KINSTON– The Florala Wildcats split varsity basketball games with the Kinston Bulldogs on Tuesday night.

BOYS

FLORALA 54,

KINSTON 53

The Wildcats used a last-second 3-pointer to down the Bulldogs 54-53.

In a game that was tightly contested from the tip, the Wildcats got the last chance and made the most of the opportunity.

Florala tied the game with 51-51 with a bucket from Shaun White with 35 seconds left in the contest.

Kinston responded strong and picked up a bucket to take a 53-51 lead with 14 ticks left on the clock.

Florala called a timeout after crossing half court to set up a play for the win.

“I told them we were about to win,” Florala head coach Troy Stewart said of the final timeout. “I said we aren’t playing for overtime and so we set something up to get a 3-point shot.”

The Wildcats got the ball in bounds and nearly turned it over to Kinston, but Florala was able to kick the ball out to White up top. White fired up a 3-pointer that tickled the twine to give the Wildcats a 54-53 lead with just 5 seconds left on the clock.

“We were playing for the win at the end,” Stewart said. “Shaun really came to play tonight and he stepped up and hit a big shot at the end of the game. I told the guys that if we just stayed patient and run our stuff, that we would win.”

White led the Wildcats with 22 points.

GIRLS

KINSTON 53,

FLORALA 42

In the opening game of the night, the Lady Wildcats kept the score close, but fell to the Lady Bulldogs 53-42.

Morgan Jackson led the way for the Lady Wildcats with 27 points.