Jan 22

Jan 22 Kinston girls surge past Farmville Central, boys fall short in heavyweight showdown

Kinston girls surge past Farmville Central, boys fall short in heavyweight showdown

Kinston and Farmville Central split an Eastern Plains Conference doubleheader Tuesday night, with the Vikings’ girls pulling away for a convincing win before the Jaguars’ boys held off a late Kinston rally to remain unbeaten.

Girls: Kinston 65, Farmville Central 41

Kinston’s girls returned to conference play in strong fashion, defeating Farmville Central 65-41 to move to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in Eastern Plains action.

It marked Kinston’s first game since its loss to Goldsboro on Saturday at the Brandon Ingram Invitational. The victory was also Kinston’s second win this season over Farmville Central, snapping the Jaguars’ previous four-game winning streak. Since 2010, Kinston now holds a 12-4 series advantage.

Farmville Central kept the game competitive early, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and nine points in each of the second and third quarters before adding 13 in the fourth.

Kinston led 12-10 after the first quarter and took a 25-19 advantage into halftime. The Vikings then took control of the game by exploding for 26 points in the third quarter before closing with 14 points in the fourth.

Aleah Hill led all scorers with 19 points for Kinston. America Lloyd added 14 points, going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. J’Riyana Edwards finished with 12 points, and Nashayla Mason contributed 11.

Farmville Central was led by Kaiden Joyner and Paris Davis, who each scored 14 points.

Kinston will host Beddingfield on Friday.

Kinston sits atop the Eastern Plains girls standings at 3-0 in conference play. Farmville Central and Greene Central are tied behind them at 2-1.

Girls records

Kinston: 13-1 overall, 3-0 conference
Farmville Central: 10-5 overall, 2-1 conference

Boys: Farmville Central 64, Kinston 60

In a matchup of the top two teams in 3A, Farmville Central held off Kinston 64-60 at home to improve to 17-0 on the season. Kinston dropped to 10-2.

Farmville Central took a 15-14 lead after the first quarter behind Bryant Dixon, who scored 10 points in the opening period. Kinston answered in the second quarter as Keyshawn Herring scored 12 points, but Farmville still carried a 35-31 lead into halftime.

The Jaguars extended their advantage in the third quarter by outscoring Kinston 17-14. Farmville then pushed the lead to 12 points in the fourth quarter before Kinston mounted a late rally, cutting the deficit to two points with under a minute remaining. The Vikings, however, could not complete the comeback.

Herring led all scorers with 24 points for Kinston. Jhayeir Koonce finished with 10 points, Brennan Chambers added nine, and Jamarion Washington scored seven.

Dixon led Farmville Central with 19 points, while Jordan James chipped in 11.

The win continued Farmville Central’s dominance at home. Since 2018, the Jaguars are 101-1 on their home floor. They have also won seven straight games, home and away, against Kinston. Since 2010, the series between the two programs is tied 7-7.

The teams will meet again Feb. 6 at Kinston.

Farmville Central leads the Eastern Plains boys standings at 3-0 in conference play, followed by Kinston and Greene Central at 2-1.

Boys records