BETHEL— Kinston suffered its only Eastern Plains 2A Conference loss on the road at North Pitt last season.
On Friday night, the Vikings made sure history didn’t repeat itself.
“We came up here last year and got humbled,” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “We discussed that in practice this week, how important it is to be prepared and focused no matter what the situation.”
The Vikings were definitely prepared and focused this time against the Panthers, racing to a big lead and never looking back en route to an 81-54 victory that clinched an undefeated conference regular season.
It was the second time in the past six years that Kinston (20-2, 12-0) rolled through league play without a loss. They also accomplished the feat during the 2007-08 season as a member of the Eastern Carolina 3A Conference.
“It’s a testament to the team’s hard work that they were able to win every game in the league,” Tyndall said. “This is a very good conference with some tough places to play on the road.”
Count North Pitt among those tough places. The Panthers (11-11, 7-5) shredded Kinston by 11 points last season, the Vikings’ last loss on their way to the state 2A championship.
“North Pitt has always given us trouble here,” Tyndall said. “They’re well-coached, they play hard, and they take pride in defending their home court.”
With a big boost from senior point guard Josh Dawson, Kinston shattered the hosts’ pride very early.
Dawson opened the game with a long 3-pointer, scored on a runner in the paint, and fed Denzel Keyes for a layup as Kinston quickly built an 11-2 advantage.
He finished the first quarter with nine points and three assists and Kinston led 22-7. The lead never dropped below 11 again.
“Josh helped us get off to a great start,” Tyndall said. “He remembered what happened last year and wasn’t about to let it happen again.
Dawson scored 13 of his 16 total points in the first half. His production, along with Brandon Ingram’s 10 second quarter points, were especially important as leading scorer Keyes got into early foul trouble and tallied just two first-half points.
Ingram finished with a team-high 23 points, while Keyes reasserted himself after intermission to finish with 13.
Although the outcome was never in doubt, Tyndall was especially impressed by the way his team responded to North Pitt’s biggest sign of life, an 8-0 run late in the third quarter.
“We were safely in front, but they made a nice run and got their crowd back into it,” Tyndall said. “It would have been easy to just go through the motions, but instead we buckled down defensively and answered.”
The brief spurt closed the gap to 17, 55-38. Kinston settled down and led by as many as 29 in the final period.
It was not a perfect effort, however.
“We allowed them to score in the paint way too much,” Tyndall said. “It’s unacceptable to give up that many easy points when you’re doing so many other things well.”
KINSTON 49, NORTH PITT 17
The Kinston girls fell behind 2-0 on a layup by the Panthers’ Quondramec Moore at the 6:42 mark of the opening period.
Kinston led 9-2 when North Pitt scored again with 1:19 to go in the quarter.
The Panthers’ next points came on a free throw by Dorian Sharp with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter.
Yes, the third quarter.
North Pitt managed a grand total of three points over a stretch that spanned 22 minutes, 42 seconds.
The score after Sharp converted her free throw? 41-5.
It was that bad, and the dominating victory allowed Kinston (19-4, 12-0) to also finish conference play unbeaten and for the second straight season.
“We had a great regular season, but now we have bigger goals we want to reach,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said. “But to come on the road and beat the second place team like this was a great way to get us ready for the postseason.”
Brittany Drumgoole scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out eight assists, and collected three steals to lead the Vikings, who didn’t play their best but were still plenty good on this night.
Anshonee Addison added 13 points for Kinston, while freshman transfer student Jada Faison, playing her first game for the Vikings, impressed with five points and eight rebounds.
Kinston also forced 34 Panthers turnovers.
However, like the boys, there are still areas of improvement Quinerly says his team needs to address before the playoffs.
“We started way too slowly,” said Quinerly, whose team was held scoreless the first 5:11 of the game. “We can’t do that in the state playoffs. Good teams don’t wait for you to get going.”
Both Kinston squads have earned first round byes in next week’s conference tournament and will open play at home Wednesday. The girls will play at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow.
BOYS
Kinston 22 20 15 24—81
North Pitt 7 17 14 16—54
VIKINGS (20-2, 12-0) — Brandon Ingram 23, Josh Dawson 16, Denzel Keyes 13, Andrew Lopez 12, Joyner 8, Dunn 4, Taylor 3, Hart 2, Ham, Jones, Williams, Canady.
PANTHERS (11-11, 7-5) — Demarcus Best 12, Barnes 9, Battle 9, K. Harris 7, Crandell 6, Overton 4, Council 4, Dudley 3, Gardner, T. Harris.
GIRLS
Kinston 11 12 18 8—49
North Pitt 4 0 1 12—17
VIKINGS (19-4, 12-0) — Brittany Drumgoole 14, Anshonee Addison 13, Harper 8, J. Faison 5, Williams 4, Lofton 3, Rivers 2, Vermillion, Thi, B. Faison, Washington, Clark, Tice.
PANTHERS (12-10, 7-5) — Kayla Cox 10, Sharp 3, Taylor 2, Moore 2, Hidgins, Searcy, Brown, White, Pender.