ROWLAND — South Robeson boys basketball coach Ryan Bullard said after Tuesday’s 63-55 loss at home to East Columbus that he doesn’t want his team to “limp across the finish line” of the season, but that has been the direction his team is heading after its third straight Three Rivers Conference defeat.
“We’ve got to find a way to turn it around,” Bullard said. “With four games to go, everything just tightened all the way up for us.”
The home loss was just the second for the Mustangs this season as they started the game hot, but simmered out over the last 28 minutes.
South Robeson (10-9, 7-7 TRC) held East Columbus (9-12, 5-10 TRC) to no points the first four minutes of the game, and led 15-3 at one point in the first quarter, but poor defense and execution allowed the Gators back into the ballgame.
“It was execution again. There in the second quarter, we had lapses and turnovers kind of hurt us a bit,” Bullard said. “We just weren’t closing out on the perimeter on defense. That hurt us pretty bad.”
East Columbus hit seven 3-pointers in the win. The Gators tied the game at 26-all at halftime, and led 41-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
Cameron Werrell led South Robeson with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Kylerr Page was the only other Mustang in double figures as he tallied 13 points and nine rebounds. East Columbus had four players in double figures, led by Tyree Burney with 17 points, 13 points from Alterek Simpson and Trey Brown and Donavan Worley both with 11 points.
South Robeson tied the score at 41-all early in the fourth, and East Columbus countered with a 9-1 run to put space between the teams. The Mustangs were never able to bring the deficit to less than three points after that point.
For much of this three-game skid, free-throw shooting has caused problems for the Mustangs, and Tuesday was no different. Five of the 10 missed free throws came in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve shot so many free throws that I’m almost starting to think that maybe I should try something else. It’s all in their head,” Bullard said. “We just keep shooting them and that’s something that some teams just have.”
South Robeson goes to West Bladen on Thursday, while East Columbus goes to East Bladen on Friday.
Lady Mustangs falter late to East Columbus
ROWLAND — The South Robeson girls basketball team did not hit a shot from the floor over the final eight minutes of the game as East Columbus took a 50-33 win on the road Tuesday.
South Robeson (9-10, 5-9 TRC) was led in scoring by Zaneta Ellerbee with 16 points as she scored all of the Lady Mustangs’ five points in the fourth quarter at the free-throw line.
Behind a late run in the third quarter, South Robeson trailed by nine going into the fourth before its offense struggled to find points.
East Columbus’ (7-12, 6-9 TRC) Alanna Deal had 23 points in the win.
Purnell Swett ends skid
PEMBROKE — Robeson County Shootout MVP Xavier Jones returned from his suspension on Tuesday, and hit the crucial two free throws in the closing seconds to lift the Purnell Swett boys basketball team to a 57-53 win over Jack Britt at home.
The win snaps an eight-game losing streak in the Sandhills Athletic Conference for the Rams (9-11, 2-9 SAC). Jones finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He blocked Jack Britt on its final offensive possession, grabbed the ball and was fouled before sinking two free throws to seal the win.
Darriante Parker had 25 points for the Rams to lead all scorers. Jack Britt’s Langston Davis, Kean Keys and Jordian Fox each scored 10 points in the loss.
The Purnell Swett girls basketball team remained winless in conference play with a 51-33 loss to Jack Britt. The Lady Rams scored eight points after halftime.
Purnell Swett travels to Seventy-First on Friday.
Pirates sweep Patriots
SOUTHERN PINES — Both Lumberton basketball teams claimed road wins over Sandhills Athletic Conference-leading Pinecrest on Tuesday.
In the boys contest, Lumberton came out of halftime to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a sizable lead it rode to claim a 50-45 win.
Leading Lumberton (14-6, 6-4 SAC) in the winning effort was Jordan McNeill with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Braylan Grice recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Pirates trailed 25-24 at the break, and outscored the Patriots (16-5, 7-4 SAC) 14-7 in the third quarter to earn the season sweep.
Pinecrest’s Bradlee Haskell had nine points.
In the girls contest, Lumberton rallied in the second half, holding Pinecrest to 18 points in the final two periods for a 49-37 win.
Madison Canady had 18 points for the Lady Pirates (14-5, 7-3 SAC), with 13 points coming for Rachel O’Neil.
Pinecrest’s (18-3, 9-2 SAC) Zykia Blue had 11 points.
Lumberton hosts Jack Britt on Wednesday.
Fairmont boys keep rolling
TABOR CITY — The Fairmont boys basketball team won its third straight game with a 54-51 win at South Columbus on Tuesday.
Leading the effort for the Golden Tornadoes (8-12, 7-7 TRC) were Jayvon Morris with 15 points and Dewayne Davis with 13 points.
The Fairmont girls basketball team is still looking for its first win of the season after a 42-23 loss to South Columbus.
Georgianna Water had eight points and Vera McNeill added six for the Lady Golden Tornadoes.
Fairmont hosts Red Springs on Friday.
Red Springs drops two at Whiteville
WHITEVILLE — A big second-half scoring outburst from the Whiteville boys basketball team at home helped it claim a 62-50 Three Rivers win over Red Springs.
The Red Devils benefited from 16 points from Jaylen Mack, but were outscored 18-9 in the third quarter, and 14-7 in the fourth as the Wolfpack came from a three-point halftime deficit.
Cameron Richardson had 16 points for Whiteville as Antonio McFadden and Ty Moss chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Red Springs girls basketball team lost 44-34 to Whiteville.
Raven Cox led Red Springs with 16 points. Joining Cox in carrying the scoring load for the Lady Red Devils were Taylynn Atkinson with 12 points and Jalexis Bratcher with six points.
Red Springs travels to Fairmont on Friday.
