Using their home court advantage, the North Duplin Rebels defeated the Hobbton Wildcats in the first round of the Carolina 1A conference tournament, Tuesday night, ending their season. The final score was 74-66, Rebels.
The Rebels took the lead early going up 7-4. A three pointer tied it at seven with 3:17 left in the quarter. The Rebels, then, made a run going up 18-12 by the end of the first quarter. The Rebels were up by 18 points in the second frame, however, the Wildcats had narrowed the lead to 10 at 34-24 by halftime.
North Duplin kept the lead from the three minute mark in the first with the Wildcats never getting closer than three points several times in the game. After three quarters, the Rebels had a three point lead at 48-45. In the final frame, the Rebels kept their lead going up by 10 point again. Down the stretch, the Rebels proved to be too much for the Wildcats.
“I think we came out flat to start the game like we did against Lakewood. North Duplin had a good game,” commented Hobbton coach Alfonza Hooper. “In the first two games they played junk defense. Tonight, they played mostly zone.”
“In the first half they outplayed us in every area. We made adjustments at halftime and took a ten point lead to three. Several times we fouled which led to free throws. In two games at North Duplin, they shot 97 free throws. You won’t beat many teams when they shoot like that,” Hooper added.
“I would like to thank the fans for their support and following up this season,” he concluded.
With the win, the Rebels play league leading Rosewood Wednesday night at Neuse Charter, the tournament host school.
Leading all scorers, Hobbton’s Omar Farrior had 30 points. DaCorris Morrison and Jordan Pearsall had 10 each and Dylan Owens chipped in eight.
For the Rebels, Luke Britt had 24 points, DJ Simmons had 15, Kijah Blow had 13 and Gage Smith added 10.
For his senior season, Farrior led the Carolina 1A conference with 484 total points with a 22 points per game average.
