Miley McLamb comes down with an offensive rebound.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Richard Simpson gets a one-handed stuff for two of his 13 points.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Deonte Darden scores two of his 18 points in the win over Rosewood.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Amir Tate gets two contested points.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
Katie Britt gets two of her six points.
David Johnson | Sampson Independent
In hard-fought, physical games, both Hobbton Wildcats boys’ teams got wins over conference rival Rosewood Wednesday night. The Wildcat JV got a close one, surviving 46-43. The varsity squad won big, clipping the Eagles 70-56. The girls lost 45-23 in a respectable showing.
Girls
Rosewood jumped out to an early lead and kept the pressure on. Aubrey McLamb and Izzy Hepworth got the first quarter points for the Wildcats. The first quarter score was 17-6, Eagles. In the second quarter, Hepworth, Katie Britt and Miley McLamb combined for the Wildcats’ six points for a 28-12 deficit at the break.
The third quarter was more of the same for Rosewood. Britt and Graci Barefoot scored for the Wildcats, who were down 37-16 after three quarters. Barefoot, Britt and Madison Sinclair — with a three-pointer — got the Wildcat points in the last quarter for the 45-23 final.
For the Wildcats, Britt finished with six points, Barefoot had four points, Sinclair and Aubree McLamb had three points each.
Boys
In the nightcap, a tough, physical match-up ensued with the Wildcats avenging a four-point loss to Rosewood back in January. Rosewood got the first four points before the Wildcats hit their stride. From the first two minutes, it was mostly Wildcats. With Nashon Kilkenny leading the ‘Cats with six points, Deonte Darden, Amir Tate and Dav’ion Murrell provided the push to go up 16-11 on the Eagles. In the second quarter, Darden, Richard Simpson, Tate and Kilkenny got 10 Wildcat points for a four-point cushion at the break. The halftime score was 26-22. The Wildcats were up by nine points at one time in the second quarter.
The Eagles came back after the break ready to play. They closed down the score while the Wildcats went a little cold shooting. The score was tied three times at 28-28, 31-31 and 34-34 before the Wildcats pulled away for a third quarter score of 43-36. They plucked the Eagles’ feathers in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Eagles 28-20 for the 70-56 final.
For the Wildcats, Darden finished with 18 points. Simpson had 13, Kilkenny had 12 points, Tate finished with 11 points and Murrell had nine points.
JV
The JV had a shootout with the Eagles. After leading most of the game, the Wildcats had to put up with a pesky Rosewood comeback late in the game. With seconds left, the game was tied a couple of times with the last tie at 43-all. A last-second three-pointer put the Wildcats up 46-43 for the win.