ST. PAULS — Through 28 1/2 minutes of Tuesday’s game against West Columbus, St. Pauls sophomore wing Antonio Arnold had not scored, playing only a few minutes in what had become a close, back-and-forth game.

But it was Arnold who hit the most important shot of the night.

Arnold hit a 3 from the right corner with five seconds remaining which was ultimately the game-winner as the Bulldogs beat the Vikings 54-52 in a nonconference matchup.

“As we were coming down half court, we came to the play, and the play wasn’t working so we had to find a way,” Arnold said. “I cut baseline, Jamir drove with the ball, kicked it back out, 3. It was nice to take the lead right there.”

Unique Kelly had given West Columbus (0-1) a 52-51 lead when he put back his own miss as he was fouled with 34.7 seconds left; he missed the free throw, setting up the ensuing Bulldogs possession.

“The play was called differently, and Antonio was open in the corner,” St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson said. “He’s been pretty consistent all year at making 3s for us and he stepped up and he knocked down that shot for us, which was a really big-time shot.”

West Columbus had a chance to tie the game with a layup attempt as time expired, but missed.

Arnold hit another key 3 in the final minutes, the first of his two baskets on the night, which gave St. Pauls (4-2) a 48-46 lead with 3:28 to play.

“For him to step in and pretty much come in cold off the bench and knocking down 3s for us, that just shows the toughness that he has,” Thompson said. “He’s a pretty tough kid, he plays football as well, and he’s only a sophomore so he’s only going to get better.”

“On the sideline you’ve got to cheer your team up and be a part of the game even when you’re not in the game,” Arnold said. “Then when you get in the game, make a difference. Execute the plans that coach has given us and just play ball there.”

The Vikings’ Jaylen Bellamy tied the game with a layup at the 2:08 mark; Tyson Thompson gave St. Pauls back the lead on a basket with 1:52 left, but Larry Graham knotted the score at 50-50 with a layup for West Columbus with 1:34 remaining. Markeon Fletcher hit one of two free throws, giving St. Pauls back the lead by a point with 1:08 on the clock; after a defensive stop, St. Pauls turned the ball over to set up Kelly’s go-ahead basket for the Vikings.

“For us, it’s one of those games where you’ve got to grind it out,” Corey Thompson said. “Like I told them, our other wins have been by 20-plus point margins, so for us to come grind out one like this against a very good team — last year they went to the third round of the playoffs, so they’re not a slouch team and they’ve pretty much got everybody coming back for the most part. So for us to get a win like that here, that just shows the resilience and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Tyson Thompson led St. Pauls with 16 points, Fletcher scored nine, Jordan Cook had eight, Jamir McMillan netted seven and Arnold scored six with his two big triples.

Kelly scored 18 points for the Vikings with Tristian Tubbs adding 11 and Bellamy scoring five.

St. Pauls led 6-0 early, holding West Columbus without a basket for nearly four minutes to start the proceedings, but the Bulldogs got just one field goal over a seven-minute stretch extending well into the second quarter; the Bulldogs led 8-5 after the first quarter, and a personal 7-0 run by Kelly to start the second stanza gave the Vikings a 12-8 lead.

West Columbus hit five 3s in the second quarter, including two each from Kelly and Tubbs, stretching its lead to as large as 10 points before taking a 26-18 halftime lead.

St. Pauls started the second half on a 13-4 run, with five points from Tyson Thompson in the stretch, to take a 31-30 lead with 4:32 left in the third.

“The key was to run the offense and to play a little bit harder,” Corey Thompson said. “We had to match their intensity; they were playing harder than we were in the first half, and it showed by the stats, but I thought that showed in the second half that we played a little bit harder, and we started making some shots and our defense started turning into offense for us.”

Six straight West Columbus points gave the Vikings a 36-31 lead, but baskets by Theophilus Setzer and McMillan pulled St. Pauls even at 36-36 by the end of the period.

The score was tied again at 38 and 40 before St. Pauls took a 45-42 lead after Cook basket with 4:56 remaining; Graham and Tubbs hit baskets to give the Vikings a 46-45 edge before the first of Arnold’s key 3s.

Tuesday’s game was St. Pauls’ final outing before the Robeson County Shootout, which begins next Wednesday. Pairings will be announced at Wednesday’s Robeson County Shootout preview luncheon.

“I think our games we’ve been playing so far is definitely going to help us towards the Shootout, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do as you’ve seen tonight, so we’ll get back to the drawing board and continue working and get better and get ready for next week,” Corey Thompson said.

Bulldogs girls rout Vikings

The St. Pauls girls basketball team was dominant from start to finish in a 72-5 win over West Columbus Tuesday, with strong performances by Jashontae Harris and Zhariana Shipman to lead the Bulldogs.

Harris scored 21 points with seven assists and six steals. Shipman scored 16 points with three assists and three steals, continuing a smooth transition after transferring in from Whiteville before the season.

“I expect a little bit more than I think a lot of people have expected from her, so I’m just trying to develop her as a true point guard,” St. Pauls coach Jaymar Thompson said. “But she’s picking it up. We bump heads — but I bump heads with Jakieya (Thompson), with Jashontae (Harris), so that just lets you know we’re trying to get on the same page. And she’s doing everything I ask of her. I’m glad she’s here, glad she’s part of the family now.”

Ava Monroe scored six points with four steals and Zakoreya Davis had six points with four rebounds for the Bulldogs (4-1).

St. Pauls led 21-2 after the first quarter, then held West Columbus (0-1) scoreless in the second period to take a 47-2 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 66-5 at the end of the third period.

Alleyna Robert and Dalijanae Wills each scored two points for West Columbus.

The game came after a two-week layoff for St. Pauls, who now has eight days to prepare for the Robeson County Shootout, which begins next Wednesday.

“I think we’re ready,” Jaymar Thompson said. “I would love to have another game or two under my belt, but I think we’re going to be fine. It’s going to be like on-the-job learning now, because even after the Shootout we’re playing games.”