Goldsboro girls hand Kinston first loss in Brandon Ingram Invitational opener

KINSTON — Goldsboro walked into one of the toughest environments in Eastern North Carolina on Friday night and walked out with a statement win in Game 1 of the Brandon Ingram Invitational at Kinston High School.

The Cougars defeated Kinston 54-36, handing the Vikings their first loss of the season and snapping a rivalry drought that dated back years. Goldsboro improved to 12-2, while Kinston fell to 11-1. It marked Goldsboro’s first win over Kinston since 2018 and only the program’s second victory against the Vikings in the past 25 years.

Kinston came out sharp, taking a 10-7 lead early after a three-pointer from Aleah Hill. The game was physical and competitive from the opening tip, with both teams understanding what was at stake. Midway through the second quarter, Goldsboro began turning defense into offense, pulling ahead 21-19 before carrying a 22-19 advantage into halftime.

Goldsboro took control coming out of the break.

Imari Buckom opened the third quarter with a corner three to extend the lead to 29-22, igniting a decisive 13-0 run. A blocked shot led to another Buckom basket as the Cougars pushed the margin to 39-22 late in the third quarter. Kinston’s Kiarah Pearson came off the bench to knock down a three to close the quarter, but Goldsboro still held a commanding 42-25 lead heading into the fourth.

The final quarter belonged entirely to the Cougars, who continued to apply pressure and pull away down the stretch.

Goldsboro and Kinston entered the matchup ranked first and second in the 3A RPI, with Kinston holding the top spot coming into the night.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into a tough Kinston environment,” Goldsboro head coach Khadijah Bryant said. “For us to come in, Kinston put up a really good fight. They are a tough team. To watch our girls put up that fight and stick to the game plan, it was really good to see.”

Senior post Aziyah Boyer was named game MVP after anchoring both ends of the floor.

“Since I’ve been here, my job has been to put the ball in the basket and defend our basket, and I just did my job,” Boyer said.

Despite the loss, Kinston head coach Chris Bradshaw viewed the game as a valuable early-season test.

“I circled two games on our calendar before the season started — the Goldsboro game and the New Hanover game,” Bradshaw said. “I thought those were going to be tough games that were going to make us get into ourselves and figure out what we are going to do as a basketball team.

“I’m glad to catch games like that early in the season, because if players don’t lose games, they don’t know how to feel when they lose. When adversity hits now, they understand when they come back to practice Monday what they need to do to get better.”

Kinston will look to bounce back when it travels to North Lenoir on Jan. 20.