Greene Central boys, Washington girls win
Greene Central's B.J. Corbitt slices through the defense for a basket in Friday's win over Washington. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy
SNOW HILL | It wasn’t supposed to be close, and Greene Central quickly made sure the script stayed true to the formula.
The Eastern Carolina 2A Conference-leading Rams jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back in cruising past Washington 91-55 on Friday night.
With at a road game at rival Kinston looming on Tuesday, GC head coach Theodore “Blue” Edwards made sure his team wasn’t looking ahead.
“We respect everybody we play and don’t look past anybody,” Edwards said. “Our goal is to get better each night, regardless of who the opponent is.”
If Kinston was on GC’s mind before the Washington contest, the Rams (15-5, 8-0) certainly didn’t show it.
Point guard B.J. Corbitt began the game with guns blazing, scoring 17 first-quarter points as GC built a quick double-digit margin.
Corbitt’s 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining in the opening period put the Rams on top 17-5. The lead would never drop below double figures again.
Corbitt finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
“There’s going to be nights when we need B.J. to be aggressive on offense, and this was one of those nights,” Edwards said. “He started the game hot, got into a rhythm, and did a great job of attacking their defense without forcing the action.”
With Corbitt lighting up the Pam Pack from the perimeter, center Imaje Dodd was his usual dominating self in the paint.
The UNC-Wilmington-bound senior finished the game with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots, missing a triple-double only because Washington (5-10, 1-6) basically gave up trying to take the ball inside in the second half.
Seven of Dodd’s blocks came in the first 16 minutes.
Donte Johnson added 16 points and 8 boards for the Rams, who outrebounded the smaller Pam Pack 53-36.
Washington mostly bombed away from outside, converting 11 of 36 attempts from beyond the arc.
“We played very well, but we still have to do a better job of playing the entire 32 minutes,” Edwards said. “After we got up big, there were too many times that we got careless and reckless. We have to understand that there are no shortcuts, even with a big lead.”
In the girls’ contest, Washington kept the GC girls winless with a 59-27 victory.
The Pam Pack (8-7, 4-3) buried the hosts early, building a 39-11 halftime lead and a 57-16 advantage after three quarters.
The Rams (0-18, 0-8), who were led by Kaliya Sutton’s 10 points, outscored Washington 11-2 in the fourth quarter to make the final score more respectable.
BOYS
Washington 11 16 15 13—55
Greene Central 23 25 24 19—91
PAMPACK—Omarion Blount 25, Jeremee Bryant 14, Blackledge 9, Ja. Bryant 4, Hambric 2, Powell 1.
RAMS—BJ Corbitt 23, Imaje Dodd 21, Donte Johnson 16, Taylor 8, Suggs 6, Evans 4, Casias 3, Hudson 2, Gay 2, Smith 2, Pridgen 2, Finch 2.
GIRLS
Washington 17 22 18 2—59
Greene Central 8 3 5 11—27
PAMPACK—Daria Jones 10, Soomerville 9, Hopkins 8, Redmond 7, Blount 6, Boomer 6, Ruther 6, Smith 5, Kim 2.
RAMS—Kaliya Sutton 10, Wilkins 6, Thompson 4, Mason 3, Davis 3, Lee 1.
