PEMBROKE — The Purnell Swett Rams girls basketball team defeated the East Bladen Eagles Friday night at home. The Rams, looking to pick up their first win of the season, battled from start to end to claim a hard fought 46-39 win over the Eagles.

“I was proud of them, it was a tough team, well-coached team and our seniors showed some poise, especially Niyah (Locklear) on the blocks,” Purnell Swett girls coach Robert McLean said. “Fourth quarter we came out, we made some adjustments. The girls handled adjustments. I think (NeNe Ward) had 18 at half. I thought we had a good game plan for her in the second half.”

This win not only marked the Rams’ first win of the season but McLean’s first win as the head coach of the girls basketball program.

“A little relief for the girls more so than me, after opening up against Hoggard tough team like that, it would’ve been easy for’em to come in and come out flat, but they responded well and just more excited for the girls than anything else,” McLean said.

Heading into the fourth quarter up 35-34, the Rams (1-1) needed something to get going and they just did that coming alive to help push their lead against the Eagles (3-1) by three, 39-36, before the Eagles cut the lead down to 39-38. The defense stepped up big for the Rams holding the Eagles to just a single point in the final five minutes as the Rams closed things out on a 7-1 run to hold on for the win.

“I was excited to see that we didn’t hang our heads after we made a couple of turnovers,” McLean said. “We didn’t drag back down the floor. We just kind of had quick memories of this game, let the bad play get out of our mind and just come back and focus on what we needed to do.”

The Rams and Eagles traded basket for basket early in the first quarter with the Rams coming out of the quarter with a 14-13 lead. The Eagles eventually took the lead in the second quarter and held on to that lead for most of the quarter. Four quick points for the Rams gave them the 22-20 lead before a 3-pointer by the Eagles gave East Bladen the 23-22 lead at the half.

“We went in the locker room, the girl (NeNe Ward) had 18 points and they had 23 altogether. We knew we had to stop her, so we put one girl on her and went to a diamond,” Niyah Locklear said. “I’m proud of the girls. I mean it took a lot of practice. We got in our, we got our reps in practice, and we said we weren’t losing, and it just felt amazing.”

The Eagles continued to lead early in the third quarter with the Rams still fighting. Trailing 32-29, a 3-pointer by Briannon Brewington tied it up at 32-32 and on the very next possession a 3 by Terra Bullard to give the Rams the 35-32 lead. A pair of free throws by the Eagles trimmed to lead down to end the quarter.

Niyah Locklear led the way for the Rams finishing with 26 points, Alexis Locklear followed with six points, Bullard finished with five points on the night. Jayda Dial recorded four points and Brewington with three to round out the scoring.

“Well, I knew that I was gonna have an advantage, so I knew that I should get the ball, but everybody else should have the ball because I don’t wanna be selfish with the ball,” Niyah Locklear said. “I feel like we were more together, and we got our heads in the game instead of just going in like we were gonna lose. That’s how we went in the last game, and we saw what happened. But this game, we told ourselves we were not losing.”

Rams boys down Eagles in home opener

The Purnell Swett boys basketball team defeated the East Bladen Eagles in the home opener for the Rams. A quick start helped the Rams get things rolling and, despite the Eagles putting up a fight and finding their way back into the game, The Rams put on an offensive surge late to roll to a 56-45 win.

“Good early season will against an athletic East Bladen team,” Purnell Swett coach Jeremy Sampson said. “I’m proud of the guys. I thought our defense was really good, we’re aggressive, missed a few open shots that we normally would knock down but I’m proud of the effort and they (East Bladen) got it down to one there. I think they cut it in the second half or in the fourth quarter and they took that one-point lead and then we made a little run. I think Collin (Sampson) hit a three and then we got another one from Tim Locklear and the guys just kept playing hard.”

The Rams (1-1) got things rolling early jumping out to an 8-0 lead before the Eagles (2-2) started to chip away at the deficit. The Eagles found themselves down 13-9 heading into the second quarter. The Rams kept things rolling with the Eagles keeping them on their heels. The Eagles took the 18-17 lead on a basket but a 3-pointer by the Rams quickly gave them back the lead 20-18. The Rams closed things out on a 7-2 run to lead 27-20 at the half.

“Great start guys game out with energy,” Jeremy Sampson said. “We had a great practice yesterday, we did film, went over a game plan and guys came out and executed it and I’m just proud of them.

The Eagles started the second half off on a 5-2 run to trim the Rams’ lead to 29-27. Both sides would go back and forth and with a Bryon Bowen jumper to end the third quarter the Eagles had the 36-35 leading into to the fourth quarter. Back-to-back buckets by the Rams gave them the 39-36 lead and a offensive surge with a 3-pointer late by Collin Sampson pushed the Rams lead out to 48-43 as they held on for the win at home.

“When he hit that it was in the air, and I was like if he makes it, I’m going to call a timeout,” Jeremy Sampson said. “I wanted to switch our press up a little bit to just a containment press, just try a different look. And I thought it gave them a little problem. All testament to the guys for believing and working hard.”

Collin Sampson finished the night leading the way with 29 points, Tim Locklear followed with 12 points, Raymond Cummings finished with five points, Jaythan Locklar had four points and Kollyn Locklear and Zach Harris rounded out the scoring with three points and one point.

“We communicated well. Compared to last game where we didn’t communicate as well and tonight ended up better results for us as a team,” Collin Sampson said. “Scoring and momentum really helped us in the long run of the game.

Both the girls and boys squads will take on East Bladen again when they hit the road on Wednesday. The girls are set to tip off at 6 p.m. and the boys will follow at 7:30 p.m.