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Twin Rivers survives South Pemiscot's second-half rally to win BCT opener 60-57
BLOOMFIELD — A cold start and second-half foul trouble spelled doom for ninth-seeded South Pemiscot in the first round of the 64th Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
The eighth-seeded Twin Rivers Royals built a double-digit first-half lead and held off the Bulldogs 60-57 to survive and advance Saturday at Bloomfield High School.
“It seemed like we’d get a seven- or eight-point lead then they would battle back and tie it or get it within three or four,” Twin Rivers coach Seth McBroom said. “Somehow we’d get a break. It would bounce this way or bounce that way. You know the kids they stayed the course, for lack of a better word.”
The Royals (5-2) will meet top-seeded Dexter (5-2) in a championship quarterfinal at 3:30 p.m. Monday. Dexter routed 16th-seeded Bloomfield 103-23 in the first round.
McBroom said his team has plenty of room for improvement.
“Now we've got a lot of decision-making stuff we need to work on, obviously, but hopefully it’ll continue to come with more games,” McBroom said. “Get in a little bit of a routine as far as games go. We haven’t played in about 10 days. You know that can hurt you sometimes, too.”
South Pemiscot (4-2) will meet Bloomfield (1-5) in a consolation quarterfinal at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Both teams struggled early, combining to shoot 19% (5 for 26) from the field. Jolby Jones made an early 3-pointer to give the Royals a 3-0 lead and they took a 10-2 lead into the second.
“We got ourselves in a hole too early,” South Pemiscot coach Jordan McGowan said. “We came out very sluggish, not awake. That’s what happens when you’re not prepared.”
The Royals opened the second quarter with a 14-4 run to take a 24-6 lead. Jolby Jones scored six of his game-high 17 points in the second, and Colton Hargraves scored 10 of his 16 for Twin Rivers.
However, South Pemiscot began a comeback, slicing its deficit to 28-18 by halftime on a 3-pointer by Lavonta Wilbourn.
After committing 10 first-half turnovers, the Bulldogs didn’t commit one in the third quarter, started knocking down shots and tied the score at 43 on a 3-pointer by Jonathan Parry with 4 seconds remaining. Parry finished with a team-high 14 points.
“We woke up and played a little bit in the third quarter, then we got in too bad of foul trouble,” McGowan said. “They made the free throws and I think we only made 3 out of 10.”
Overall, Twin Rivers outscored the Bulldogs 19-3 from the free-throw line, while holding a 33-10 advantage in attempts.
Parry’s third 3-pointer in a span of less than a minute gave the Bulldogs their first lead (46-43) of the game 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Royals didn’t stay behind long. Jones’ free throw with 5:20 to play restored their lead (47-46) and they never trailed again.
Twin Rivers was in the double bonus for nearly all of the fourth quarter and sank 9 of 15 free throws to hold off the Bulldogs.
“We knew we had to attack the rim and get to the free-throw line,” McBroom said. “I didn’t realize we were going to miss so many of them.”
South Pemiscot committed 17 of its 26 fouls after halftime.
The Bulldogs stayed close in the fourth, tying the score on three occasions (48-all, 52-all and 54-all) before Twin Rivers went ahead to stay (58-54) on Jones’ second-chance jumper and Hargraves’ two free throws with 19.2 seconds remaining.
Shaw0n Kinnon, who scored all of his 11 points in the second half, made a 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left to cut the lead to one, and Twin Rivers’ Avery Jackson made two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining for a 3-point lead.
South Pemiscot had a chance to force overtime, but Tawonn Amerson’s 3-point try bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
“We didn't rebound very well. We just didn't do the things it took to win,” McGowan said. “Tip your hat to Twin Rivers. They played hard and made free throws.”