As good as Hobbton’s varsity Wildcats played on defense, they just couldn’t find the basket Tuesday night in a road game with Pender, and the final score told the story — 52-45, Patriots.

“We just can’t seem to score,” said a disappointed Hobbton coach Jeff Byrd. “We are playing graet defense, but we can’t hit the basket. We missed 12 free throws, and you simply cannot do that and expect to compete.”

Pender jumped out to an early lead against the visiting ‘Cats and took a 34-23 lead into the intermission.

When they came back, Hobbton tried to fight back, but little connection from the charity stripe and fewer buckets left them empty-handed when the buzzer sounded.

“We’ve got to find a way to score,” Byrd reiterated. “It’s back to work at practice so that we can work on the things I see as weaknesses.”

Top scorers for Hobbton were Rashad Davis with 10 and Justin Armwood with 10.

The loss moves Hobbton’s record to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in Tri-County conference play. Their next game is Thursday when they host powerhouse James Kenan.