North Duplin’s Luke Kelly, left, goes up for a shot against Lakewood’s Cameron Williams during opening-quarter action Tuesday evening in Calypso. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin senior guard Brady Byrd cashes in a layup against Lakewood. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin senior DuJuan Armwood scores over Lakewood defender Jaziah Brunson. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s DuJuan Armwood scores against Lakewood’s Cameron Williams. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin sophomore center Trashawn Ruffin powers his way between two Lakewood defenders to the basket. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — North Duplin survived again.
The Rebels outlasted a late Lakewood offensive surge and claimed a critical, 58-51 triumph over their Carolina 1A rivals Tuesday evening.
“We survived again,” said ND head coach Jeff Byrd as he exited the locker room. “It doesn’t matter how we win … ugly or whatever. This gives us a great opportunity. If you win two more, this gives us a chance. It’s in their court.
“We’re going to play every game [from this point] like it’s a tournament game. If you lose, that’s how we’re going to look at it.”
The chance, Byrd mentioned, is win the regular-season crown.
North Duplin (10-9 overall, 6-1 Carolina) remained one game ahead of Rosewood in the league standings with three games left to play. Before they meet next Tuesday on the Rebels’ home court, each must handle business Friday evening.
Byrd’s team visits Union, while Rosewood entertains Neuse Charter.
“Tonight, we were able to control the tempo,” Byrd said.
However, he had to restructure his five-man rotation in the second half. He benched one player due to a technical foul. Micah Lesasane dealt with a mouth injury and Branson Martin suffered an ankle injury.
The Rebels battled through the adversity.
Jaziah Brunson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer pulled Lakewood to within 46-39 after three quarters. The Leopards climbed to within seven points twice early in the final period.
“We didn’t contest a few shots, kind of got lazy there,” Byrd said.
Baskets from Dujuan Armwood, senior guard Brady Byrd and Tev Collins pushed the Rebels’ advantage to 55-42 at the 2:52 mark.
Lakewood, again, attempted to whittle away at the deficit.
Cameron Williams’ old-fashioned, three-point play shaved the Rebels’ margin to 56-47 with 2:06 on the clock.
The teams combined to misfire on their next four possessions before Collins scored again off an assist from Armwood. The Leopards pulled to within 58-51 in the closing seconds, but eventually slipped to 3-4 in conference play this season.
“We’ve just got to learn how to pull it out and relax,” coach Byrd said. “We buckled down on defense and I think rebounding was big for us tonight. I don’t know how many Trashawn [Ruffin] had and when you lose Micah, your next big rebounder, we had to go with a small lineup.
“But, it’s a big win.”
Armwood finished with 19 for the Rebels, who improved to 7-1 at home this season. Donovan Armwood chipped in nine points, followed by Collins with eight. Byrd, Ruffin and Luke Kelly collected five points apiece.
Earlier in the day, Byrd received student-of-the-month recognition from the Mount Olive Exchange Club. Ruffin, a sophomore, announced on his “X” account that he received an offer from NC State in football.
