Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Zymiere Dempsey and Tayvien Ward Lead Bertie to Victory

After losing to Washington County the last time they met, Bertie decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. The Bertie Falcons walked away with a 47-37 victory over the Washington County Panthers on Tuesday. The win was all the more spectacular given the Falcons' disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 203rd, while the Panthers are ranked 86th).

Tayvien Ward

Steals

02/18/25 vs Washington County	5
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
+ 12 more games

Leading Bertie to victory were Tayvien Ward and Zymiere Dempsey. Ward went 6-for-15 on his way to 15 points in addition to five boards and five steals, while Dempsey posted 15 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Ward has become a key player for Bertie: the team is 10-1 when he posts at least three steals, but 3-10 otherwise.

Washington County's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Christian Phelps, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 16 boards, and Ishawn Fuller, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds. Phelps has been hot recently, having posted 11 or more rebounds the last four times he's played.

Bertie is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-11 record this season. Washington County moved to 18-3 with that loss, which also ended their five-game winning streak.

Bertie didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 75-54 victory against Roxboro Community on the 25th. As for Washington County, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 79-57 win against Clover Garden School on the 25th.