AHOSKIE – It’s not how you start.

It’s how you finish.

Hertford County gave up seven of the first eight points scored and trailed by as much as nine in the first quarter, but a big second half propelled them to their third consecutive victory, a 66-55 win over Manteo here Friday night.

Senior Catlin Pruitt drilled three consecutive treys for Manteo to break open a nine-all tie and give the Redskins an 18-9 lead with 1:35 to play in the first quarter.

Hertford County answered when Leonard Burnell followed a Reggie Wiggins free throw with a hoop and then Frank Gatling buried a trey to trim the margin to 18-15 by the end of the first period.

The Bears continued to play catch-up in the second quarter after a Woody Caver trey pushed the Redskins’ lead to 23-17.

Weyling White started a 7-0 Hertford County run that erased the Bears’ deficit.

His hoop and buckets by Pert Simons and Qwenton Valentine helped push the Bears into a 25-24 lead.

The two teams exchanged the lead three times, with the Redskins grabbing a 31-30 lead when Justin Jackson scored just before the intermission.

The Bears wasted no time in the second half with Simons hitting back-to-back buckets to give Hertford County a 34-31 advantage.

Manteo tied the score on a Buck Pierce trey late in the third quarter, but the Bears rolled off seven of the next 10 to grab a 44-39 lead at the end of three. Simons, Taydrek Powell and LaMarcus Bond each had a bucket during the run.

The Bears went on a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter that pushed their lead to double figures (51-39) and they cruised to the victory.

&uot;We struggled at Manteo,&uot; Simons, the game’s leading scorer with 28 points, said. &uot;Tonight we were keyed up for them. We executed well on offense.&uot;

Veteran mentor Charles Simmons was more impressed with his team’s defensive effort.

&uot;I was very pleased with our effort on defense,&uot; Simmons said. &uot;I thought in the second half we played the best defense we have played all year.

&uot;We had a great effort from the whole team,&uot; he added. &uot;This was a good conference win.&uot;

The victory lifts the Bears to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

Hertford County (66)

Pert Simons – 28, C. Jenkins – 6, Q. Valentine – 6, R. Wiggins – 6, T. Powell – 5, L. Benthall – 4, L. Bond – 4, F. Gatling – 3, L. Burnell – 2, W. White – 2

Manteo (55)

Catlin Pruitt – 21, Travis Winstead – 12, B. Pierce – 7, R. Cleaver – 7, W. Caver – 6, J. Jackson – 2