South Johnston remained unbeaten in varsity boys basketball Tuesday with a 60-49 win at Harnett Central.

“I really thought they (Central) didn’t shoot it as well as what I’ve heard they’ve shot a little bit,” said South Johnston coach Brody Massengill. “That was fortunate on our part. I did not like that they stayed in those zone sets most of the game and I thought we got very lazy passing the ball. I thought we relaxed too much. We had eight turnovers going into halftime and that ain’t the way we can play. But our effort doesn’t ever stop. That’s one thing we take pride in is the effort we’re playing with.

“We’ve got some things to clean up after this, but it was good for us because we hadn’t really played that style of basketball yet. It was good. It was a test. I do also know that (Central coach) Will (Gage) does a great job and that wasn’t their best stuff.”

Harnett Central coach Will Gage cited a lack of rebounding and execution as factors in the loss.

“We didn’t rebound and there were critical parts in the game where we kind of got shots we wanted, but we didn’t put them in,” Gage said. “They executed and we did not. They’re well-coached. They’re a disciplined team. They very seldom take bad shots. You dig yourself a hole against a smart team and things are going to have to break your way to come back on them. They’re not going to just collapse. They’re disciplined. They outplayed us both inside and outside.

“We’re five games in and we haven’t had a whole lot of consistency, but what consistency we’ve had has been dictated by our defense. The nights where we play defense well, we’re in a lot of games. I didn’t think for four quarters we played defense very well.”

Junior C.J. Ray had 21 points and senior JaQuain Smith had 12 points to lead the visiting Trojans (4-0)

“I think its always a positive for us if we can get (Ray) some easy buckets early,” Massengill said. “We really focused on that. In all kinds of phases of the game we wanted to get him touches where he could be successful.”

Jacob Thornton, after missing one game due to injury, had eight points. Sam Webster had six points. Clayton Blackman had five points. Thomas Dees had four points. Jackson Raynor had three points. Colby Norris had one point.

Three players scored in double figures for the host Trojans (2-3). Junior Trevonne Williams had 17 points and junior Anthony Tomlinson and senior Chase Mullins had 10 points apiece. Mullins also had a team-high nine rebounds.

Jaden Meadows had five points. Kasey Perkins and Jackson Jones had three points apiece. Croix Shipman had one point. Justin Perkins had five rebounds.

The game was close early, with South leading 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Holding a 20-18 lead late in the second quarter, a Thornton three and a Ray score gave South a 25-18 lead at the half.

South started the second quarter with a 6-3 run to push the lead to double digits before a three-point play from Tomlinson and a Mullins score cut it to five.

But despite its leading scorer, Ray, being on the bench with three fouls, South ended the third quarter with a 10-2 run, with Webster hitting a three at the buzzer to give South at 41-28 lead.

“It was awesome,” Massengill said. “We can go 10 or 11 deep. That’s what we want to do. They’ve got to be ready when their number’s called. It’s cliché to say that, but that’s the way it is. The couple of threes that Sam hit were huge just to give us a little bit of a cushion.”

Central came out strong in the fourth with a three from Williams and a basket from Mullins, but was unable to cut the lead to less than three the rest of the way.

Harnett Central is at home against West Johnston (0-5) on Thursday. Central won a 68-39 rout at West on Friday. Central was scheduled to host Cleveland on Friday, but that game has been postponed to Feb. 6 because of the Rams’ football game at Southeast Guilford for the Eastern Regional championship.

South Johnston is at rapidly-improving Midway (3-3) on Thursday. South beat Midway 66-42 to open the season at home on Nov. 19.

“I’ve looked at some of their scores and they’re playing much better, it seems like,” Massengill said. “They’re scoring a lot of points. I think they’ll try to speed us up, which most people do. Our effort was great (Tuesday), but we’ve definitely got some things we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got to be able to see what the defense is in. We prepare hard for that stuff, but we’ve got to react to it in the game, too.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)[/caption]

South Johnston remained unbeaten in varsity boys basketball Tuesday with a 60-49 win at Harnett Central.

“I really thought they (Central) didn’t shoot it as well as what I’ve heard they’ve shot a little bit,” said South Johnston coach Brody Massengill. “That was fortunate on our piece. I did not like that they stayed in those zone sets most of the game and I thought we got very lazy passing the ball. I thought we relaxed too much. We had eight turnovers going into halftime and that ain’t the way we can play. But our effort doesn’t ever stop. That’s one thing we take pride in is the effort we’re playing with.

“We’ve got some things to clean up after this, but it was good for us because we hadn’t really played that style of basketball yet. It was good. It was a test. I do also know that (Central coach) Will (Gage) does a great job and that wasn’t their best stuff.”

Harnett Central coach Will Gage cited a lack of rebounding and execution as factors in the loss.

“We didn’t rebound and there were critical parts in the game where we kind of got shots we wanted, but we didn’t put them in,” Gage said. “They executed and we did not. They’re well-coached. They’re a disciplined team. They very seldom take bad shots. You dig yourself a hole against a smart team and things are going to have to break your way to come back on them. They’re not going to just collapse. They’re disciplined. They outplayed us both inside and outside.

“We’re five games in and we haven’t had a whole lot of consistency, but what consistency we’ve had has been dictated by our defense. The nights where we play defense well, we’re in a lot of games. I didn’t think for four quarters we played defense very well.”

Junior C.J. Ray had 21 points and senior JaQuain Smith had 12 points to lead the visiting Trojans (4-0).

“I think its always a positive for us if we can get (Ray) some easy buckets early,” Massengill said. “We really focused on that. In all kinds of phases of the game we wanted to get him touches where he could be successful.”

Jacob Thornton, after missing one game due to injury, had eight points. Sam Webster had six points. Clayton Blackman had five points. Thomas Dees had four points. Jackson Raynor had three points. Colby Norris had one point.

Three players scored in double figures for the home Trojans (2-3). Junior Trevonne Williams had 17 points and junior Anthony Tomlinson and senior Chase Mullins had 10 points apiece. Mullins also had a team-high nine rebounds.

Jaden Meadows had five points. Kasey Perkins and Jackson Jones had three points apiece. Croix Shipman had one point. Justin Perkins had five rebounds.

The game was close early, with South leading 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Holding a 20-18 lead late in the second quarter, a Thornton three and a Ray score gave South a 25-18 lead at the half.

South started the second quarter with a 6-3 run to push the lead to double digits before a three-point play from Tomlinson and a Mullins score cut it to five.

But despite its leading scorer, Ray, being on the bench with three fouls, South ended the third quarter with a 10-2 run, with Webster hitting a three at the buzzer to give South at 41-28 lead.

“It was awesome,” Massengill said. “We can go 10 or 11 deep. That’s what we want to do. They’ve got to be ready when their number’s called. It’s cliché to say that, but that’s the way it is. The couple of threes that Sam hit were huge just to give us a little bit of a cushion.”

Central came out strong in the fourth with a three from Williams and a basket from Mullins, but was unable to cut the lead to less than three the rest of the way.

Harnett Central is at home against West Johnston (0-5) on Thursday. Central won a 68-39 rout at West on Friday. Central was scheduled to host Cleveland on Friday, but that game has been postponed to Feb. 6,

because of the Rams’ football game at Southeast Guilford for the Eastern Regional championship.

South Johnston is at rapidly-improving Midway (3-3) on Thursday. South beat Midway 66-42 to open the season at home on Nov. 19.

“I’ve looked at some of their scores and they’re playing much better, it seems like,” Massengill said. “They’re scoring a lot of points. I think they’ll try to speed us up, which most people do. Our effort was great (Tuesday), but we’ve definitely got some things we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got to be able to see what the defense is in. We prepare hard for that stuff, but we’ve got to react to it in the game, too.”