AHOSKIE – Sometimes four is a charm.

Hertford County finally disposed of Currituck for the season with an 89-78 victory here Monday night.

It was the fourth time the Bears had beaten the Knights, having dismissed them twice in the regular season and once in the league tournament. This win, however, ended Currituck’s season and sent HCHS to the semifinals of Section I.

Bears’ basketball boss Charles Simmons saw his team rebound from a loss in the Northeastern Coastal Conference tournament and put five in double figures.

LaMarcus “Buck” Jenkins led the Bears with 19 points while Marcus Burnell added 13 and Patrick Downing contributed 12 points. Lamar Monger and Tydreke Powell had 11 points each.

Currituck was able to hold HCHS close over the opening minutes of the first quarter, having the game tied at 12-all midway through the period.

The Bears got their offense going, however, when Monger and Downing combined for four free throws, Andre Lyles hit a hoop and Downing converted all three shots from the charity stripe after being fouled to give Hertford County a 21-12 lead.

The advantage was down slightly at 24-16 at the end of the first quarter, but HCHS opened the second period with a 10-2 run that gave them a comfortable working margin. Monger started the spurt with a hoop and a free throw and the Bears also got scores from Antonio Branch, Powell and Burnell as they grabbed a 34-18 advantage.

They held that same 16-point lead (45-29) at halftime.

HCHS started rolling again in the third quarter when Jenkins opened the period with a hoop to start an 8-2 run. Burnell added two buckets and Jenkins closed the spurt with a basket that made it 53-31.

Hertford County pushed their advantage to 70-46 by the end of the third quarter and cruised to the victory.

“We had a good effort on defense tonight,” Simmons said afterwards. “Offensively, we got our transition game going.

“This was a big win in the opening round of the state playoffs,” he added.

The Bears (23-3) hosted Wilson’s James B. Hunt High School in the second round of the sectional playoffs Wednesday night. The game finished too late for press time.

HCHS (89): LaMarcus Jenkins n 19, Marcus Burnell n 13, Patrick Downing n 12, Lamar Monger n 11, Tydreke Powell n 11, D. Dembry n 8, A. Branch n 6, P. Moore n 4, A. Lyles n 3, D. Porter n 2

Currituck (78): Justin Saunders n 17, Jeremy Basnight n 16, Joe Molo n 12, E. Gallop n 9, T. Vinick n 7, S. Robinson n 6, D. White n 5, A. Lindsey n 4, D. Pledger – 2