GREGORY BOND/HERALD SPORTS WRITER

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ROANOKE RAPIDS - The Roanoke Rapids boys basketball team has been through a tough year. The Yellow Jackets had only four wins during the regular season, two coming against winless Halifax Academy.

There were a lot of factors in the struggle of the Yellow Jackets, including injuries to senior forward/center Terrence Porter and senior guard Marcus Reid.

Reid's injury was not serious as he was able to play through it.

Porter's injury, on the other hand, had a huge impact on the team. He was out for three weeks, which included three conference games. Roanoke Rapids Head Coach Terry Frazier said his team needed Porter during his absence.

“He understands the game,” Frazier said. “He has leadership. He helps everybody on the floor on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He helps us out on the boards.”

“I bring the knowledge of the game to the team,” said Porter, who will play football at Catawba College in the fall. “I think I'm a good motivator. I try to help the guys to play harder.”

Porter was able to keep the pressure off from Reid, especially on the offensive side.

“He's the main scorer,” Porter said of his fellow senior. “Everybody focuses on him and then I could come in and score a couple of points and get a couple of rebounds and get some of the pressure off of him.”

When Porter returned from his injury, the team's tempo also returned. Their first opponent is Southern Vance, a team they defeated in Porter's first game back.

“He's good now,” Frazier said. “He has made a difference. His part has been good.”

The Yellow Jackets can't have anything else go wrong. Finishing the season near the bottom of the Northern Carolina Conference has put them in elimination mode. They will need to win the conference tournament in order to make it into the 2-A State Playoffs. Their first step in winning the tournament is Tuesday's road trip to Southern Vance.

“Southern Vance is a hot team,” Frazier said. “Their place is tough.”