BOYS' BASKETBALL: Kinston completes sweep of Goldsboro

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 1, 2017 9:57 AM

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KINSTON -- Methodical.

That was the adjective consistently tossed about by hoop heads lingering in the aftermath of Kinston's deliberate, 62-49 triumph over Eastern Carolina 2-A rival Goldsboro on Tuesday evening at Viking Gymnasium.

The victory -- an about face of the two teams' double-overtime panic attack staged three weeks ago -- pushed Kinston to 15-5 on the season and 6-1 in league play.

It just took a while to develop.

Sophomore guard Damian Dunn helped break up a lethargic back-and-forth tryst in the second quarter, creating easy looks for his mates and capping matters with an inbound lob to gravity-defying livewire Dericko Williams for a spike at the first-half buzzer.

At the break, Kinston led 32-18.

Goldsboro made a push to begin the third period, however, led by the shifty scoring prowess of guard Jaryan Hargis.

The senior scored on a quick catch-and-shoot to begin the stanza, then facilitated for a host of Cougars as they attempted to gain traction and climb within striking distance of the hosts.

But again, Dunn had other plans.

The sophomore authored Kinston's response to the Cougar flurry with a steal and back-to-back buckets, then presided over a four-minute span in which the hosts turned over Goldsboro's every advance.

Per GHS head coach Russell Stephens, it was the span that effectively decided the outcome.

"We couldn't get the turnover bug away from us," he said. "Three straight possessions, we gave them layups... you can't do that against a team like that in their gym."

Kinston finalized the affair in the fourth period by running offense and making trips to the free throw line, where Dunn and Co. managed to maintain its lead despite going 2-of-9 to close out the contest.

"I'm proud of our guys," Kinston head coach Perry Tyndall said. "It's Goldsboro-Kinston... we just found a way to answer and get the win."

The Vikings were paced by Dunn's 16 points and overall poise, while junior forward Reginald Clark tendered 11 points and snared a game-high 12 rebounds.

Goldsboro was led by Hargis, who finished with a workman-like 20 points. Daryl Gaddis fought his way to a 14-point evening, while sophomore Isaiah Wilder finished with nine points -- mostly in a bruising battle with Kinston's active frontcourt.

"Going forward, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Stephens said. "And be more efficient on offense."

Goldsboro (9-9, 2-5 ECC) entertains South Lenoir on Friday.