It was a good run, but the Washington County Panthers unfortunately witnessed the end of their 15-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell just short of North Edgecombe by a score of 73-71. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Thursday (63), Washington County still had to take the loss.
Washington County's loss came despite strong showings from Brandon Carter Jr. and Amari Chesson. Carter Jr. dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds, while Chesson dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. Chesson continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Ke'Vontae Lucas was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
Even though they lost, Washington County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Edgecombe only pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.
Leading North Edgecombe to victory were Dontrevious Whitaker and Jahmir Parker. Whitaker dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Parker dropped a double-double on 21 points and 14 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Parker has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Alijah Felder, who scored 12 points along with three steals.
Washington County's defeat ended a eight-game streak of away wins and brought them to 15-1. As for North Edgecombe, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 14-4.
Washington County will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against North East Carolina Prep at 5:30 p.m. North East Carolina Prep is coming into the matchup with seven straight defeats on the road, meaning Washington County will have to defend against a squad hungry for a win. As for North Edgecombe, they and Southeast Halifax will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in North Edgecombe's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
