The Union Spartans invaded the Hobbton Wildcats’ den on Tuesday night, facing off on the hardwood in a pair of Carolina 1A Conference showdowns. The Spartans departed Newton Grove having split with the Wildcats as Union’s girls got a 32-20 win while the boys lost 49-40.

The Union girls handled the Lady Wildcats down the stretch although the first quarter was close. After the first quarter, Union had a 6-4 lead then stretched that out to a 13-6 lead at the break.

In the second half, Union turned up the heat in taking a 27-13 lead after three quarters. Lady Spartans head coach Bryant Register then slowed down game play with good ball control. The Lady Spartans only scored five points in the last quarter while the Lady Wildcats managed to pick up seven, bringing the final to 32-20.

Latyra English and Amaya Jackson led the Union effort with 11 points each. Ashanti Corbett had seven points.

For the Wildcats, Ciara Bryant had eight points.

“First off, I want to give a shout out to Coach Jose Garcia,” Union coach Bryant Register said. “They played a great game tonight. Coach Garcia is doing a tremendous job with these young ladies. I’m very proud of the way our team battled all night. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination; but, we persevered through. We tried to rattle them a little bit with some pressure and get out in transition and fortunately we were able to build a little lead. It’s never easy to win on the road, especially a conference game. We were very fortunate to come out with a win tonight.”

Boys

In a tough and physical matchup, the Hobbton Wildcat men got their first win of the season in an impressive performance, earning a 49-40 victory.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first quarter and were never behind in the game. The 5-point first quarter margin was the closest of the game. Both teams started scoring in the second quarter with Hobbton getting 13 points against 11 for the Spartans. The halftime score was 25-18, Hobbton.

The Wildcats continued the pressure in the second half, again out scoring the Spartans in picking up 12 points to Union’s nine in the third quarter for a 10 point lead at 37-27. In the fourth quarter, Union chipped away at the Wildcats lead but couldn’t completely catch back up. In the final minutes of the game, Colby Weeks hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to push the score up to the eventual final, 49-40.

Jordan Pearsall led all players with 21 points. Weeks had eight points, Jaelyn Holiday had seven, and Keelssyn Martinez had five.

For the Spartans, Joshua Harper had 16 points, Jayshawn West had 10, Cole Bass had six and Josheim Jones had five.

“We are glad to have this one, as they say to get the monkey off your back,” commented Hobbton coach Jeffrey Lane. “We have been working really hard. I think the guys are starting to believe in what we are trying to do and slow some things down. I’m just very happy with them and hope this is the first of many as we go forward. I’m very happy with them.”

Next up for the Hobbton squads was a date with Midway on Thursday while Union was finished for the week and are scheduled to host Neuse Charter on Tuesday.

Ciara Bryant goes in for two of her eight points in the game.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_HHS-C.-Bryant.jpgCiara Bryant goes in for two of her eight points in the game.

Jaelyn Holiday gets a short jumper for two of his seven points.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_HHS-J.-Holiday.jpgJaelyn Holiday gets a short jumper for two of his seven points.

Joshua Harper drives the lane for two of his 16 points.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_UHS-J.-Harper.jpgJoshua Harper drives the lane for two of his 16 points.

Latyra English gets two of her 11 points in the Spartan win over Hobbton.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_UHS-L.-English.jpgLatyra English gets two of her 11 points in the Spartan win over Hobbton.
Lady Wildcats, Spartan boys earn conference wins

By David Johnson

Sports Writer

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].