Shamell Little letting no one in, stuffs Rebel player
                                 Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

Shamell Little letting no one in, stuffs Rebel player

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

<p>Sariya Doss runs past defender and takes layup in chase</p>
                                 <p>Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent</p>

Sariya Doss runs past defender and takes layup in chase

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

<p>Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent</p>

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

<p>Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent</p>

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

<p>Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent</p>

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

<p>Dashaun Carr opened up and shot a three from space.</p>
                                 <p>Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent</p>

Dashaun Carr opened up and shot a three from space.

Anthony McConnaughey|Sampson Independent

The North Duplin Rebels explored the Jungle for the second time this year in conference play against the Lakewood Leopards. The Leopards would take two of the three matches of the evening with the Ladies falling in overtime to Duplin.

Girls

Lakewood and North Duplin played tough in this conference rivalry earlier in the quarter. The Lady Rebels put up the first points quick and began steam rolling ahead. Lakewood kept their wits about them and Lashawnta Joyner kicked off her team with a three from space. Their dominant center Precious King pounded her way in the paint later and racked up six points under the net. The Lady Leopards entered the second holding a two score lead, 12-8.

North Duplin came out and were manhandled in the beginning with Lakewood pulling away from the Lady Leopards. Karizma Freeman hit a basket from the perimeter line and King made her presence known again making room for herself to layup four total points. This scoring rally ceased for some time as both teams found themselves in a bit of a drought. This changed however when the Lady Rebels found their groove. Lakewood couldn’t stop them even though Duplin was slowly chomping away at the lead and brought it within range.

The Lady Leopards held on during the Rebel advance and went to the locker room at the break, leading by a score, 22-20.

In the third lead exchanges were common as both teams were itching for a win. Duplin started off the offense and quickly tied it up. This back and forth drama went on until the 29 all point. North Duplin fought hard past the tough Leopard defense and it began work was paying off. Lakewood degenerated rapidly towards the end with defense falling to nonexistent. The Lady Rebels took a six point lead into the final quarter of the game, leading the Leopards, 39-33.

The Lady Leopards came back hard and fast in the fourth. Before Duplin could blink their lead shrank down to one at 40-39. The Lady Rebels trudged through the quarter as they could only score four with Lakewood on the rise. The Leopards would tie it up 43 all, but the Rebels instantly responded, regaining the lead.

With less than minute left, North Duplin gave up the lead to King who powered her way into the paint. As the seconds drained away, during the transition, two Leopards got tripped up over each other leaving their side wide open. They’d capitalize and retake the lead with 8 seconds left on the clock. Lakewood’s life was extended with a clutch shot from Alexis Rhodes her sole score in the quarter. She setup for two pointer just inside the perimeter. The shot was net only and the crowd roared as the buzzer resonated in the background. The Leopards took it to overtime at 47 all.

The Lady Rebs were unfazed however and immediately took control. Lakewood could not get anything to drop as shot after shot bricked off the rim or air balled. Duplin capitalized on second chance points and they racked up quickly. Overtime closed out with the Lady Rebels staking claim to the Jungle and the Leopards were defeated at home, 62-54 final score.

Boys

The last bout of the night was the two Varsity squads.

The Leopards came out strong putting up seven before the Rebels could put anything together. North Duplin though kept plugging away and managed to bring themselves back into the game, trailing by one. Lakewood came back and put up five more to give them a six point advantage going into the second.

North Duplin was falling apart in the second as the Leopards continued to put a clinic on the aimless Rebels. Lakewood navigated the Jungle with ease leaving Duplin in the dust with Shamell Little putting up five scores of the 12 scored in the quarter. Lakewood was held a huge advantage entering halftime, 24-9.

The Leopards were holding strong in the beginning. They added two points and they were looking like they were going to runaway with it. North Duplin stayed resilient and kept pressing. Lakewood’s defense crumbled before the crowd’s eyes as the Rebels made basket after basket. They came back and brought the game within reach at 27-22.

The Leopards fell off course but weren’t keen on blowing their lead and they picked up the pace on the court. The Rebels offense froze while Lakewood tacked on seven more to bring them ahead by 13.

At 37-24 entering the final quarter, Lakewood didn’t let off the gas and pressed forward on the court. They kept the Rebels in check and cut out some second chance points with rebounds. The game was well in their hands as Nakai Owens sent a beauty of a no look pass to Shamell White to keep their ascent. North Duplin was lost and the Leopards defended their backyard viciously, taking the win over their conference rival, 50-39.

JV

The night started out with Lakewood and North Duplin putting up their junior squads to begin the evening of hoops.

The Junior Rebels came out hard against Lakewood in the first. The Leopards plodded through but their play was susceptible to a thieving team, steals were a commonplace in this quarter. The Junior Rebels slipped into the second holding a decent lead, 16-10.

Midway through the second quarter Lakewood began to falter. Passes picked off by the opposition and shots weren’t finding their way through the net.

Lakewood didn’t stop and fiercely fought for the ball. North Duplin tried to hold off the Leopards but they kept climbing back.

The rivalry is deep between these two as tempers flared on the court at the 2:30 mark. North Duplin was given a technical foul after a fight for the ball turned a tad hostile. Both shots were missed.

Despite this, the Leopards kept up the intensity and scored immediately following the free shots. Lakewood trailed by a score, 24-22.

The intensity carried over into the third but not as hot at first. Dashaun Carr drilled a three that jump started the Leopard advance. This reinvigorated an already hungry squad and by the four minute mark, they had taken the lead, 32-30.

The Rebels rushed forward trying to snag a piece of the Lakewood momentum swinging their way. This morphed into an easy four points from steals and fastbreaks. By the end of the quarter, the Lakewood train was running hot leading North Duplin, 43-34.

Entering the fourth, North Duplin fought hard against a stubborn Leopards defense. They kept chipping away at them and brought themselves within two scores. They had some help from some poor passing choices by Lakewood and closed the gap with four minutes left in the game, 46-42.

After a timeout by Lakewood, they shored up their offense and made use of their downhill run. The Leopards pushed and held North Duplin scoreless for a spell, in their scoring drought, they gave up six more points to put their deficit at 10. The Rebels tried to bring back their mojo but Lakewood wasn’t having it. Bound and determined, they slammed the door on North Duplin and brought home their fifth win in a row with the final score, 60-49.

Reach Anthony McConnaughey at [email protected] and on Twitter @SportsSampson