PEMBROKE — A glance at the Purnell Swett bench during Monday’s girls basketball game against Hoke County revealed a uncharacteristically lonely place — two coaches, an athletic trainer and just one Ram reserve watched the game at any given time.

The Rams had just six active players as they hosted the Bucks — with seven players out while in quarantine due to COVID-19 protocols and two additional players out of town. But instead of worrying about the Rams who weren’t in the gym, the ones who were in the gym were still able to post a convincing win, beating Hoke County 66-10.

“It was very challenging, not in the up-and-down standpoint, but showing the heart,” said junior guard Kylie Chavis. “Since we only had six players, we’ve got to be more disciplined and patient, instead of, like, picking up two fouls in the first half.”

The Rams (2-0) held Hoke County (1-2) scoreless for the first 12:23 of the game, taking a 31-0 lead by the midway point of the second quarter, and held the Bucks without a field goal until midway through the third, by which point the lead was already past the 40-point threshold for a running clock.

“We really ran with five for most of the night — but they’re a good group of kids,” Rams coach Kalen Eddings said. “They understand what’s at stake, and they feel like they’ve left some things on the table the last two years. The biggest thing is keeping their foot on the gas pedal and keeping that mindset of ‘OK, we’re still trying to go out and win a state championship, even though we do have five players.’”

Purnell Swett led 20-0 after the first quarter, 38-3 at halftime and 56-6 at the end of the third.

Chavis scored 30 points with nine rebounds and seven assists; she had 13 of the Rams’ 20 first-quarter points.

“She’s starting to understand and see things that she didn’t see a year ago, and that’s where college coaches are going to be the most impressed,” Eddings said. “Has she gotten stronger? Yeah. Have we put some new moves in her book? Yeah. Has she been shooting it better? Yeah. But she’s gotten a lot smarter; she’s putting a lot of time in the film room and we’ve learned a lot.”

Natalie Evington scored 19 points for the Rams, including 12 second-half points.

“I didn’t think I played that well, because I was probably like 3-for-20, it felt like,” Evington said. “I couldn’t get anything in. But I’m glad I went out there and played my hardest and got some points.”

“A lot of those shot opportunities that opened up and a lot of the layups they got were because of their defensive effort,” Eddings said. “(Chavis and Evington are) super-talented offensive players, but now they’re buying into defense and they understand that even on nights when Natalie might shoot 3-of-12 from 3, she can score 20 points if she guards and gets some easy ones.”

Niyah Locklear had six points with eight rebounds and Nyla Mitchell scored three points with nine rebounds for the Rams.

Lailah Crowder led Hoke County with seven points, including two of the Bucks’ three made field goals, and Faith Mason had seven rebounds.

The Rams, who play Thursday at Red Springs and Friday at Pinecrest, have won their first two games by lopsided scores even as they’ve yet to play a game at full strength due to the players in quarantine.

“Right now I can see us winning a ring — we’re not at full strength, though, so we’ve got to get there,” Chavis said. “Once we get there we’re going to be tough.”

“This is my 16th day (of activity) as the head coach of Purnell Swett girls basketball, so we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to still put in, but right now we’re at about a C or C-minus as far as where we can be,” Eddings said. “It’s just tough to assess with seven players not here, but it always helps when you’ve got your top players here.”

Fourth-quarter run lifts Hoke County boys past Rams

After Hoke County’s Salah Sutton hit a 3-pointer to tie Purnell Swett with 4:36, the Bucks didn’t have a field goal for the rest of the game. But Purnell Swett was in the midst of its own drought — and the Bucks were getting to the free-throw line.

Hoke County went on a 15-0 run, the last 10 points of which came on free throws after Sutton’s game-tying triple, to earn a 54-46 win over the Rams.

“They’re one of the better teams in the state, and definitely in the region, and we knew a run was coming at some point,” Rams coach Jeremy Sampson said. “Our hands were active early, we played pretty good defense, and their physicality, they’re strong, quick, and I told the guys ‘there’s a run coming.’”

Purnell Swett (1-1) led 44-39 with 5:24 to go after two free throws by Chandler McNeill, who scored a game-high 16 points. Jordan Maynor hit a jumper to pull Hoke County (3-0) within three before Sutton’s basket knotted the score at 44.

From there, the Bucks were 10-for-13 from the free-throw line, while the Rams didn’t have any free-throw attempts. Three free throws by Jaylen Sturdivant gave the Bucks a 47-44 lead, then Sutton and Sturdivant each hit two to make it 51-44 with 1:32 remaining. Sturdivant hit one of two and Zaveon Leggett hit two of four in the final minute to go up 54-44 before Cale Harris hit a layup with five seconds left, Purnell Swett’s first field goal since the 6:23 mark.

“We tried to zone them a little bit and the middle of the zone was vulnerable, and they got to the line and hurt us a little bit with their length,” Sampson said.

Purnell Swett led for nearly all of the first 3 1/2 quarters and held its largest lead at 36-25 with 4:41 in the third; Hoke County outscored the Rams 29-10 over the final 10:26.

That run began with two free throws by Kamonte Williams, then a pair of runout layups by Williams and Leggett off Rams turnovers. Two more baskets, including a 3-pointer by Williams, tied the game at 36-36 before Purnell Swett’s Ethan Brewington hit two free throws with no time left in the third to give the Rams a 38-36 lead going to the fourth.

“We made some crucial turnovers, our guard play made some turnovers that helped their run a little bit,” Sampson said. “But I’m proud of the way we competed.”

Purnell Swett led 17-7 after a 10-0 run in the first quarter and held a 19-17 advantage at the end of the period. Hoke County briefly took the lead, at 20-19 and again at 23-22, before Purnell Swett scored the last three baskets of the first half to take a 28-23 lead at intermission.

An 8-2 stretch favoring the Rams to start the second half gave them their 36-25 lead before the Bucks’ comeback began.

McNeill scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half. Marcus Lowry had eight points for the Rams and Cale Harris scored six; Josiah Brooks scored four points with 15 rebounds.

Williams finished with 14 points for the Bucks and Jeremiah Melvin scored 11 points with eight rebounds.

“I said (to my team) ‘guys, for 3 1/2 quarters you beat one of the better teams around here,’” Sampson said. “We can hang our hats on that — we can use that to build, and keep building, and we’ll watch the film, learn from it and get better.”