LUMBERTON — In the first quarter of a first-round matchup of the 2018 Robeson County Shootout, Lumberton guard Jadarion Chatman sent the home crowd in a frenzy when he soared off the baseline to slam down a put-back that gave his team an early lead over visiting South Robeson. The basket embodied the effort he and his teammates put forth throughout Wednesday’s 72-59 win, propelling them to another date in the semifinals.
“We had to have that winning mentality. We’ve been coming in flat, but we had to turn it up today,” Chatman said after filling up the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
In the Pirates three-guard attack, Chatman shared the ball-handling duties, turned up the pressure on the Mustangs opposing backcourt and scored from inside and out. In the fourth quarter, Chatman raced down the floor in transition and forced a foul, then he sunk two free throws that stretched the lead, 59-45, with just under six minutes to play.
Lumberton (6-1) coach Matt Hill was effusive in his praise of the young backcourt player, who he believes is putting it all together at the right time.
“[Chatman] has been a man-child because the last three games he’s had to, as a sophomore, take on the toughest defensive assignment…and also, he’s gotten to a point where I’m very confident with him bringing the ball up the floor,” Hill said.
“The confidence he’s had in his shot… rebounding the ball, I mean, it’s just been valuable. He still makes sophomore mistakes sometimes because he’s a sophomore, but I can live with that because of his effort.”
With Chatman making good decisions, his teammates had easy scoring opportunities.
Pirates forward Braylan Grice finished with a game-high 27 points despite sitting the majority of the first quarter because of foul trouble. Jordan McNeill added 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and his two triples in the second quarter helped the team keep a healthy distance. His 3-pointer with 4:16 left in the second made the score 26-19.
Grice closed it out with 11 points in the third quarter and played a key role as the visitors were creeping back in the game after trailing 33-22 at the half.
South Robeson (2-4) center Cameron Werrell had a team-high 22 points and Kylerr Page added 11. It was Werrell who did everything he could to keep the Mustangs’ hopes alive. His three-point play with 1:51 left closed the gap to just seven points as they trailed 64-57.
But it was Chatman, Grice and the Pirates who stayed poised in crunch time and executed their late-game offense to seal the victory
“We just had to play smart and not turn over the ball a lot…play team ball and not be selfish,” Chatman said.
The finishing touches were applied by Grice who converted a layup, plus the foul to get the lead back to double digits, 69-59 with just under a minute remaining.
Lumberton hosts St. Pauls on Friday for a trip to the Shootout finals this weekend. South Robeson goes back home to face Lake View Thursday on the loser’s side of the bracket.
Lady Pirates keeps 3-peat hopes alive with blowout win over South Robeson
LUMBERTON — The Lumberton girls basketball team showed no signs of regression in the team’s first Shootout game without legendary coach Danny Graham. The back-to-back champs got out to an early lead and never looked back, advancing to the semifinals with a convincing 65-21 victory at home on Wednesday.
The Lady Pirates were coming off a loss to Jack Britt last Friday in which head coach Sam Davis said his team lacked intensity and effort. In that game, the group was without starting guard Zye’Ahna Cade, who Davis says was one of the biggest reasons for the increased energy level against the Lady Mustangs.
“My point guard makes a lot of the difference out there,” Davis said about Cade. “When you have somebody that can take care of the ball and make good decisions…everybody starts playing well.”
Cade was a ball-hawk each time she entered the game, finishing with a team-high seven steals and two blocks. She helped the Lady Pirates jump out to an early 13-2 lead with her hellacious defense that turned into easy baskets. In the third quarter, Cade turned up the ball pressure and got her own looks in transition. Her layup midway through the period gave the team a 50-13 and she closed the quarter with a three-point play that upped the score to 58-15. She added 10 points and four assists to her full statline.
With Cade controlling the action, the Lady Pirates had four players reach double figures.
Senior forward Madison Canady continued her hot scoring, leading the team with a game-high 20 points. Akwarias Stubbs finished with 12 points. The two combined for 19 points in the first quarter that saw the team sprint out to a 30-5 advantage.
August Smith added 10 points, which included four points in the first and another four in the third quarter when they blew the game open.
In the last two practices, Davis said he implored his team to keep pushing when they get a big lead and not let the other team get back into the game. The message was received as the visitors never got within single digits after the opening quarter.
The Lady Mustangs were led by freshman guard Jocelyn Manor who finished with eight points. Senior forward Nytia Lewis chipped in seven points and a game-high four blocks.
Davis knows the challenge coming ahead as his team now has a matchup with a hungry St. Pauls squad, but is confident that he’ll have them prepared.
“I told them before I left out the locker room tonight, ‘St. Paul’s wanted us…we coming,’” he said after the win.
Lumberton (5-2) hosts the Lady Bulldogs in the semifinals on Friday.
South Robeson (1-4) goes back home and will take on Lake View on the loser’s side of the bracket.
