SNOW HILL — Greene Central allowed29 points from the free throw line in sending the Jaguars there 38 times Friday night.
In the second game of the regular-season, rivalry series, Farmville Central came away with a 65-54 win over the Rams.
GC lost in double figures both times, but the Jags’ too-frequent visit to the line stifled the Rams’ chance at revenge from last week’s 71-55 loss to a very intense Farmville Central.
“(It) was a big difference in the game,” GC coach Jim Cole said about FC’s trips to the charity stripe.“We work hard at attacking the basket every day in practice, and it’s just inconceivable to me that we can go to the free throw line 16 times in a game as much as we attack the basket.”
The Rams (5-3) shot 61 percent from the foul line as Farmville completed 76 percent of its free throws Friday.
FC’s Deondre Phillips had the most FTs, going 8-of-10 and finishing with 10 total points.
The Rams never led during the rowdy ball game, while the Jaguars were up by as many as 12 in the third quarter. With 1:50 left in the contest, Farmville Central decided to hold the ball to prevent GC from digging into its 11-point deficit.
Cole shouted for the Rams to find their way into FC’s passing lanes.
“That’s a basketball IQ thing that we’re still trying to learn,” he said. “At some point, they’ve got to understand that … you have to overplay. … That was on me; I didn’t communicate that well enough.”
Other than being tied in the first minute and a half of the game, Farmville Central’s edge never dulled. While the Rams had glimmers of fantastic effort to try and close the gap, their opponents were too intense.
Curtez Braswell, who returned Friday after sitting out of Wednesday’s C.B. Aycock game, came off the bench for back-to-back steals. He drew the foul on the second snatch, hitting both shots to bring the Rams within six at 28-22 — the closest GC came before eventually losing the game.
It was a heated rivalry that lived up to its label, but Greene Central has many more games on its schedule.
“We can recover from this game; it’s not that serious,” said senior guard Brandon Belcher, who finished with 11 points and three rebounds. “(There are) a couple things here and there we need to pick up on. I think we did pretty good on defense, we just were inconsistent with it.”
Doreon Suggs led the Rams with 16 points and Quante Smith had a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks. Greene Central will return to regular-season action on Jan. 3 when the group travels to North Pitt.
Girls’ game
Tempers unleashed with less than 30 seconds left in Friday’s rivalry.
Officials stopped the clock in the fourth quarter to regain control of a feisty pair of teams, as Greene Central and Farmville Central had a heated gathering on FC’s side of the court.
The Jags won the game, 61-47, in Greene Central’s gym.
As the contest’s leading scorer Alyssa Pitt flawlessly hit a pair of free throws with 3:12 left to go, GC’s Jessica Barrett answered with an easy layup. FC finished off the Rams on a pair of assisted baskets to go up by 14.
Ashley Brimmage’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining on the board, while a good effort, couldn’t help the 1-6 Rams. She finished with 13 points, as Barrett also had 13 for GC. Bria Payton scored in double figures with 10 points.
Greene Central will head to North Pitt on Jan. 3.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
Boys
FARMVILLE CENTRAL 65, GREENE CENTRAL 54
Farmville Central 17 18 15 15 — 65
Greene Central 9 16 12 17 — 54
GC scoring: Doreon Suggs 16, Brandon Belcher 11, Quante Smith 9, Curtez Braswell 7, Antoine Davis 5, Trequan Wade 2, Nisere Warren 2
FC scoring: Jake Ashorn 17, Deondre Phillips 10, Josh Jones 14, Shaft Parker 9, Steve McCahe 3, Terrell Dickens 2
Girls
FARMVILLE CENTRAL 61, GREENE CENTRAL 47
Farmville Central 12 16 12 21 — 61
Greene Central 8 10 11 18 — 47
GC scoring: Ashley Brimmage 13, Jessica Barrett 13, Bria Payton 10, Khalicia Lee 5, Tamira Campbell 4, Ebone’ Jones 1, Tanliyah Joyner 1.
FC scoring: Alyssa Pitt 12, Dy Pender 11, Christa Dunn 10, Destiny Foskey 10, Dane’ Blackmore 6, Kayla Barnett 4, Caitlyne Staton 3, Ranada Johnson 2, Ashlee White 2, Ayana Joyner 1.