Those would be the last times in the game that the Patriots were leading or even, as the Pirates handed them a near wire-to-wire 79-68 non-conference loss.
Tonight, the Patriots, now 8-9 overall and 3-4 in the Mid-Southeastern Conference, return to league play in a 7:30 p.m. home game against Scotland County (2-14, 0-7).
The Patriots fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first half and as many as 18 in the second. Patriot coach Mike Apple admitted to being frustrated by the inconsistency in his team’s play from one game to the next.
“It’s hard to understand how we can hold a team to 46 points one night (in last Friday’s win over Douglas Byrd), and give up 79 the next game,” the coach said. “It seems like we win one and instead of carrying over what we did good to win, we back up and back off. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out. It would be nice if it happens in the next 24 hours.”
A 17-7 deficit at the end of a quarter was more a function of not finishing easy shots inside than anything else. In the second period, McLaurin came alive, scoring nine of his team-high 23 points.
Trailing 28-16, his trey started a 9-0 Patriot run that ended with a basket by Garry Hailey making it 28-25. Just before the half, Hailey fed Brandon Cain inside for a basket that sent the teams to the intermission with the Pirates ahead 36-31.
But, whenever, the Patriots seemed ready to mount a challenge, the home team answered with a burst of its own.
Jimothy Brewington scored the first five points of the second half, extending the Pirate lead to 10 points.
The Patriots’ Antwon Murchison, who had another double-double, helped keep the Patriots in range with three inside baskets. Rodney Cain scored nine of his 23 points to help maintain the Pirate margin.
Late in the period, McLaurin fed Stephone Covington for a basket that cut the lead to 56-51. But a pair of painfully open looks from behind the arc by the Pirates’ Jerell Tate turned into a quick six points and the home team took a 62-51 lead into the last quarter. The Patriots never got closer than that until near the end.
“I think we kind of reached a comfort zone down 10 points,” Apple said. “We matched them, but never had the energy to catch them. I wish I could tell you why.”
McLaurin’s scoring outbreak was encouraging in the light of the loss of Jon Gribben for an undetermined amount of time.
“He had a nice offensive game,” Apple said. “With Jon Gribben out for a while with mononucleosis, it will help for him to pick up the offense.”
Lumberton coach Ted Gaston was a bit subdued after the game even though his team defeated Pinecrest for the second time this season and improved to 10-6.
“I’ve lost two of five starters since last Thursday,” he said. “That’s why we didn’t press, because we don’t have the depth. We played Purnell Swett, and we won the battle, but kind of lost the war. I had one kid break his leg and my point guard quit.”
Murchison finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. McLaurin made nine of 18 shots from the field, including five threes.The Pirates were successful on 10 of 17 three-point attempts.
The conference standings going into tonight’s games are: Richmond County 6-1, Seventy-First 5-1, Jack Britt 5-2, Westover 5-2, Hoke County 3-3, Pinecrest 3-4, Douglas Byrd 1-6 and Scotland County 0-7.
Pinecrest 7 24 20 17 — 68
Lumberton 17 19 26 17 — 79
Pinecrest — Hailey 2 1-2 5, McLaurin 9 0-0 23, McKnight 2 2-4 6, Covington 4 1-4 9, Murchison 5 1-5 11, Jones 0 0-0 0, Chalmers 2 0-1 5, Cain 3 1-2 7, J. Lewis 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, S. Lewis 0 0-0 0, McSwain 1 0-0 2, Lapping 0 0-0 0. Totals - 28 6-18 68.
Lumberton — Cain 10 0-0 23, Moore 2 5-7 9, Tate 2 1-1 7, Brewington 2 2-2 7, Douglas 8 0-1 18, McEachern 4 1-2 11, Williams 1 2-2 4, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Branch 0 0-0 0, Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals - 29 11-15 79.
Three-point goals: Pinecrest 6 (McLaurin 5, Chalmers); Lumberton 10 (Cain 3, Tate 2, Douglas 2, McEachern 2, Brewington).
