WILLIAMSTON – About four minutes into the game against Williamston, Bertie head boy’s basketball coach Calvin Moore sat his starters down with the Falcons holding a three-point lead.

Moore was not pleased with the effort of his team early, and his players got the message as the Bertie Falcons regrouped to take an eight-point lead at the half and finish the contest with a 52-27 road victory Wednesday night.

Early on, the scrappy Williamston squad gave the Bertie backcourt fits and caused several turnovers for the Falcons and caused Bertie to have to score in transition which did not favor the Falcons even though senior Frank Lee and super freshman Darius Wesson were obviously ready for the challenge.

As the game wore on and Moore imposed his will on his team’s performance, Bertie took advantage of their size, and with junior Kenneth Bazemore running the point and freshman Travis Bond dominating the paint, the Tigers could not withstand the relentless interior play of the Falcons.

Attempting to rebound from a defeat at the hands of J.H. Rose in the Falcons’ season opener, a Bertie team that starts two freshman and two sophomores, took a few minutes to settle down against Williamston.

Before the game Moore said, &uot;Our inexperience really showed against Rose. We had entirely too many turnovers and poor execution caused too many missed shots. We have to work on executing by the time we get to conference play&uot;.

Plagued by missed free throws and early fouls, the Falcons led by just eight points at halftime.

Whatever Moore told his team in the locker room at halftime worked as Bazemore and the Falcons exploded in the third quarter.

With just under four minutes left in the third quarter sophomore Desmond Williams hit a three-pointer off an assist by Bazemore that gave the Falcons an eleven point lead that Williamston never came close to challenging.

At one point Bazemore, who led the Falcons in scoring (20) and rebounds (10), scored five points off of a dunk a steal a lay-up and a free throw that all occurred in not more than six seconds.

Freshman Travis Bond really was the surprise of the night with 13 points to go along with his five rebounds. It was his great hands and heady interior play that was unexpected from the first year player.

Moore said, &uot;Once Travis understands the importance of proper spacing, he is really going to be difficult for opposing teams to handle. His teammates will get more confidence in him as the season moves along. He’s a real hard worker.&uot;

With four minutes left in the game the Bertie lead had swelled to 20 points, and the Falcons were on cruise control for the remainder of the contest.

Bertie (52): Kenneth Bazemore – 20, Travis Bond – 13, J. Bazemore – 6, D. Wesson – 4, F. Lee – 3, D. Williams – 2, C. Lassiter – 2, B. Brown – 2