WILSON—The Vikings remained undefeated in a tug-of-war, holding on for a 65-60 victory over a Hunt team expected to contend for the Big East 3A Conference championship.
Kinston (5-0) fell behind 7-0, came back to lead by as many as nine but found themselves on the short end of a 57-55 score with 3:38 remaining Wednesday night.
Then entered Andrew Lopez and Brandon Ingram.
Lopez drilled a long trey from the left corner, and — after a Kinston steal — guard Darnell Dunn found Ingram alone on the other end for a monster dunk that completely altered the momentum of the contest.
Hunt never led again or drew any closer.
“That’s the first time we’ve been behind that late in a game this season,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “I thought we responded with energy and a sense of urgency. Now we just need to learn to play with that type of intensity for 32 minutes instead of just three or four.”
After spotting the Warriors (3-2) the game’s first seven points, Kinston rallied to take a 14-10 lead at the end of the first period.
The game was basically a nip-and-tuck affair the rest of the way, although Kinston did expand the lead to 45-36 halfway through the third quarter.
“We played very well in spurts, but the consistency just wasn’t there,” Tyndall said. “We’ve also got to do a better job of putting teams away. Once we got the lead, we were much too careless with the basketball.”
Playing in front of UNC coach Roy Williams and a handful of assistants from other ACC basketball programs, Ingram delivered with 27 points and nine rebounds.
Lopez added 15 points and five assists.
Kinston remains on the road when they visit Winterville South Central tonight.
Girls’ game:
Kinston was no match for Wilson Hunt’s size inside.
The Warriors were no match for Kinston’s quickness and pressure defense.
Advantage quickness and pressure.
The Vikings turned up the tempo and neutralized Hunt’s superior height with some key second-half adjustments, battling back to defeat the Warriors 46-37 in a non-conference contest Wednesday night.
Kinston looked to be in serious trouble after falling behind 22-16 at the half of a game they once led 9-0.
“Their length definitely caused some issues, especially in the first half,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said. “We did a few things differently after the break, but mainly we just did a better job of attacking the basket and executing our offense.”
Kinston’s defensive intensity also increased. After forcing Hunt into seven first half turnovers, the Vikings’ full-court press created eight Warriors miscues in the third period alone.
Kinston (3-1) also made it a point to go right at Hunt’s huge front line of 6-foot-3 Kiana Ballard, 6-foot Brionna Pate, and 6-foot Alexus Williams.
Both Ballard and Williams were whistled for their third foul before the third stanza was even halfway through.
By the time Anshonee Addison put Kinston back on top 25-24 with a free throw at the 3:38 mark, and Shika Mason buried a long trey to increase the margin to four 17 seconds later; Ballard and Williams had both been on the bench for almost two minutes.
“We finally started to dictate things both offensively and defensively,” Quinerly said. “Our defense allowed us to get into transition, and our transition game kept them for sitting back in their zone.”
Hunt (3-2) stuck around in the final frame but could never get closer than four points.
Kinston led 41-37 when Brittany Drumgoole put the game away with a steal and layup with just 39 seconds to go.
Kinston’s last three points all came from the free throw line.
“I told the girls that although we didn’t play our best, we still beat a very good team on the road, and that’s something they should be proud of,” Quinerly said. “Hunt’s going to win a lot of games this year in an excellent basketball conference.”
Kinston’s 6-foot-1 center Lydia Rivers banged and pounded her way to 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings.
Drumgoole scored just four points but added nine rebounds and eight assists.
Mason tallied 10 points and helped loosen up the Warriors zone with a pair of clutch 3-pointers.
Boys
Kinston 14 20 20 11—65
Hunt 10 20 20 10—60
Kinston scoring: Brandon Ingram 27, Andrew Lopez 15, Mykel Hart 9, Darnell Dunn 8, Darius Dunn 2, Travon Jones 2, Qwarri Ham 2, Tiquan Canady.
Hunt scoring: Justin Jefferson 17, Keenan Tabron 16, Quan Kent 10, Gilliam 7, Shipman 7, Dickens 3.
Girls
Kinston 13 3 16 14—46
Hunt 11 11 6 9—37
Kinston scoring: Lydia Rivers 11, Shika Mason 10, Harper 9, Addison 5, Faison 5, Drumgoole 4, Davis 2.
Hunt scoring: Briuanna Anderson 18, Pate 7, Williams 5, Batts 5, Ballard 2, Harris, Frazier, Jones.