ST. PAULS — A big third quarter was more than enough to propel the St. Pauls boys basketball team in its first-round 2A playoff matchup against Morehead.
The seventh-seeded Bulldogs earned an 88-54 win over the No. 10 Panthers, using a 37-12 third-quarter advantage to turn a close game into a convincing win. St. Pauls (14-1) began the third quarter with a 20-0 run.
The Bulldogs led 16-13 after the first quarter and 32-27 at halftime.
Will Ford led the Bulldogs with 16 points, Josh Henderson scored 13 and Jeyvian Tatum had 11.
Lucas Lynn scored 15 points to lead Morehead (8-6) and Hayden Friese had 11.
St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson did not participate in the game due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Bulldogs will host a second-round matchup against Northeastern Thursday after the 15th-seeded Eagles upset No. 2 Heide Trask 81-56.
Lady Bulldogs beat Roanoke Rapids again
The St. Pauls girls basketball team beat Roanoke Rapids in the first round of the 2A state playoffs for the second straight year with a 59-37 road win over the Yellow Jackets Tuesday.
The final score was strikingly similar to last year’s first-round matchup, won 59-34 by the Bulldogs.
No. 10-seed St. Pauls (12-0) led seventh-seeded Roanoke Rapids (9-2) 35-19 at halftime.
Jakieya Thompson led the Bulldogs with 18 points, T.J. Eichelberger and Taliya Council each scored 13 and Tamyra Council and Jashontae Harris each tallied six.
St. Pauls will play at second-seeded McMichael in the second round Thursday; the Phoenix beat North Lenoir 76-65 in the first round.
Red Springs boys fall to Reidsville
The Red Springs boys basketball team’s season came to an end Tuesday in a 60-38 loss at Reidsville.
Fifth-seeded Reidsville (11-1) led 13-5 after the first quarter, and used a 29-19 second-quarter advantage to take a 42-24 lead at intermission. No. 12 Red Springs (7-5) outscored the Rams 12-8 in the third to pull to a 50-36 margin, but the Rams outscored the Red Devils 10-2 in the final period to seal the win.
Kaedon Porter scored 15 points to lead the Red Devils.
Carter Wilson led Reidsville with 14 points.
Garner beats Lady Rams
Undefeated Garner used a big third quarter to pull away from the Purnell Swett girls basketball team and earn an 88-64 win in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Tuesday.
Leading 35-26 at halftime, No. 6 Garner (13-0) scored 34 points in the third to take a 69-48 lead to the final period.
No. 11 Purnell Swett (8-5) fought back from an early 15-3 deficit, outscoring the Trojans 7-3 over the rest of the opening quarter to make it an 18-10 game after the period.
Lumberton soccer shuts out Scotland
The Lumberton boys soccer team earned a 3-0 road win in Sandhills Athletic Conference play Tuesday by beating Scotland.
Luis Izeta, Jorge Gomez and Erik Martinez scored the three goals for Lumberton (4-1-2, 4-1-2 SAC). Gomez’ goal was unassisted, with Angel Robles and Gomez earning assists on the other two.
Lumberton led 1-0 at halftime.
“Not one of our better performances, but got the win,” Lumberton coach Kenny Simmons said.
Scotland is 2-5, both overall and in conference play.
