TARBORO — Tarboro’s first half statistics told the entire story of its Eastern Plains 2A Conference contest with Kinston on Tuesday: Nine points, 21 turnovers, 31-point halftime deficit.
Kinston ended up rolling to a 75-32 victory in a one-sided mismatch that it dominated from the opening tap.
The only suspense was whether Tarboro’s final turnover output would exceed its point total. On that end Tarboro came up just short, committing 31 miscues as Kinston in the second half backed off a full court trap that completely befuddled the hosts in the first 16 minutes.
“Our pressure early gave us separation,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “We were able to get a lot of easy transition baskets in the first half.”
Suffocating defense allowed Kinston (11-2, 4-0) to end the first half on a 17-0 run. Add in the first bucket after intermission and those 19 unanswered points gave Kinston a 42-9 lead.
But this one was over long before that.
Kinston also ended the first quarter with 10 straight points in building a 20-6 advantage. The margin was never again that close.
Coupled with Friday’s 73-31 win over Farmville Central, Kinston has now outscored its last two league opponents by a combined 148-63.
“We’ve really been playing well defensively since the holiday tournament,” Tyndall said. “The thing is, and I don’t want to sound like I’m nitpicking, but there’re still some areas we can improve on.”
Tyndall cited his team’s inconsistency in stopping its opponent’s dribble penetration, especially in the first three minutes when dynamic point guard Tony Gregory sliced his way to his team’s first six points and kept Tarboro (5-8, 1-2) close.
“We picked up too many fouls because we didn’t rotate over quick enough,” Tyndall said. “It’s a minor issue but it’s still something we’ve got to get better at.”
Offensively, 13 Kinston players reached the scoring column, led by Denzel Keyes, who tallied 23 to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Kinston’s biggest lead was 44 at 70-26 with 2:47 left in the game.
“What I really liked tonight was our effort,” Tyndall said. “Even with the game out of hand, we kept playing hard all the way to the end.”
KINSTON 53, TARBORO 23
The Kinston girls left no doubt either, racing to a 27-12 halftime lead en route to an easy win.
Like the boys, girls coach Hubert Quinerly was able to clear his bench early and often.
Two players, Anshonee Addison and Takerian Harper, collected 10 points apiece for Kinston (11-4, 4-0), while Lydia Rivers added nine points and 13 caroms.
Kinston actually trailed 7-6 before embarking on an 11-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the first three minutes of the second.
No player for Tarboro (5-8, 1-2) scored more than seven points.
BOYS
Kinston 20 20 16 19—75
Tarboro 6 3 12 11—32
KINSTON (11-2, 4-0) — Denzel Keyes 23, Taylor 9, Ingram 7, Ham 6, Hart 6, Williams 5, Rouse 4, Canady 4, Dawson 3, White 3, Lopez 2, Jones 2, Joyner 1, Jackson.
TARBORO (5-8, 1-2) — K. Jones 8, D. Jones 7, Gregory 6, Roberson 3, Pittman 2, Exum 2, Winstead 2, Clapp 2, Dickens, Brown, Bailey, Battle, Hyman.
GIRLS
Kinston 12 15 13 13—53
Tarboro 7 5 7 4—23
KINSTON (11-4, 4-0) — Anshonee Addison 10, Takerian Harper 10, Rivers 9, Vermillion 7, Drumgoole 7, Loftin 4, Williams 3, Clark 3, Thi.
TARBORO (5-8, 1-2) — Savage 7, Ruffin 6, Jones 5, A. Williams 3, Perkins 2, Shaw, Perry, Guilford, Thorne.