It was a survival of the fittest matchup Friday with the JV Wildcats falling to the Tigers 87-80.

“If you look at the score, it was a very high scoring game, so, it wasn’t a very high defensive game,” said Hobbton’s head coach Angelo Surles.

With both Hobbton and James Kenan acquiring their highest points in the first and fourth quarters, typically the key moments to any ball game, spectators got a show Friday.

During the first quarter, James Kenan would claw their way to a 30-18 lead over Hobbton, which was the difference of the ball game, said Surles.

By the third quarter, the Tigers were up on the ‘Cats 46-31, but Hobbton was not out of the game quite yet.

“We actually outscored them in the second half, but we lost by seven because of our lag in the first half,” Surles admitted.

While the loss would move Hobbton down to a 1-6 conference record, he concluded, “I am proud of how the boys battled back.”

Leaders for Hobbton were Gabriel Barksdale with 12 points; Hunter Rose with 17 points; Brandon Parker with 19 points; T.J. Devone with 20 points; Arell Owens with 9 points; Robert Drake with 2 points; and Jonathan Faison with 1 point.

Top Kenan players were Andre Smith with 23 points; Keith Martin with 13 points; John Winston with 8 points; and both T.K. Owens and Carlton Bratten with 7 points.

Jessica Wagner can be contacted at (910) 592-8137 ext.122 or reached by e-mail at siphoto@intrstar.net