The starters got their usual numbers, but it was the ones who rarely get the glory that really stepped up when Kinston needed them most.
Brandon Ingram had a game-high 23 points and reserve Qwarri Ham had a crucial defensive stop that gave the Vikings all the momentum in their 65-42 win over SouthWest Edgecombe in the semifinals of the Eastern Plains 2A Conference tournament on Wednesday at Viking Gym.
The victory sets up another showdown with second-seeded Farmville Central, which knocked off No. 3 Wilson Beddingfield 75-55, in the championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Viking Gym.
But in this one, had it not before for players like Ham, the Cougars could have easily pulled the upset.
“At times it was just an energy thing and just getting after it,” Vikings coach Perry Tyndall said. “I don’t care about offense — we’ve got a lot of guys who can score. But our one constant has got to be on the defensive end of the floor and we did a better job in the second half.”
Kinston (21-2) couldn’t shake SouthWest Edgecombe in the first half, even after beginning the game on a 12-4 run in which Denzel Keyes scored seven of his 18 points on a double-double night with 10 rebounds.
The Cougars (13-9) got back in and kept it in the six-point range, and trailed by that margin at the break, 29-23, in one of Kinston’s lowest-scoring halves of the season.
With just under 4 minutes to play in the third quarter the Vikings led 36-33. Before the end of the period Kinston was up 53-33.
Enter Ham.
Ingram hit a bucket and pair of free throws and Keyes added some freebies to start a 17-0 run that was held together by Ham’s steal-it-then-shoot-it move.
Ham picked off his third and final steal and chased the ball down to the wing on Kinston’s end before falling on it, doing a somersault, then kicking it out to Ingram while lying on his back.
Ingram caught the ball near his ankles, dribbled it loosely then passed back to Ham, who stepped up and drained a 3 to get Tyndall off the bench and into a frenzy of excitement.
Ham scored only five points — as a team the Vikings scored just 13 bench points — but it was plays like that that had Tyndall raving about his reserves.
“That was a big, big play,” he said. “Game like this you want to play with passion and energy, and I thought that play, in of itself, was excellent, and if there was ever a shot that I wanted to go down it was that shot.
“That was a big-time play.”
Kinston, which is going for its seventh consecutive tournament championship, found itself out of sync when senior leader Josh Dawson headed to the bench early after picking up two quick fouls.
Dawson, who had nine points and nine assists, didn’t return until the 5:20 mark of the second quarter with his team clinging to an 18-15 lead.
Due to Dawson’s absence Tyndall was forced to go to his bench earlier than he would have liked, but the reserves gave him quality minutes in a game where Kinston was tested by a team trying to extend its season and for the first time since December.
“We went against a team with their backs against the wall that knew they had to win the conference tournament to get into the playoffs,” Tyndall said. “They played with more energy than we did early. They played with more purpose. I thought they were a step faster on defense.
“We didn’t go into the locker room worried. They knew they didn’t play their best half. They can’t expect to be up double digits at halftime (every game). Our guys knew they could play better and they did.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
SW Edgecombe 11 14 12 7—42
Kinston 15 14 24 12—65
COUGARS (13-9) — Anthony Coley 13, Javine Hinton 12, De. Williams 5, Brand 4, Jones 4, Wooten 3, Da. Williams 1, Harris, White, Pickens.
VIKINGS (21-2) — Brandon Ingram 23, Denzel Keyes 18, Dawson 9, Ham 5, Dunn 4, Joyner 2, Hart 2, Rouse 2, Taylor, White, Jones, Williams, Canady, Lopez.