It wasn’t a vintage Kinston performance, but it was good enough.
The undefeated Vikings withstood a few early jabs from visiting Winterville South Central before settling in and cruising to a 68-48 non-conference victory over the Falcons Tuesday at Viking Gym.
The Kinston girls also played just well enough to win, holding on for a 52-44 victory in a contest in which they never trailed but could never quite pull away either.
The boys (3-0), on the other hand, fell behind by as many as nine points when South Central’s Josh Carlton opened the second quarter with a put back to give his team a 22-13 lead.
“It’s still early in the season, but that’s the first time we’ve been hit that hard in a game,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “We absorbed some punches, but then we buckled down and played our kind of game. It was good to see us respond that way.”
The Vikings finally turned it up a notch with just shy of six minutes remaining in the first half.
Trailing 25-17, Kinston reeled off nine unanswered points and eventually finished the half on a 16-3 run.
Junior sensation Brandon Ingram ignited the spurt with eight of those 16 points as the Vikings carried a 33-28 advantage into the locker room.
“We were giving them too many uncontested looks in the first quarter,” Tyndall said. “Our defensive rotation was poor, but in the second quarter we started to get that corrected.”
The Falcons stayed in the game for a half by bombing away with abandon from 3-point range. SC connected on six of 13 treys in the opening two quarters, but managed just one of nine after intermission.
An 8-0 run to start the third period built Kinston’s lead to 13, and only once the rest of the game did the margin dip as low as 10.
The Vikings outscored SC 45-18 over the middle two frames and hit 17 of 27 shots from the floor during that time.
Kinston led by as many as 20 on four separate occasions, including the final score.
“We knew coming in that they were well-coached and talented, and that it was going to be a good test for us,” Tyndall said. “They made us work, especially in the first half, and I’m very pleased with the way we answered the challenge.”
Ingram dominated in stretches and finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. His final points came on a booming dunk off a pinpoint alley-oop pass from Darius Dunn.
Darnell Dunn added 16 points for Kinston, including 12 in the first half to help Kinston stay afloat.
The boys host West Craven Friday at 6 p. m.
Girls’ game
Vikings get past South Central
The Viking led by as many as 13 and were never really threatened. They were also never really comfortable.
Kinston shot just 29 percent (16 of 55) from the floor, which allowed the Falcons to stay close much longer than they should have.
“We had some open looks, the shots just didn’t go down,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said. “Overall, I thought we did everything we needed to do except shoot the ball well. It’s nice to get a win against a good team even when you’re struggling on offense.”
Brittany Drumgoole led Kinston with points while Mikia Davis added 11. Lydia Rivers saw her first action of the season, and — though still limited by a sore ankle — managed six points and eight rebounds.
“We’re young and we’ve got some work to do,” Quinerly said. “We’re still getting used to some new players and Lydia will have to work her way back into condition. It’s going to take time, but I think we’ll be just fine.”
The girls will battle Raleigh Broughton Saturday at 4 p. m. in a game that will be played at Wilmington’s Ashley High School.