Basketball Recap: Tayvien Ward's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Bertie over Washington County

If Bertie was riding high fresh off their 92-49 takedown of Perquimans last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Bertie Falcons took a 52-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Washington County Panthers on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 305th, while the Panthers are ranked 113th).

Tayvien Ward

Steals

02/14/25 vs Washington County	5
01/14/25 vs North East Carolina Prep	5
02/11/25 @ Perquimans	4
02/01/25 @ Hertford County	4
01/03/25 vs Gates County	4
+ 10 more games

Several Falcons players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Tayvien Ward, who posted ten points and five steals. Ward is becoming a predictor of Bertie's success: when he posts at least three steals the team is 8-1 (and 3-10 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Zymiere Dempsey, who almost dropped a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.

Washington County was led to victory by Christian Phelps and Brandon Carter Jr.. Phelps dropped a double-double with 20 points and 20 rebounds, while Carter Jr. almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine boards. What's more, Phelps also posted a 75% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's achieved since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Ishawn Fuller, who scored seven points and ten rebounds.

Bertie's defeat dropped their record down to 11-11. As for Washington County, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-2.

Bertie has already played their next game, a 54-53 win against Tarboro on the 17th. As for Washington County, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 57-35 victory against Martin County on the 17th.