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 Randy Wrenn | Daily Herald Kareem Martin (middle) of Roanoke Rapids finds himself trapped between two Southern Vance defenders. |
Yellow Jackets coach Terry Frazier was looking for something to offset the speed of the visiting Raiders.
“We've got to take care of the basketball and do some things defensively to stop their fast break,” said Frazier. “A lot of stopping the fast break depends on our offense. We can't turn the ball over. Turnovers have been hurting us lately. We got to get back to handling the ball effectively.”
Frazier added, “(Jamere) Pugh, their point guard, is as good a player as we've seen for the past two years in our league. We've got to find the answer to stop him. Nobody has been able to stop him all year, so we've got to try to do that.”
Roanoke Rapids opened with a semi-stall while Southern (12-5, 5-0) came out running. The Jackets' 6-5 center, Kareem Martin, blocked two early shots and took over inside.
Martin, who is averaging 6.2 blocks per game, caused the Raiders to be timid around the basket. His defense disrupted Southern's fast break and by the midway point of the third quarter, the Runnin' Raiders were no longer running. Instead, they were holding the ball.
The Raiders slowed the pace of the game and closed out the Jackets by taking the surest of shots.
Pugh and Lamar Debnam each had 12 points for the Raiders.
Jacob Spragins led the Jackets with nine points, with guard Tyler White adding seven. Martin finished with four blocks and two points.
Roanoke Rapids (5-11, 1-5) travels to high-flying Southeast Halifax Tuesday night. Southern Vance, on top of the NCC standings, will host Bunn the same night.
Lady Raiders win again
With a raucous Tally Building crowd on hand, the Roanoke Rapids girls were looking to avenge an earlier thumping at the hands of Southern Vance
Jacket coach Gary Edwards knew his team was facing a difficult task. “Southern Vance is a pretty athletic squad. The last time we played them, they just ran and ran and ran. If we are going to be competitive we've got to get back on defense and we've got to be able to play good defense once we're back there. We can't afford to give up any easy baskets or get into foul trouble. We can't make silly fouls; we've got to play good defense and make sure they have to shoot over the top of us,” he added.
Roanoke Rapids (3-12, 1-6) scored first and hung around early in the game.
Southern shot poorly throughout the game and never got its running game going.
But after a slow start, the Raiders played well enough to repeat their earlier win over the Jackets, 48-23.
Southern (12-4, 6-0) led 25-9 at halftime and never relinquished the scoreboard advantage.
Undefeated and tied for the top spot in the NCC standings, coach Tracy Turner is still cautious but optimistic about her team's chances of capturing the league title. “In the past, teams have proven to be different the second time around,” she said. “I feel pretty good about our position, but there are some tough challenges down the road,” she added.
Southern sophomore forward Tremanisha Taylor led all scorers with 15 points, senior Toni Warren had nine and 6-2 sophomore center Shauna Terry added eight points.
Brittney Whitlow led the Jackets with nine points, followed by Keisha Mosley with eight
Southern jayvees avenge early season defeat
Avenging a close loss to Roanoke Rapids on Jan. 9, Southern beat a short-handed Yellow Jacket squad in the night's opener, 56-42.
The Junior Jackets (10-3, 4-2) went into the game with just nine players and could not overcome the absence of starter David McNair and top reserve Michael Hernandez.
Coach Pete Edwards admitted his team was “playing real thin.
“We were missing one starter (McNair) to sickness and a top reserve (Hernandez) to an injury,” he said.
The win left Southern's jayvees at 6-5, 2-5 in NCC play. Quincy Batchelor led the Raiders with 17 points. Kwasi Davis added 13.
For the Jackets, Anthony Pless had a game-high 22, while Justin Rawles chipped in 14 points.
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