Rams top Warriors in tourney championship game
Published 9:02 am Tuesday, February 11, 2025
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By ANDRE ALFRED
Sports Correspondent
PUNGO – The Ridgecroft Rams and the Lawrence Warriors met two times in the regular season with each winning on their respective home court.
Members of the Ridgecroft School varsity boys basketball team pose with the Tarheel Independent Conference tournament championship trophy they won Friday night. Kneeling from left are Nacir Lewis, Landon Woodard, Harrison Jones, Frankie Jones, and Ethan Beachboard. Standing from left are Jay Gaston, Tyler Berryman, Corey Phipps, Javeion Leary, and Antron Gray. A.A. Imaging / Andre Alfred
But it was a new day and a new set of challenges here Friday night with the Tarheel Independence Conference (TIC) tournament championship on the line.
In the end it was Ridgecroft cutting down the net as they defeated Lawrence, 72-66.
The first two quarters were tight, the speed was “FAST” and the energy was high, in a packed to full capacity Pungo gymnasium.
There were four ties in the first quarter, but Lawrence – led by 10 points from TIC Player of the Year Nike Wiggins – was able to outscore Ridgecroft, 16-15.
Ridgecroft’s Javeion Leary, who was later named as the Tournament MVP, scored 13 of his team’s 15 points in the first quarter.
Both teams stepped up their defense in the second quarter resulting in more fouls. Lawrence barely held onto the lead (18-16) in the early minutes of the second frame.
At the 6:38 mark, Lawrence was at the free-throw line with possible “and-one” but a taunting technical foul was called on the Warriors directly after the initial shot was made. The Warriors could not complete the “and-one” series, but Ridgecroft did successfully make the two shots awarded for the technical foul. Upon the Rams inbounding the ball, Frankie Jones buried a three-point basket giving his team a 21-20 lead.
The two teams went through two more lead changes, but it was two additional three-pointers by Jones that helped the Rams build a 36-31 lead by halftime.
Nacir Lewis went to work for the Rams in the third period, making five baskets and swishing two free throws that aided his team in building a 54-47 lead by the end of the quarter.
Wiggins put the Warriors on his back over the final eight minutes of play where he scored 16 of Lawrence’s 19 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Two of those made free throws gave the Warriors a 58-56 lead with 3:41 remaining, but a pair of clutch baskets by Antron Gray and one from Lewis gave the Rams a bit of breathing room, leading 63-56 with 2:13 left. From there, Ridgecroft made 6-of-10 free throws to seal the win.
Leary led Ridgecroft with 29 points. Lewis (19) and Jones (10) also struck for double figures.
Wiggins poured in a game-high 35 points for Lawrence. Ben Woodard added 14 points.
The two teams may meet again in this week’s NCISAA State Tournament. Ridgecroft received an opening round bye. On Thursday (Feb. 13) they will host the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Lawrence and Kerr-Vance Academy.