FARMVILLE — One Kinston team clinched at least a share of the Eastern Plains 2A Conference regular season title and the other moved a step closer to that same goal.
All in all, it was just a typical night's work for the Vikings on the hardwood.
The girls routed Farmville Central 72-26 on Friday and now have a three-game lead in the league standings with three games to play
The boys, meanwhile, smoked the homestanding Jaguars 84-57 and hold a two-game advantage over North Pitt, which was idle Friday.
Coach Perry Tyndall's Vikings played so well in the first half that it almost wasn't fair.
In front of a loud, boisterous crowd, Kinston (17-2, 9-0) quickly muzzled the frenzied Jaguars fans by scoring the game's first 14 points.
The lead grew to 23-4 before Farmville mustered its only true rally of the night, a 13-4 spurt that trimmed the margin to 10 and awoke the Jaguars faithful from their slumber.
“We started fast in a hostile environment, but the important thing was the way we answered their run,” Tyndall said. “I thought we really took control of the game after they got to within 10.”
The emphatic answer came courtesy of the senior duo of Josh Dawson and Denzel Keyes. Dawson buried a pair of 3-pointers, while Keyes converted a conventional three-point play to go along with a long distance trey of his own.
Add in a nifty put back by Jeremy Taylor and Kinston outscored its hosts 14-3 over a four-minute stretch that increased the margin to 41-20 with 2:51 left before intermission.
The Jaguars were never heard from again.
“That was the turning point,” Tyndall said. “Two seniors who've been through a lot together didn't let us panic and put the team on their backs. That's what leadership is all about.”
The second half was mostly a glorified scrimmage as Tyndall cleared his bench and distributed the wealth among his roster.
After dissecting the Jaguars for 18 first-half points, Keyes played sparingly following the break and finished with 20. He added seven rebounds.
Dawson ended up with 13, 11 in the first half, and also chipped in seven rebounds. He also dished out 10 assists through three quarters of action.
Five Vikings players reached double figures. Brandon Ingram also contributed 13 points, while Taylor added 12 and Andrew Lopez 10.
Defensively, Kinston coerced the Jaguars (14-4, 5-3) into 22 turnovers.
“The only complaint I have is that we need to do a better job of sacrificing on defense,” Tyndall said. “There were several instances tonight where we could have stepped in and taken the charge, but overall I'm very pleased with the way we played.”
KINSTON 72, FARMVILLE CENTRAL 26
After Monique Lofton missed six of her first seven shots and seven of her first nine, Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly told his sharpshooting guard to keep firing.
Lofton did, and she rewarded her coach with a 26-point outburst that keyed the Vikings' rout.
Lofton buried 4 of 6 from behind the arc in the second half as Kinston (16-4, 9-0) overwhelmed Farmville 45-13 in the final 16 minutes.
Lofton finished with five of her team's eight successful 3-pointers.
The Vikings need just one win in their final three games to clinch first place in the conference outright.
Takerian Harper finished with a double-double, posting 10 points and a like number of rebounds.
Brittany Drumgoole very nearly posted a triple-double, ringing up 13 boards to go with nine points and eight assists.
Lydia Rivers also hauled down 13 caroms for the Vikings, who dominated the glass by a huge 49-33 margin.
Both Kinston squads will complete the home portion of their regular-season schedule Tuesday when they host Tarboro for senior night.
BOYS
Kinston 25 24 18 17—84
Farmville Central 12 15 8 22—57
VIKINGS (17-2, 9-0) — Denzel Keyes 20, Josh Dawson 13, Brandon Ingram 13, Jeremy Taylor 12, Andrew Lopez 10, Dunn 6, Joyner 5, Ham 2, Canady 2, Williams 1, White, Jones, Hart, Rouse, Jackson.
JAGUARS (14-4, 5-3) — Arkevion Crandall 20, Josh Jones 11, Josh Phillips 10, Johnson 5, Williams 4, Ashorn 3, Foskey 3, L. Jones 1, McCabe, Taylor, Norville, Newsome, Watts, Forbes, Davis.
GIRLS
Kinston 14 13 22 23—72
Farmville Central 10 3 8 5—26
VIKINGS (16-4, 9-0) — Monique Lofton 26, Takerian Harper 10, Drumgoole 8, Williams 8, Addison 8, Rivers 5, Thi 2, Washington 2, Clark 2, Tice.
JAGUARS (6-12, 3-5) — Dajura Rodgers 12, Foskey 4, Williams 4, Blackmore 4, Harper 2, Allard, Hopkins, White, Hood, Knight, Gouras, Joyner.