LA GRANGE — North Lenoir had plenty of motivation Tuesday night: Senior Night, a conference race with a top two seed still very much up for grabs, and an opportunity to avenge a 62-46 loss at Clayton Cleveland in January.
The Hawks responded with a 51-36 win that kept them in the hunt for a possible second-place finish in league play.
The Rams, relegated to a spoiler role, had no answer for the Hawks on a night when North Lenoir (12-11, 7-4 Eastern Carolina 3A) appeared to be playing with a purpose from the onset.
“I was pleased with our effort on defense tonight,” NL coach Anthony “Copperhead” Loftin said. “Our pressure was really good in the first half, and our zone kept them in front of us all night and made them shoot the ball from the outside.”
That pressure, combined with an effective 2-3 zone, limited the Rams (6-17, 3-8) to a 13-for-48 (27 percent) performance from the floor.
Little-used senior Marshall Letchworth set the tone in the first quarter when he drew a charge. That defensive stop sparked a quarter-long run for the Hawks, who sprinted out to an 11-2 lead after a quarter.
Despite an 0-for-8 shooting slump that lasted well over five minutes in the second quarter, the Hawks were able to keep their lead around 10 points for the remainder of the game. North Lenoir was buoyed by a 21-13 edge on the boards in the first half, a rebounding advantage that stretched to 40-22 by the end of the night.
That rebounding advantage, as well as a dominant inside-out game on the offensive end, allowed the Hawks to maintain a comfortable lead over Cleveland all night.
“Our bigs did a good job on the boards,” Loftin said. “We made a statement in the first half when we found Tyree (Hough) and Billy (Summers) for about three straight baskets underneath. When we get the ball inside like that, we will have success.”
Hough ended the night with just one bucket for two points, while Summers contributed eight points. John Carlton also had seven points, mostly in the paint, and added seven rebounds. Zongio Troy led the Hawks with 11 points and was the only North Lenoir player to notch double figures in the scoring column.
The Rams were paced by 12 points from Gilbert King. Cleveland closed the gap to under 10 only once in the second half when the team started the quarter a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor to close to 44-35. The Hawks responded by tightening the screws on their press, forcing the Rams to miss on their next five attempts — all from beyond the 3-point arc — and scoring seven of the next eight points to close out the win.
“We were able to do what we wanted to do with our inside, outside game,” Loftin said. “This was a big win. The more wins we get, the better seed we get come playoff time.”
With a win at Erwin Triton to close regular season play, the Hawks can potentially earn the league’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs and improve its position when the state 3A brackets are announced following conference tournament play.
North Lenoir is tied for second with C.B. Aycock, which fell to Erwin Triton, and Southern Wayne, which was idle. Triton’s win gave it the regular season title and the league’s top playoff berth.
CLEVELAND 30, NORTH LENOIR 27
In the girls game, North Lenoir dropped to 2-21 on the year and 0-11 in conference play following the loss.
Cleveland (9-13, 4-7) led 10-5 after a quarter before the Hawks tied the game at 16-16 at the half. The Rams took a two point lead into the final quarter.
Neither team had success finding the bottom of the net in the fourth, as Cleveland was 1 of 13 from the floor to the Hawks' 1-of-12 performance.
NL had the ball with 8.4 seconds remaining and trailing by one but turned the ball over after a timeout to set up a final play. A personal foul on Amanda Bizzell turned into a technical, and the Rams connected on 2 of 4 free throws to take a three-point lead. On the ensuing possession, NL fouled again, but the Rams missed both shots from the charity stripe to give the Hawks one last shot to tie.
A contested 3-pointer from the wing bounced harmlessly off the iron, and the Rams escaped with the win.
Only three players scored for North Lenoir. Quoya Porter had 13 points, and Ta’Breia Foster and Erica Lee had seven each. Courtney Ireland led the Rams with 11 points.
BOYS
Cleveland 2 9 12 13—36
N. Lenoir 11 10 14 16—51
RAMS (6-17, 3-8) — Gilbert King 12, Jacobs 6, Raines 6, Robinson 5, Stenborg 4, Olmstead 2, McCray 1.
HAWKS (12-11, 7-4) — Zongio Troy 11, Summers 8, Jones 7, Carlton 7, Davis 4, King 4, Sutton 4, Johnson 2, Rouse 2, Hough 2.
GIRLS
Cleveland 10 6 8 6—30
N. Lenoir 5 11 6 5—27
RAMS (9-13, 4-7) — Courtney Ireland 11, Preston 5, Wall 4, Hinton 4, Torres 2, Richardson 2, Watkins 2.
HAWKS (2-21, 0-11) — Quoya Porter 13, Foster 7, Lee 7.