GREENVILLE—As North Lenoir cruised to a 16-point home victory over Greenville Rose less than a week ago, the Rampants’ guard Cornell Powell was getting ready for his team’s fourth-round playoff football game.
Rose lost Friday on the gridiron, so Powell was available when the Rampants and Hawks got back together for the hard-court rematch Monday at The Rose Garden.
Bad news for North Lenoir.
The sophomore came off the bench midway through the second quarter and proceeded to score a game-high 16 points as Rose pulled away in the second half for a 59-47 victory — its first of the season.
“(Powell) is a great athlete and we had a hard time with him,” NL coach Anthony Loftin said. “They’re obviously a much different, more talented team with all their players back.”
Five football players who missed the first game were available for action against the Hawks. Four saw the court, and none had a greater impact than Powell.
After scoring two points in the first half, Powell quickly rounded into basketball shape after intermission.
He tallied 14 second-half points, including eight in a row in the third quarter as the Rampants (1-2) turned a 20-18 halftime lead into a 34-24 advantage with 3:14 left in the period.
“He hurt us in transition,” Loftin said of Powell. “We were very poor offensively tonight with too much dribbling and too many unforced mistakes.”
The Hawks (3-4) never recovered from Rose’s Powell-led spurt.
The Rampants led as many as 14, and NL never got closer than nine in the fourth quarter.
The taller, stronger Rampants also dominated the boards by a 45-28 margin, a key factor in the triumph.
“They just moved us out of the way inside and there was nothing we could do about it,” Loftin said. “We’re a small team so we need all five guys to rebound. When you don’t protect the ball and allow a team like Rose to get up and down the floor in transition, you’re never going to have five guys back to play defense and hit the boards.”
Jauqaz Jones led the Hawks with 12 points and was the only NL player in double figures.
NL committed 17 turnovers on the night and shot just 36 percent (16 of 44) from the floor. The Hawks also didn’t do themselves any favors by connecting on 11 of 20 attempts from the charity stripe.
The Hawks hosted Farmville Central Tuesday.
Girls’ game:
ROSE 49, NORTH LENOIR 34
The Hawks (1-6) were hanging around with undefeated Rose until point guard and primary ball handler Quoya Porter picked up her third foul at the start of the second quarter.
With Porter out of the game, the Rampants (3-0) erupted for a 12-2 tear that turned a tie game into a 21-11 advantage.
Rose was never threatened again.
Porter came back in the second half and drilled three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points, a total matched by NL’s Mikayla Kremer.
The Hawks’ Laura Haerer scored just three points but hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Rose’s Jillian Ebron, who missed 10 shots in a row at one point, hit five of her last six field goal chances, including three from beyond the arc, to lead all scorers with 16 points.
Girls
North Lenoir 6 7 10 11—34
Greenville Rose 9 17 11 12—49
N. Lenoir scoring – Quoya Porter 11, Mikayla Kremer 11, Borja 5, Ballen 4, Haerer 3, King, Goodall, Murray, Cratch, Best.
Rose scoring – Jillian Ebron 16, Kamaih Gilbert 10, McGlone 7, Daniels 5, Thigpen 4, Williams 4, Street 2, Smith 1, Shamble, Allen, Speight.
Boys
North Lenoir 9 9 11 18—47
Greenville Rose 10 10 18 21—59
N. Lenoir scoring – Jauqaz Jones 12, Mason 9, King 7, Jackson 7, Robinson 6, Bryant 3, Allen 2, Cannon 1, Letchworth, Hopkins, Smith, Ginn.
Rose scoring – Cornell Powell 16, Nelson 9, Jones 7, Stafford 6, Purvis 6, Williams 4, Braxton 4, Romagna 3, Stewart 2, Chamberlain 2, Streeter.