ST. PAULS — Standing near the half-court line as time expired, St. Pauls guard Cole Humphrey looked up at the scoreboard and smiled.

“We’re making history. That was what was going through my mind,” said Humphrey, who led the Bulldogs to a 70-59 win over defending 2A champion Farmville Central on Tuesday in the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs.

“It was a crazy game. We just beat the defending state champs.”

That you did, Cole.

The senior guard scored 15 of his team-best 20 points in the second half, leading the Bulldogs (19-7) into the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2011. St. Pauls will travel to top-seeded Greene Central on Thursday.

“I’m just trying to lead my team the best way I can,” Humphrey said. “If they don’t need me to score one night, then I’m going to pass the ball up. If I need to rebound, I’ll rebound. I’m just trying to lead these guys in the right direction to win.”

With Farmville Central (14-9) leading by six at halftime, the Bulldogs used full-court pressure to spark a 19-9 run in the third period, leaving the Jaguars in catch-up mode for the rest of the night.

Behind the stellar play of Tyler Maye, the MVP of last season’s 2A title game, Farmville Central continued to battle, trimming the lead to four points on several occasions. But St. Pauls answered with a big run each time to stretch the lead back out to double digits.

“We give (Farmville Central) respect because they are the reigning state champions,” St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson said. “We knew they would come out and give us a battle. I just wanted our guys to respond.”

Maye and the Jaguars appeared to be in control with a 43-38 advantage early in the third period, but St. Pauls responded with a 13-0 run that bled into the fourth quarter, giving the hosts a 51-43 advantage early in the final period.

Maye would knock down a jumper to trim the deficit to four points with just under five minutes remaining, but Humphrey followed with a layup to spark a 13-1 run that gave the Bulldogs a commanding 65-49 lead with three minutes left to play. Farmville Central gave one last gasp to whittle the deficit down to nine, but Humphrey sealed the double-digit victory with a steal and layup.

Maye scored 19 of his game-high 34 points in the first half to give Farmville Central a 34-28 advantage at the break, but ended the game as the only Jaguar to finish in double figures.

“Tyler is a great kid and player,” Thompson said. “I knew we would have our hands full. Our gameplan was to completely take him out. He was going to score his points, but we wanted to make it tough. In the second half, I thought we made it tougher on him.”

Unlike Maye, Humphrey had plenty of help from his teammates on the offensive end as four Bulldogs finished with double-figure scoring efforts. Fellow senior Isaiah Harlee anchored the post for St. Pauls, finishing with 15 points, including several dunks that helped ignite the second-half scoring runs. J.J. Oxendine scored 17 points and Ted McNeill added 11.

For Harlee, the dunks were about keeping his teammates engaged.

“It brings intensity for the team,” Harlee said. “It also intimidates the other team. We need that type of intensity because, as you could see, we didn’t have a big crowd. We had to use anything we could get to help us get going.”

The loudest cheer of the night came when Harlee caught an alley-oop from Oxendine with 3:47 left to play, extending the lead to 13 points. At that moment, the Bulldogs began to understand what they were about to accomplish.

“When that buzzer went off it felt like we could get a state championship,” Harlee said. “That’s exactly what it felt like.”

For Thompson, who entered the St. Pauls locker room to a chorus of cheers, the feeling was pure “excitement.”

“We are St. Pauls and a lot of teams have different schools in their city, but we’re the only (high) school in our town,” Thompson said. “I told them we represent the whole town, and our guys responded well to that.”

The victory was another historic first for Thompson, who is in his debut season as a high school coach.

“I can’t do this without great administrators. (St. Pauls principal) Mr. (Jason) Suggs and my athletic director, Coach (Matt) Hunt, believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself when I came in to take this job,” he said.

“The players have really responded to me and I’m enjoying the ride. We still have some more advancing to do.”

Rodd Baxley | The Robesonian St. Pauls guard Cole Humphrey (10) celebrates after the Bulldogs’ 70-59 win over Farmville Central on Tuesday night. Humphrey scored a team-high 20 points, leading St. Pauls to its first playoff victory since 2011.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_rsz_dsc_0354.jpgRodd Baxley | The Robesonian St. Pauls guard Cole Humphrey (10) celebrates after the Bulldogs’ 70-59 win over Farmville Central on Tuesday night. Humphrey scored a team-high 20 points, leading St. Pauls to its first playoff victory since 2011.
Bulldogs topple defending 2A champions to earn 1st playoff win since 2011

By Rodd Baxley

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NCHSAA state basketball playoffs

Tuesday’s games (1st Round)

4A GIRLS

Lumberton 71, Wakefield 41

2A BOYS

Fairmont 86, Currituck County 55

St. Pauls 70, Farmville Central 59

North Pitt 74, Red Springs 67

2A GIRLS

Red Springs 65, Currituck County 52

Northside-Jacksonville 64, Fairmont 32

Rodd Baxley can be reached at 910-416-5162. Follow him on Twitter @RoddBaxley.