ELIZABETH CITY – In a season of accolades, the Bears added another one Friday.

Hertford County placed four in double figures as they beat Northeastern High School 69-64 at Elizabeth City State University to claim the Northeastern Coastal Conference Tournament championship.

That key win joins others as the Bears this season have already won the regular-season league title, won the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty and saw Head Coach Charles Simmons win his 500^th career contest.

Jordan Jones led the Bears with 21 points during the contest while Dontez Tyler added 18. Petey Boone contributed 13 while Dekimis Perry rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11.

“The kids played hard all night,” Simmons said. “We showed a lot of character in the fourth quarter. We fell behind and we could have folded and called it quits, but we didn’t.

“We pulled together as a team and made some defensive stops,” he added. “On the other end, we made some big baskets when we needed them and we made our free throws to win it.”

The game was close in the first half with Northeastern holding a 16-15 edge after one period, but the Bears taking a 30-29 edge into the halftime locker room.

Northeastern then surged ahead 46-41 by the end of the third period and led by eight points with six minutes left in the game.

Just like the Bears had to rally in the regular-season championship game against Bertie, they had to come back in the tournament title contest. They outscored the Eagles 28-18 in the final period to secure the five-point win.

Highlighting the Bears in the fourth quarter were Tyler’s eight points and seven points each from Boone and Jones. Shabazz Atkins hit a three-pointer in the final period and Perry buried three from the free throw line.

“It was a great win for Bears’ basketball,” he said. “I am proud of the whole team, and especially our seniors. For them to win the regular season championship and to also win the conference tournament championship is very special.”