WINDSOR – The score had to be in the 50s or 60s for Bertie to win, according to Falcon skipper Calvin Moore.

Hertford County put up 71, including 22 off the hands of senior LaMarcus Bond, as the Bears knocked off archrival Bertie, 71-55, in a Northeastern Coastal Conference contest here Friday night.

&uot;We have to play a game in the 50s or 60s to beat Hertford County,&uot; Moore said after the game. &uot;We are getting better. We hung in there tonight. Hertford County just has so many scorers it causes us matchup problems.&uot;

Though Bertie couldn’t keep the game scoring as low as they would have liked, HCHS veteran coach Charles Simmons said they did dictate the tempo.

&uot;This was a good road win for us,&uot; Simmons said. &uot;Bertie did a good job of slowing the pace and making it a half-court game.

&uot;This was a good experience for us and will help us later,&uot; he added.

The Falcons had the game’s leading scorer as Kent Bazemore had 23 in the loss. The key, however, was that no other Bertie player was in double figures while four HCHS players hit that mark.

In addition to Bond’s performance, Buck Jenkins had 16 points for the Bears while Lamar Monger added 11 and Marcus Burnell chipped in 10 points.

The matchup was a far cry from the 30 points the Bears scored against Bertie in the first quarter of the championship game of last month’s News-Herald Holiday Classic.

Friday night saw the Bears and Falcons tied at 10 midway through the quarter. HCHS surged ahead on a free throw by Bond and a Jenkins hoop, but the Falcons countered with a bucket by Monte Holley to make it 13-12.

Jenkins’ hoop late in the period sparked a 5-2 HCHS run that was capped by a Bond hoop to give the Bears an 18-14 edge at the end of the first quarter.

Hertford County started the second period on a 9-2 run that helped them begin to pull away from the Falcons. Burnell started the spurt with the opening hoop of the quarter, but Bazemore responded for Bertie.

Bond then hit both ends of a 1-plus-1 before Monger buried a triple. Bond then added another hoop to make it 27-16.

Bazemore helped the Falcons mount a comeback, hitting consecutive buckets as the Falcons went on an 8-1 run to get back to within four (28-24). Jason Bazemore had a hoop in the run.

Hertford County, however, took control with a 12-4 spurt that closed out the first half. Antonio Branch started the run with a hoop before Burnell’s two free throws. Bond had a hoop and Burnell a free throw before Wayne Pryor buried a three-pointer. Jenkins added the other hoop for the Bears as they led 40-28 at the intermission.

The Falcons were able to trim their deficit to nine before end of the third period thanks to a late field goal and free throw by Bazemore.

HCHS opened the fourth period with an 8-2 spurt that gave them a double-digit lead and pulled away to the 71-55 victory.

The Bears, now 13-2 overall and 4-1 inside the Northeastern Coastal Conference, will play Currituck and First Flight this week in league play.

Bertie’s Wednesday contest with Williamston has been cancelled. Their next contest will be hosting Northeastern Friday.

Hertford County (71): LaMarcus Bond – 22, Buck Jenkins – 16, Lamar Monger – 11, Marcus Burnell – 10, W. Pryor – 8, A. Branch – 3, C. Mizelle – 1

Bertie (55): Kent Bazemore – 23, B. Brown – 8, D. Williams – 5, D. Wesson – 5, M. Holley – 5, J. Bazemore – 4, J. Jackson – 3, F. Lee – 2