WILSON – Leading for 31 minutes and 30 seconds doesn’t matter.

It’s who had the most points when the horn sounds that counts.

Hertford County’s varsity boys trailed for most of their contest with former league rival James B. Hunt High here Tuesday night, but a Lakendrick Lee bucket with just 31 seconds to play gave the Bears a 58-57 lead.

The Bears’ LaMarcus Bond then buried three free throws in the final 11 seconds to seal a 61-57 victory for HCHS.

&uot;We played with a lot of heart at the end of the game tonight,&uot; veteran basketball boss Charles Simmons said. &uot;I was pleased to leave here with a victory. We did what we had do.&uot;

Hertford County came into the fourth quarter with a four-point deficit (42-38), but trimmed it to only a pair on a Pert Simons bucket only 15 seconds into the period.

Hunt then rolled off an 8-4 spurt to grab a six-point lead (50-44) with 3:55 to play. Kelvin Sutton, Brodderick Battle and Derrick Moore all scored for the Warriors during the run, stopped by only a Frank Gatling trey and a Brandon Long free throw.

The Bears began their relentless climb seconds later when Taydrek Powell scored to begin an 8-0 run for Hertford County. Powell’s bucket was followed by field goals from Simons, Long and Lee to give the Bears a 52-50 edge.

The Warriors answered when Travis Johnson hit both ends of a one-plus-one and LeeLee Pender buried a shot to give Hunt a 54-52 lead.

Hertford County grabbed the advantage back when Simons hit a hoop and made it a three-point play by converting from the charity stripe.

Hunt led again when Pender hit with just under two minutes to play.

Hertford County’s Lee hit one of two free throws with 1:15 to play to tie the contest, but the Warriors claimed their advantage back on a Kelvin Sutton shot from the charity stripe which set off the HCHS rally.

Despite being out-shot in the first period, Hunt walked out of the opening quarter with a one-point advantage (13-12). The Warriors were just four-for-14 from the floor during the period, while the Bears shot 50 percent (six-for-12), but Hunt also tallied five shots from the charity stripe.

The teams got off an even number of shots (13) in the second quarter, but the Bears were only able to score on five of their attempts while Hunt made good on six to grab a 27-25 halftime edge.

The Bears actually trailed 27-16 midway through the second period, but rallied on the back of two Simons field goals and a hoop each by Long and Reggie Wiggins to close the first half on an 8-0 run.

The Warriors opened the third period with back-to-back treys from Derrick Moore and Spencer Hinton, but Hertford County came back with buckets from Simons and Long.

The Bears cut their deficit to four (35-31) on a Simons shot, but Hunt answered with a 6-0 spurt over two and a half minutes to gain a 41-31 lead.

Hertford County answered by going on a 7-1 run to close out the period as Simons had a deuce and a triple sandwiched around a Gatling bucket.

The win boosts the Bears to 4-1 overall as they head into Northeastern Coastal Conference play Friday night at Manteo.

Hertford County (61)

Pert Simons – 23, L. Lee – 7, B. Long – 7, T. Powell – 7, L. Bond – 6, F. Gatling – 5, R. Wiggins – 4, W. White – 2

James B. Hunt (57)

Kelvin Sutton – 15, Spencer Hinton – 14, M . Reardon – 8 , T. Johnson – 7, D. Moore – 6, L. Pender – 4, B. Battle – 3