LA GRANGE — If North Lenoir’s boys basketball players needed a practical reminder to heed their sports clichés, they gave themselves one Tuesday.
It is indeed how you finish.
Greg Williams scored 12 points and C.B. Aycock took advantage of a dismal fourth quarter by the Hawks in a 45-39 Eastern Carolina 3A Conference win.
North Lenoir (9-9, 4-2 EC3A) entered the final period with a one-point lead before going scoreless for the next 6:38, giving the Golden Falcons (8-9, 3-3) ample time to take over.
“It was a nightmare,” Hawks coach Anthony Loftin said, adding that he picked Aycock as the league’s top team in the preseason.
“For three quarters, I thought we were right there with them.”
In the girls game, Myleah Jones scored nine points to help the Falcons pull away for a 45-25 win to start the sweep. Quoya Porter scored nine points for North Lenoir.
Loftin then watched as his team missed 12 straight 3-pointers over the final quarter and a half, an ugly streak that wasn’t snapped until Reggie Rouse connected from the left corner to cut the Hawks’ deficit to 42-36 with 21 seconds left.
Aycock coach Steve Moats said his team practiced to prepare for the Hawks’ aggressive, handsy press and didn’t apply what they learned until the final 8 minutes.
“When we got to the fourth quarter, we executed what we wanted to a little bit better,” he said.
The Falcons scored the first 10 points of the quarter as North Lenoir fell apart, committing seven turnovers in the period. Braxton Davis’ desperation heave from 35 feet to beat the final buzzer was just the Hawks’ fourth field goal of the quarter.
Loftin said the turning point came at the end of the third quarter, when North Lenoir tried to hold the ball for a final shot but instead allowed a last-second 3-pointer by Aycock’s Trey Neal to give the Falcons a 31-30 lead.
The Falcons hadn’t led since 2 minutes remained in the first quarter.
“When they got the lead, I thought we panicked and we tried to get that one knockout punch to get up by 10,” Loftin said, bemoaning his players’ poor shot selection. “That compounded the issues right there.”
The Hawks’ Devontae Sutton and Aycock’s Cameron Johnson were disqualified after going nose to nose near midcourt with 20 seconds left in the game.
Davis scored 11 points to lead North Lenoir, which never led by more than six.
The Hawks will play host to first-place Erwin Triton on Friday with a chance to seize a share of first place in the conference.
Triton defeated Southern Wayne 69-63 Tuesday to remain atop the league.
“We’ve got to start winning some ballgames and playing smarter,” Loftin said.
David Hall can be reached at (252) 559-1086 or at david.hall@kinston.com.
BOYS
C.B. Aycock 9 9 12 15—45
North Lenoir 10 10 11 8—39
GOLDEN FALCONS (8-9, 3-3) — Greg Williams 12, Michael Williams 10, Powell 7, Nundle 7, Clark 4, Neal 3, Johnson 2.
HAWKS (9-9, 4-2) — Braxton Davis 11, Jones 8, Rouse 5, Troy 5, Sutton 4, Robinson 2, Carlton 2, Hough 2.
GIRLS
C.B. Aycock 10 11 14 10—45
North Lenoir 5 4 7 9—25
GOLDEN FALCONS (4-8, 3-3) — Jones 9, Butler 8, Darden 8, Daniels 8, Artis 4, Pontoo 4, Sutton 2, Newsome 2.
HAWKS (2-16, 0-6) — Porter 9, Bizzell 6, Lee 4, Howard 4, Varner 2.