AHOSKIE – Hertford County bounced back in a big way here Monday night.

The Bears, who were unceremoniously ousted from the Northeastern Coastal Conference tournament against Pasquotank County High School due to a poor offensive outing, racked up 86 points enroute to an 86-49 win over Havelock.

That victory in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A playoffs sent the Bears to the sectional semifinal last night (Wednesday) against Wilson’s R.L. Fike High School.

“I was really pleased with our intensity tonight,” said HCHS basketball boss Charles Simmons. “We did a good job of finding the open man on offense and we played great defense.”

Hertford County had three players in double figures led by senior Antonio Vaughan’s 22. Jordan Jones added 20 for the Bears while Dekimis Perry chipped in 10 points.

Trey Simmons led Havelock with 21 points.

Vaughan wasted little time getting on the board as he hit a three-pointer to open the game’s scoring.

Havelock rallied back to take the lead thanks to a bucket by Tavarian Horne and a triple off the hands of Simmons, but the lead was short-lived.

Petey Boone buried a three-pointer and Dontez Tyler added a free throw as the Bears surged ahead 7-5. After Todd Kavdeyr tied the game with two free throws, HCHS rolled off nine of the next 12 points to take a 16-10 advantage.

Perry started the spurt with a field goal that came just before a Jones bucket. Simmons stopped the spurt with a three-point play, but Markee White scored and then Vaughan added a triple to give the Bears the six-point edge.

A free throw from Havelock’s Danny Webster stopped the spurt, but Hertford County came back when Jones scored four straight points and then Vaughan buried a triple to give the Bears a 23-11 lead.

After Simmons hit a pair of free throws for the Rams, Vaughan scored again from behind the arc as HCHS led 26-13 after one quarter.

The Bears were able to add to that lead in the second period when White had a deuce and Vaughan a triple sandwiched around a Simmons bucket for the Rams. The result was a 16-point Hertford County edge (31-15).

Hertford County did nothing but add to the lead as the first half closed, rolling off an 11-1 run that pushed the lead to 44-20. Jones started the spurt for HCHS who also got a pair of three-pointers from D’Isaac Jordan.

An exchange of hoops left the Bears with a 46-22 lead at the intermission.

Havelock tried to cut into the lead as the third quarter opened with Simmons hitting back-to-back shots. The Bears, however, responded with eight unanswered to quell the threat.

Perry started the spurt and was followed by buckets from Tyler and Vaughan before he scored again to give Hertford County a 54-26 lead.

The Bears went on to a 65-34 lead by the end of the third quarter and then rolled to the 37-point win.

In addition to those who had double figures, the Bears had six others score. Boone had nine points while Tyler and Jordan checked in with six points each. Shelton Simmons had four and White and Brian Beale had four points each.

Last night’s (Wednesday) second round game finished too late for press time.