While Viking Gym hasn’t always been the site of the title game, the road to the conference tournament championship has continuously gone thought Kinston each season for almost a decade.
The Vikings don’t plan on changing that route tonight.
Kinston’s boys, going for their seventh straight conference tournament title, and its girls, in search of back-to-back-to-back championships, will host the championship games of the Eastern Plains 2A Conference tournament beginning at 6 p.m. today.
Kinston’s regular season champion girls will tip off against No. 2 Wilson Beddingfield at 6 p.m., and its league champ boys will host No. 2 Farmville Central immediately afterwards.
Kinston’s boys haven’t lost in a conference tournament since falling 82-60 at Southern Wayne on Feb. 17, 2006, in the championship of the old Eastern Carolina 3A Conference.
Since then the Vikings (21-2) have won the last six titles by an average margin of victory of 13.8 points.
Its girls (20-4) have won two in a row since falling 38-34 at North Pitt in an opening round game in 2010.
Kinston’s girls are coming off perhaps their most complete game of the season in their 72-16 win over Tarboro in Wednesday’s semifinals. As a team the Vikings hit 14 3-pointers, had 24 assists on 29 made field goals, forced Tarboro into 25 turnovers and began the second half by scoring on their first 10 possessions in the romp.
While a game like that is hard to duplicate, Kinston knows it will need to play at a high level to knock off the Bruins tonight.
“That’s what you want,” Vikings coach Hubert Quinerly said of the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. “(Bruins) coach Deborah Pegram has done a great job. We’ve got to come in here ready to roll.”
For the boys the success of winning the conference tournament hasn’t gotten old hat, even if it’s been more than seven years since their last loss in a conference tournament.
Kinston was tested early against SouthWest Edgecombe in the semifinals on Wednesday in its 65-42 win, and that comes with playing a team for a third time in a season.
The Vikings may have routed Farmville Central by a combined 69 points in their two regular season meetings, but that doesn’t mean anything now.
“You play a team three times, you’ve got to be ready to play,” Kinston boys coach Perry Tyndall said. “Farmville, they do a good job, and their kids will be ready, there’s no question about that.
“It’s the championship of the conference tournament. There’s a lot riding on it. There’s a lot of pride. So there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to come in here ready to play.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Vikings rule
Kinston’s boys basketball team can win its seventh consecutive conference tournament championship tonight while its girls are gunning for their third in a row. The girls will take on No. 2 Wilson Beddingfield at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ matchup with No. 2 Farmville Central.
Here is a look at the Vikings’ run since their last conference tournament loss:
Boys
2006 — So. Wayne 82, Kinston 60 (championship)
2007 — Kinston 89, So. Wayne 71
2008 — Kinston 64, Wilson Hunt 52
2009 — Kinston 72, Wilson Beddingfield 63
2010 — Kinston 80, Wilson Beddingfield 57
2011 — Kinston 47, Wilson Beddingfield 42
2012 — Kinston 79, Tarboro 63
Girls
2010 — N. Pitt 38, Kinston 34 (opening round)
2011 — Kinston 47, Wilson Beddingfield 45
2012 — Kinston 42, Farmville Central 32