By GENE MOTLEY

Sports Correspondent

GASTON – This was quite the cat fight.

The Northampton County Jaguars overcame a 12-point first half deficit with a fierce fourth quarter rally that was good enough to post a 65-55 win over Bertie. It came in the third-round of the Class 1A NC High School Athletic Association boy’s basketball playoff here Tuesday night.

The victory was the Jags’ 10th in a row on their home floor and 11th win in their last 12 games. It sends the Teal-and-Blue on the road to Friday night’s fourth round against Southern Wake Academy in Holly Springs. The victor there earns a trip to next week’s 1A East Final in Winston-Salem on the campus of Wake Forest University at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum.

Seniors Jiyoun Williams and Torrey Harris combined for 39 points of Northampton’s scoring with 20 and 19, respectively; all part of a blistering 41 point second half. Zymiere Dempsey closed out his high school career by leading Bertie scoring with 18, just missing out on a fourth straight game when he’s tallied 19 or more.

This was also revenge for Northampton (21-6) because when they faced off against the Falcons (15-12) back last December in Windsor they had to absorb a 75-57 loss.

“These guys just didn’t quit, man,” said Jags coach Jeff Ramsey afterward above the raucous celebrating on-court of Northampton fans. “We got down early, got down late, and they just didn’t quit. They fed off the (energy of) the fans, and just stayed together.”

After taking a 4-3 lead early in the match-up, the Jags trailed up until the final buzzer of the third quarter. That’s when Williams struck for a rainbow three-pointer right at the horn from near half-court and put his team in front to stay. He then sealed the win by scoring the final points of the contest on a thunder dunk for a 10-point victory margin that sent the partisan Northampton crowd into a frenzy.

“It was such a close game all around,” said an exhausted but jubilant Williams in the locker room after the game. “Just to take that lead going into the fourth (quarter) made us feel good and gave us some momentum. We just played defense from there on out.”

Trailing by a point three minutes into the game, Tayvien Ward’s layup in traffic ignited a 7-0 Bertie run that also featured a Nyqway Bazemore three-pointer and capped with a dunk by Dempsey. Bertie looked to be taking command with a six-point lead, 10-4, and causing Ramsey to call his first time-out.

When play resumed, the Jags trimmed it to 10-6 before Bertie exploded for a pair of triples that upped their lead to 10 points at 16-6. They would later make it a dozen-point advantage, 20-8, before Northampton cashed in a couple of Falcon turnovers and scored the last six of the quarter to trail by just five, 20-15, at the first break.

Williams’ soft jumper in the lane opened the scoring for the Jaguars in the second quarter and cut Bertie’s lead down to three, 20-17. That score was still the deficit – this time, 23-20 – when Falcons coach Dee Frazier called his first timeout midway through the period at 4:05 after Bertie had picked up their third foul of the quarter.

By now, however, Northampton had become turnover-prone (four in the quarter along with a Bertie steal and lay-up). The Jags also made their first foul shots of the period after going 0-for-4 at the charity stripe and getting within four, 26-22. Northampton had crept within a pair, 26-24, when Bertie’s Charles Ruffin drained a three, his only points of the game, pushing the Falcons advantage to five. Add a Cameron Conerly free throw and the Bertie lead was six, which held until the mid-break where the halftime margin was 30-24. Bertie held their hosts under double figures for the quarter, outscoring Northampton by a point, 10-to-9.

Much as they did in the first quarter, Bertie started the third on a run: shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and going 3-for-3 at the free throw line. By the 3:36 mark of the period they had once again built a 10-point lead, 40-30 by taking advantage of Jerry Mabine’s bulk in the low post with a pair of put back lay-ups.

But after a running lay-up by Ward, the Falcon offense became as cold as an early March chill.

Northampton turned up their defense and turned their offense even higher: outscoring the Falcons 10-to-1 with Bertie’s lone point coming from a Dempsey foul shot. In the meantime, Harris led the Jaguars’ charge by scoring seven straight points, and almost made it eight when he made 2-of-3 at the line when fouled on a three-point shot attempt. This got the home team within a pair as time wound down in the third quarter.

When the clock showed four seconds left, Bertie’s Anthony Speight missed a foul shot and Williams grabbed the rebound. He then raced up court, barely crossing the half-court line, before unleashing a heave that swished through the twine and Northampton had their first lead since early in the first quarter, 42-41, as the crowd’s cheering rattled the entire gym.

Just as he’d ended the third period, Williams opened the fourth with a jump shot, this time in the paint, that gave the Jaguars a 44-41 advantage. Dempsey countered with a put-back bank shot that tied the game, 44-all.

But that was as close as Bertie would come the rest of the contest. Harris’ triple pushed Northampton back in front by three. The Falcons had a chance to trim that margin but missed three of four at the line, causing Frazier to call a time-out with 5:46 remaining.

A Mabine rebound and lay-in had Bertie within one (47-46) before the Jags scored eight unanswered in just under two minutes, led by Jereminah Gholson who had three three-pointers in the period. That action prompted another Falcon time-out at 3:59, but by then the Birds were down 55-46.

Northampton then started to run time off the clock before Dempsey broke the slowdown with a three-point play, leaving Bertie down by six, 55-49. They were in a similar hole, 57-52, and began racking up fouls which prompted a Jaguar parade to the free-throw line but they only made 1-of-3 to lead by seven (58-51) with 1:50 left to play.

Bertie wouldn’t quit. Mabine got a put-back to finish off his 10-point night, with all his scoring coming in the second half. A Dempsey steal and lay-up with about a minute remaining was the Falcons last gasp and last points scored. Northampton closed out the final 52 seconds on an eight-point run, finishing with the Williams rim-rattler that closed out the Jaguars’ night to thunderous applause and cheering before fans rushed the court.

“Our crowd was into the game tonight,” Ramsey added. “They were here for the right reasons. They came to see what they saw and we appreciate their help.”

The loss ended three straight road wins for the Falcons dating back to Bertie’s conference tournament win in Plymouth.

“Basketball’s a game of runs,” said a somber Bertie coach Frazier. “Tonight was a fight. We punched, but they punched back. They got the last punch and that’s what knocked us out.”

 

Northampton (65)

Jiyoun Williams – 20, Torrey Harris -19, Jereminah Gholson – 11, Anunde Burgess – 7, Gmarcus Faison – 4, William Whitaker – 2, Meki Ransome – 2, Rashaud Wilder – 1.

 

Bertie (55)

Zymiere Dempsey – 18, Nyqway Bazemore – 11, Jerry Mabine – 10, Tayvien Ward – 8, Rahmeek Outlaw – 4, Charles Ruffin – 3, Kameron Conerly – 1.