A Jacksonville basketball team that struggled at times to get the ball past midcourt all of the sudden found itself with a double-digit lead over West Carteret.
Credit that to senior David Pickett, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cardinals pull away for a 77-68 Coastal 3-A Conference win over the Patriots on Friday night.
Pickett scored all of Jacksonville’s points in a deciding 11-2 run that extended the Cardinals’ lead to 65-55 with 4:52 left. He sparked the run with a 3-pointer that gave JHS a 57-53 lead with 6:28 left and then answered two free throws from Shakur Frazier with another three before scoring off a reverse layup off a long assist from Nijear Singleton, who had 23 points.
Then Pickett struck again with his third three of the quarter to make it 65-55.
The win moved the Cardinals (10-7, 3-2) into a tie for second place in the conference with White Oak (14-4, 3-2) entering Monday’s clash at the Vikings, who lost 60-51 to Havelock (6-9, 2-3) on Friday.
West Carteret fell to 11-3, 2-3. The Patriots beat JHS 58-52 in double overtime earlier this month.
But this time, the Cardinals took care of business down the stretch.
Singleton scored 10 points in the fourth quarter while Chris Coleman ended with 14 points, Joe Johnson added 10 and Kadeem Dia had 7 points and 13 rebounds.
While Pickett stood out in the fourth quarter, Erny said this win took a collective effort, something he wants to see more from his team.
Singleton entered averaging 19.4 points per game while Pickett was the only one in double digits at 11.8.
The Cardinals want to be balanced. Still, Pickett was quick to say it was Singleton that tends to jump-start Jacksonville. He did that Friday by scoring 7 first-quarter points.
“Once Nijear starts up, that’s when me and Chris get going,” Pickett said.
Jason Williams scored 24 points for the Patriots, who gave JHS fits with full-court pressure that resulted in four easy layups under the basket. Jacksonville ended with 24 turnovers to West Carteret’s 21.
Jacksonville 77, West Carteret 30: Jacksonville did what it does best, start off fast en route to a win over West Carteret.
Areon Laurent scored 11 of her 23 points in the opening quarter while Kennedy Todd-Williams had 6 of her 21 and Kiani Gravely had 6 of her 14 in the frame.
The Cardinals (12-2, 5-0) were 12 of 16 from the field in the opening eight minutes, and used a 17-0 run to establish control over the Patriots (10-5, 2-3).
But while the Cardinals had no issue in this game, Gidrey would have liked to have seen her team’s transition game smoother.
Wardell 8, Reed 2, Kemp 3, Mitchell 5, Willis 12. Totals– 10-45 4-14 30.
Morrison 5, Todd-Williams 21, Hill 3, Laurent 23, Mitchels 3, Gravely 14, Kellum 4, Gidrey 4. Totals– 30-65 6-14 77..
3-point goals–W 6 (Willis 4, Wardell 2). J 11 (Laurent 5, Todd-Williams 3, Gravely 2, Morrison). Rebounds–W 36 (Kemp 9, Mitchell 6, Willis 6). J 42 (Todd-Williams 9, Laurent 6). RECORDS–W: 10-5, 2-3, at Swansboro on Tuesday. J: 12-2, 5-0, at White Oak on Monday.
Barr 8, S. Frazier 10, C. Frazier 13, Fountain 3, Williams 24, Wilcox 3, Wilkins 7. Totals– 25-55 9-12 68.
Singleton 23, Pickett 18, Coleman 14, Rambert 1, Johnson 10, Hines 5, Dia 7. Totals– 24-46 18-27 77.
3-point goals–W 9 (Williams 4, C. Frazier 3, Fountain, Wilkins). J 11 (Pickett 4, Coleman 3, Singleton 2, Johnson 2). Rebounds–W 26 (Barr 7, Wilcox 5). J 34 (Dia 13, Hines 6). RECORDS–W: 11-3, 2-3, at Swansboro on Tuesday. J: 10-7, 3-2, at White Oak on Monday.