ELIZABETH CITY – It was exactly what the Bears didn’t need.

Friday night Hertford County High School travelled here to meet Northeastern and left on the short end of a 54-50 setback that dropped them two games out of first place in the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

Northeastern got 19 points from Donnie Hyder and 16 from Terry Williams as they claimed the upset of the Bears (11-7, 7-2).

Hertford County led most of the way, giving up the lead for good with 2:01 to play in the contest.

The rally for the Eagles began when Hyder hit 3-of-4 from the line and was followed by a P.J. Etheridge hoop that gave the home team the lead. Williams padded the advantage by hitting back-to-back shots from the charity stripe as Northeastern surged ahead 50-47.

The Bears got a fee throw from Jordan Jones, but Northeastern hit 4-of-6 from the line down the stretch against only a Shabazz Atkins hoop for the Bears as they secured the 54-50 win.

Dontez Tyler led Hertford County’s offensive attack with 15 points while Antonio Vaughan had 14. Jones added seven and D’Issac Jordan added six.

Northeastern led after one quarter of play thanks to a late surge that saw Etheridge score and Williams bury a three-pointer that gave the Eagles as 12-11 advantage.

HCHS responded by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter as they rushed out to a 21-12 lead. Vaughan hit two three-pointers during the run while Tyler hit a hoop and two free throws.

Northeastern rallied to score eight of the final nine points of the half to get back within two (22-20). Keele Mercer led that spurt with four of those eight points.

The teams battled back-and-forth in the third period with the Bears maintaining a two-point advantage through most of the period. They were ahead by three (36-33) entering the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of Jordan free throws.

Hertford County led by as much as four (47-43) in the fourth quarter before the Eagles rallied back for the win.

The Bears will look to rebound Friday when they host Pasquotank County High School.