Published: 01:06 AM, Sun Mar 07, 2010
Clinton can't stop Bullock
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
GREENVILLE - In the final seconds of the 2-A Eastern Regional final against Kinston, Clinton's fans chanted to its players, "Hold your head up.''
At that point, pride in a good season was about all the Darkhorses had left.
McDonald's All-American and North Carolina commitment Reggie Bullock led the Vikings with 29 points as Kinston routed Clinton 83-52 for the regional title.
Kinston, 26-4, advances to next week's state 2-A championship game at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. They will meet the Western winner, either West Caldwell or Smoky Mountain, for the championship.
Clinton ended the season 25-6.
Bullock didn't win the game unassisted for Kinston. Dory Hines added 20 points while Josh Benoit scored 17.
Clinton's only player in double figures was Terry Farrior with 13.
Clinton fell behind 12-4 early but rallied to trail 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.
From there, it was all Kinston. The Vikings led 41-26 at halftime and 63-39 after three quarters.
"We knew coming in it was going to be a big task,'' Clinton coach Brad Spell said. "Kinston has a fantastic team. Their athleticism is unbelieveable.''
Spell thought the Darkhorses played well in the first quarter and early in the second. "After that, things started to trickle down,'' Spell said. "They just ate us up on the boards. We knew coming in we needed to box out. We couldn't turn the ball over and get into transition points.''
Spell thanked the Clinton students and the community for the support they've given the team this season.
"We started out 0-2 in the conference and won 19 of our last 22 games,'' he said. "I'm down a little bit but I can't be more proud of these guys. We've had an awesome season.''
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.