With basketball season getting underway this past week, Sampson County had a smattering of teams in action on Tuesday. Outside of the Lady Dark Horses game, Harrells, Union and Lakewood also each had games just before the Thanksgiving break.
Union
The Spartan teams got their seasons underway on Tuesday, hosting West Bladen in their openers. Unfortunately for Union, their first game wasn’t the success they were looking for as the Lady Spartans fell 58-16 and the Spartan boys lost 61-47.
For the Boys, Cole Bass led the charge with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jawshawn West had 10 points and seven assists and Jamal Moore had 5 points. Joshua Harper and Jamon Hicks each had four points, Josheim Jones had three, and Javion Faison, Tristen Robinson, and Keiredor Joyner all had two points.
West Bladen took a 15-6 lead after the first quarter and gradually pulled away from there. The margin was 34-19 at the half and the Spartans just weren’t able to get back into contention, despite a 16-point fourth quarter effort.
In the girl’s game, LaTyra English led the Lady Spartans with five points, followed by Autumn Weeks with four. Monica Sellars and Amaya Jackson contributed three each and Asia Hall had one point. Weeks also grabbed seven rebounds.
With the losses, the Spartans are 0-1 on the season and will look to get into the win column on Tuesday when they host Midway.
Lakewood
The Leopard teams hosted East Columbus this past week – the season opener for the Lady Leopards, but the second day of action for the Lakewood boys. The two teams split this contest, with the Lady Leopards getting a 38-32 victory under new head coach Anita Miller, while the boys fell 58-35.
Stats weren’t entered in for either team, but for the Lakewood girls they improve to 1-0 while the Leopard boys fall to 0-2.
Both teams will be back on the hardwood on Monday when, this time, they will host East Columbus.
Harrells
The Crusaders had two games this past week, first against Faith Christian on Monday, followed by Wake Christian on Tuesday. Both the boys and girls teams earned splits in those games, with the Lady Crusaders defeating Faith Christian, but falling to Wake Christian. For the Boys, it was the opposite: the Crusaders topped Wake Christian but fell to Faith Christian in a sloe battle.
Starting with the boys, the Crusaders dropped a one-point nail-biter to the Patriots on Monday, 69-68. HCA took control in the first half, leading 18-14 after one period and claimed a nine-point advantage at the half, 37-28. Faith Christian, though, ignited in the second half, starting with a 25-point third quarter performance. Despite the brilliant effort, Harrells clung to their lead with 21 more points of their own but things were heating up with a 58-53 score. The Patriots completed their comeback in the fourth quarter, rallying past the Crusaders for the 69-68 win.
Scoring leaders for this game were Javarus Keith with 23 points. Ethan Spell was next up with 13 points, followed by Jackson Hall with 12, Jack Laslo nine, and Ashton Smith eight. Ayden Fussell rounded out the scoring with three points.
In their next game against Wake Christian, Harrells was able to secure a 59-46 victory to get back into the win column. Keith was once again the leading scorer, netting 16 points, followed by Smith with 13. Hall and Laslo each contributed nine points, followed by Spell with six, Camryn Brown-Leak with four, and Ty Mathis with two.
With the week behind them, Harrells is now 3-1 overall.
For the girls, the Lady Crusaders took a 42-30 victory over the Lady Patriots on Monday. Faith Christian led 16-12 at halftime, but a 20-point performance in the third quarter by Harrells propelled the Lady Crusaders to the victory. That, however, was not the case on Tuesday as Wake Christian took a decisive 44-17 win. Stats for neither game were entered but with the contests behind them, they are now 2-2 overall.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday on the road at Arendell Parrott Academy.
