Few things motivate in-county rivals as much as revenge. On Jan. 4 in the teams first meeting, Williston-Elko High had its way with Blackville-Hilda in a 52-35 win. In that game, the Blue Devils dominated the Hawks, leading by as much as 20 points in the first half.
On Friday night in the Hawks Nest, the teams met again. Unlike their first encounter, the Hawks came out more motivated, executing on both ends of the court.
The end result was a 60-50 victory by Blackville-Hilda High.
Tied at 34-34 with 1:47 left in the third quarter, Williston-Elko High appeared to be in position to sweep the season series after completing a 8-3 run.
Blackville-Hilda High, however, ended Williston-Elko High's momentum by outscoring them 26-16 for rest of the game.
The Hawks' defense helped fueled the run, holding the Blue Devils to seven of 24 shots from the field.
"We played four quarters of basketball tonight and that was the difference," Blackville-Hilda High coach Michael Beasley said. "Our guards did a good job with the dribble penetration. Our front line players rebounded well and challenged shots in the paint. This was a very good team performance."
Failure to execute offensively plagued the Blue Devils in the fourth quarter. After narrowing the lead to 47-49, the Blue Devils missed 10 of their final 12 shots in the paint.
Williston-Elko High coach Kenneth Lipsey said the his team allowed its opportunities to slip away.
"We missed on a lot of good looks in the paint, especially late in the game" Lipsey said.
Blackville-Hilda High had four players to score in double digits. Montreal Isaac had an outstanding game with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Isaac did most of his damage in the last five minutes of regulation with nine points and five rebounds.
Also playing well for the Hawks were Jwan Jenkins, Jaloni Jones, Darren Jones, Roderic Smith and Dakota Roundtree.
Jenkins finished with 11 points, including two three-pointers. Jaloni Jones had 10 points and five assists. Darren Jones racked up 13 points on six of 11 shooting with a three-pointer. Smith, who led the team with 14 rebounds, scored nine points. Roundtree added four points and three rebounds.
For WEHS Justice Wallace did all he could to keep the game close throughout. Wallace scored 21 points on nine of 12 shooting from the field. He also had eight steals and six assists.
Others scored well for WEHS. Kalief Freeman had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jerry James had 9 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Owens and Trimayne Whetstone each scored four points.