DEEP RUN — A win’s a win — especially when it’s by 25 points.
But for a South Lenoir squad that has come out of the gate strong for its 2013-14 campaign, Tuesday’s 52-27 victory over Spring Creek left something to be desired — even though the win kept SL undefeated (6-0).
“I don’t know if our effort is where it needed to be,” Blue Devils coach Jeremy Barnett said. “I don’t think our kids took (the Gators) lightly, but I don’t think we came out as ready to play as I thought we should have been.”
Early on, both teams struggled to maintain possession of the ball. After Spring Creek’s Trey Hammonds hit a 3-pointer during the first minute of play, the clock ticked halfway through the quarter before either team could make an offensive impact.
With 4:34 remaining in the quarter, Barnett called a timeout to refocus his team’s offensive effort.
What followed was an 11-point run, sparked by Jonte Midgette’s five points.
“We haven’t play since last Tuesday, so we spent all that time working on our man offense,” Barnett said. “We just weren’t trying to set up an offense (at the beginning of the game). We’ve got kids that break people down off the dribble… but we aren’t going to be able to do that when we enter conference play.
“I just didn’t think we were attempting to run anything, we were just going through the motions.”
The Blue Devils were able to hold on to an eight-point margin, carrying a 21-13 lead into the half.
While the South Lenoir lead hovered between six and 10 points through the third quarter, the Devils’ Jadarius Mickens completed an and 1 at the charity stripe with 1:46 remaining in the quarter, signaling South Lenoir’s chance to put the game away.
The Blue Devils would outscore the Gators 22-8 over the last 12 minutes of play — including giving up just five points in the fourth quarter — while picking up their sixth straight victory. When the two teams met in November, South Lenoir came away with a 72-34 win.
In their six wins, the Blue Devils have only given up more than 35 points once.
“Defensively is where we’re going to win games,” Barnett said. “We want to get out in transition and run. We want to score in the 60s and 70s, and we’re not going to be able to if our defense isn’t playing well.”
South Lenoir was led by Jaquan Wooten with 16 points, while Dion Jones had 13.
Tonight’s junior varsity and varsity games against Southwest Onslow were moved to a later date. South Lenoir’s game against Wallace-Rose Hill, scheduled for Thursday night, has been postponed until January. Both changes were made to accommodate the opposing school’s football seasons.
Girls’ game
The Blue Devils held the Gators scoreless during the second quarter, picking up 12 points by Demeyia Adams en route to a 40-28 victory over Spring Creek.
South Lenoir led by 12 at the half and stretched the lead to 17 entering the fourth allowing coach Donald Mooring to empty his bench early.
Marquia Suddeth had 10 points and Meosha Franklin added 7 for South Lenoir.
Spring Creek’s Amber Buchan led all scorers with 14 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Blue Devils will face former East Central Conference-foe Southwest Onslow on Friday.