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 Randy Wrenn | Daily Herald Hurricanes forward Quintin Turner takes a jumper in the third quarter over the outstretched arm of Quincy Dickens. Turner hit the game-winning bucket for the ‘Canes in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. |
It took a steady defensive effort by the Hurricanes, and a missed three-pointer at the buzzer from Warriors guard Justin Caudle, but the home team held on for a 65-63 win.
Hurricanes forward Quintin Turner made his second game-winning shot of the season (the first a short jumper against Northwest Halifax) when he dropped in a five-footer with five seconds remaining on the clock.
After Warriors star junior K.J. Cooper nailed a layup to tie the game with 17 seconds left, the ‘Canes pushed the ball up the court and were able to find Turner under the bucket.
Northampton-West would've never been in the position to win if it hadn't been for their stellar free throw shooting. The Achilles heel of the talented team had been the charity stripe all season, but for one night they looked like a collective team of Reggie Millers as they calmly nailed 16 of 18.
“Yeah, we hit free throws,” Hurricanes coach Jerome Williams said. “We did real well and I was glad to see us do it. If we can hit free throws, we'll be all right.”
Early on it looked as if Northampton-West was the superior team. Led by Randy Turner's 12 points,they were able to get almost any shot they wanted inside and out during the first half.
The only problem the ‘Canes had on their way to a 31-27 halftime lead was stopping the sharp-shooting Cooper, who had 14 first-half points on six for 10 shooting from the field.
With jumpers not falling as readily in the second half for Northampton-West, forward Quintin Turner, along with center Travois Banks, kept the Warriors in check down in the paint.
The big men both managed to pour in crucial double-doubles for the ‘Canes as Banks had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Turner added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Hurricanes looked as if they would run away with the game in the third quarter when they jumped ahead 43-35 after a Keith Garner layup, but three consecutive turnovers resulted in a 5-0 Warriors run. The quarter ended with North Edgecombe's Caudle nailing a three to tie the game at 46.
The final quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Warriors relying heavily on the outside shooting of Terrell Davis and the free throw shooting of Cooper.
Cooper, who was held to only five second-half shot attempts, was mainly held in check by Randy Turner throughout the second half.
“I was intending to shut him down the whole ball game,” Williams said. “I know he's big on offense and Randy played well.”
Randy Turner finished as the leading scorer for the ‘Canes with 18 and Garner chipped in 12. The Warriors were led by Cooper's game high 24 to go with 12 from Tim Taylor and 13 (all in the second half) from Davis.
With the win, the Hurricanes (8-4, 3-1) move into second place in the conference behind Southeast Halifax. They play host to Brunswick on Thursday in a rematch from the Daily Herald Holiday Classic championship.
“That's a big win for us in the conference and I can't ask my team to do any better,” Williams said.
North Edgecombe (10-2, 2-1) will travel to Southeast Halifax next Friday.
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