runs.

In the fourth quarter, the St. Pauls defense locked in to hold the Vikings to seven points in the period, but due partly to the Bulldogs slowing down the pace of the game, and executing on offense to take the lead with 4:17 left on a Campbell free throw after he was fouled.

After the foul call, Tyquawn Johnson was whistled for a technical for his fifth foul, forcing the Vikings to close the game without its senior guard.

St. Pauls led 43-41 after the technical free throws, and didn’t score again for 2 1/2 minutes, but West Columbus only hit a free throw during that stretch.

The Bulldogs went 1-for-6 in the final minute of the game as a 46-42 St. Pauls lead was down to 2 points when the Vikings rebounded an Emonta Smith missed free throw with 12 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, West Columbus was unable to get a shot before the horn sounded.

“This was our lowest scoring game this season and I told them that’s a sign of a good team to win low-scoring games,” Thompson said.

St. Pauls went 11-for-26 at the free-throw line in the game. But the woes didn’t carry over on the defensive side of the ball.

“We just had to battle through,” Campbell said. “Even when the free throws weren’t going in, we still tried to bring energy on defense.”

The Bulldogs accomplished one point of emphasis in the game in slowing down the frontcourt duo of Brandis Kelly and Winston Mason. After the pair helped lead the Vikings past St. Pauls earlier this season, they combined for 16 points — eight points each — in the loss and didn’t score in the fourth quarter.

“We really worked this week on fronting the post and doing some things to take away their interior game,” Thompson said.

Smith led St. Pauls with 13 points, and Campbell had eight. West Columbus was led in scoring by Marquiese Ratliff with 13 points.

St. Pauls goes to East Bladen on Tuesday, and West Columbus hosts West Bladen.

Bulldogs earn ‘ugly’ win over West Columbus girls

The St. Pauls girls basketball team learned a less on Friday against West Columbus that not all wins in the Three Rivers Conference are going to be easy games with running clocks for the entire second half.

At home against the Vikings, turnovers and fouls held the Bulldogs back from getting in an offensive groove, but St. Pauls was still able to close out a 65-24 win.

“In games like this we have to handle our business. We have to do what we have to do,” Moses said. “We missed a ton free throws and missed layups.

“Tonight was just ugly. I’m glad we got out of there.”

St. Pauls (19-0, 12-0 TRC) led 31-5 at halftime, but a large chunk of St. Pauls’ 22 turnovers occurred in the third quarter as the Vikings (1-17, 1-11 TRC) posted 17 points in the frame and trailed 49-22 going into the fourth quarter. Then the fouls came in the fourth as the Bulldogs took 14 free throws in the final period, making five, which followed the trend of the game as St. Pauls missed 20 foul shots in total.

Taliya Council scored 14 points and had five rebounds, scoring eight points in the third quarter, to lead all of St. Pauls’ scorers. T.J. Eichelberger had 11 points and eight boards, while Jakieya Thompson had 10 points, seven assists and five steals.

Haley Brown had nine points for West Columbus.

Moses said he also said focusing on the next week ahead became a factor, with games at East Bladen on Tuesday and West Bladen on Friday, as both squads sit second and third in the conference.

“I think the girls, naturally like teenagers, they are looking forward to next week,” Moses said. “You can’t look past teams.”

Jonathan Bym | The Robesonian St. Pauls junior T.J. Eichelberger dribbles into the frontcourt against West Columbus on Friday in the 65-24 in for the Bulldogs.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_InsideIMG_6568.jpgJonathan Bym | The Robesonian St. Pauls junior T.J. Eichelberger dribbles into the frontcourt against West Columbus on Friday in the 65-24 in for the Bulldogs.

Jonathan Bym | The Robesonian St. Pauls forward Anthony Campbell goes up for a shot against two West Columbus defenders on Friday in the 46-44 Three Rivers Conference win for the Bulldogs. Campbell scored seven points in the second half of the victory.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_FrontIMG_6654.jpgJonathan Bym | The Robesonian St. Pauls forward Anthony Campbell goes up for a shot against two West Columbus defenders on Friday in the 46-44 Three Rivers Conference win for the Bulldogs. Campbell scored seven points in the second half of the victory.
St. Pauls earns TRC sweep of West Columbus

Jonathan Bym

Sports editor

Jonathan Bym can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_Bym.