North Lenoir Hawks fall against the Southwest Onslow Stallions, 72-52.
North Lenoir Hawks fall against the Southwest Onslow Stallions, 72-52.
By: Jayden Willis
The North Lenoir Hawks hosted the Southwest Onslow Stallions and were looking for a huge win right before conference play. The Hawks would end up losing 72-52 in a game where turnovers and a huge first and second quarter for the Stallions had the Hawks free-falling.
“We dug ourselves a hole, we still have that problem,” said Head coach Anthony Loftin. “We turned the ball over a lot and we have to clean stuff like that up.”
The Stallions started the contest with a 19-4 run, which gave them an early lead. They used smothering defense against the Hawks to force many turnovers, which led to several fast-break points. At times it looked like North Lenoir could not get the ball in or across half-court with the amount of pressure being put on them by Southwest Onslow’s defense. The Stallions would close out the quarter strong and end with a lead of 22-8.
“That’s a good team they have won their conference three years in a row,” said coach Loftin.
North Lenoir calmed themselves down enough to not commit as many turnovers as in the first. Their offense was able to be set up more often this quarter which led to more offense. The Stallions were still firing on all cylinders extending their lead throughout the quarter. Getting turnovers that converted into fast breaks once again and using their half-court to put pressure on the Hawks's offense. Southwest Onslow would allow North Lenoir more points this quarter but would still hold a 41-21 lead.
“It’s a work in progress you know, we gotta clean up the turnovers,” said coach Loftin.
After the half, Southwest Onslow would use their pestering press defense to go on multiple small runs that would blow the game open for good. The runs would be built by the common theme of the game turnovers and fast break points. North Lenoir’s offense would look like their first-quarter offense as it would falter throughout the quarter. The Stallions would wrap up the quarter and the game with a lead of 62-35 at the end of the third quarter.
“I thought we did a good job in the second half, kinda kept that fight going,” said coach Loftin.”The guys fought hard the entire half.”
Tensions would flare multiple times throughout the fourth quarter. Both teams received multiple techs in the final quarter of the game. This happened even with both coaches sitting their starters for most of the fourth quarter. The Hawks bench would go back and forth with the Stallions bench even going on some small runs this quarter. With the Stallions ultimately winning, 72-52.
“But no time to rest we go to Wallace-Rose Hill to play them tomorrow,” said coach Loftin.
After the loss, the Hawks record sits at 2-9 overall and a conference record of 0-1. They hope to turn their season around with a big win against the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs and bring their conference record to 1-1. With the win, Southwest Onslow improves to 9-2 on the season. They look to build on their current two-game win streak with a home matchup against the Kinston Vikings.
Attention all local sports enthusiasts! Do you have insider information on your favorite local sports team? Submit to The Score below and let our team of experts bring it to life. Don't miss out on the chance to share what happened at your local sporting event - submit now and become part of the story!
Neuse News Sports is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to cover all schools, all sports, and all athletes in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties.
We provide this free sports news by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local sports news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News Sports with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
