Senior night didn’t quite pan out for the Pineville boys basketball team on Thursday. Two days removed from earning a seven-point victory over Red Bird and ending a 10-game skid, the Mountain Lions had no answer for Williamsburg as they lost to the Yellow Jackets 65-49.

Pineville kept the deficit in single digits through the first quarter, but they never trailed by less than double figures from the second quarter forward. Williamsburg’s largest lead reached 24 points.

“Nick Napier has done a great job with those kids at Williamsburg. They play extremely hard. They got a lot of basketball sense,” said Pineville coach JD Strange. “Williamsburg is very physical.

“What our kids got to understand for us to be able to compete better and have an opportunity to have more success, we’re going to have to spend a lot of time in the weight room. We’ve got to get stronger. We can’t use youth as an excuse because we’ve played 25 games. We’ve got 25 games of experience under our belt, so we’ve got to get stronger and smarter.”

Senior Josh Lawson finished the game with six points on two field goals and two free throws. Marcus Estep added three points on three free throws.

“It was a great night to pay tribute to our seniors — Josh Lawson and Marcus Estep. They are really great kids and great human beings,” said Strange. “It’s been an honor to be a part of their lives in basketball.”

Ben Goodin paced the team in scoring with 13 points on five field goals. Braxton Caldwell added six points to the scoreboard, while Landon Couch and Chris Saylor chipped in five points apiece.

Jeremy Purdie led the way for Williamsburg finishing with a game-high 17 points. Stohn Hunter scored 13 points, and Slaht Hunter chipped in 11 points.

Pineville kept the game within reaching distance in the first quarter. The Lions grabbed a 5-2 lead after a layup from Goodin and a 3-pointer from Caldwell.

Consecutive free throws from Williamsburg gave the Jackets a one-point lead before a Couch basket return the lead to Pineville, 7-6. After the basket, Williamsburg went on a 12-0 run that gave the Jackets an 18-7 lead.

Goodin ended the period with a layup that cut the deficit to 18-9 at the end of one.

The Jackets took over the game in the second quarter. Williamsburg never trailed by less than double digits after opening the frame with an 11-0 run. An Alec Poore 3-pointer capped the run with the Jackets taking a 29-9 lead.

A jumper by Matt Golden narrowed the deficit to 29-11 and ended a scoring drought for Pineville. After swapping baskets, Goodin converted an and-1 to cut the lead to 16. A free throw from Saylor brought the deficit to 33-18.

A layup from Lawson ended the half with Pineville trailing 37-23.

The Yellow Jackets outscored the Lions 28-26 in the second half to claim the 16-point victory.

Up Next

Pineville (5-20) ends the regular season with a home game against Bell County (16-10) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Williamsburg (14-15) will open the 50th District Tournament against South Laurel (19-7) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Corbin.

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Williamsburg 65, Pineville 49

WILLIAMSBURG (14-15)

Toby Cunningham 2 4-4 9, Caleb Rose 4 2-2 10, Slaht Hunter 3 4-4 11, Stohn Hunter 5 3-4 13, Jeremy Purdie 5 7-7 17, Alec Poore 2 0-0 5. Totals: 21 20-21 65.

PINEVILLE (5-20)

Josh Lawson 2 2-2 6, Braxton Caldwell 2 1-2 6, Ben Goodin 5 2-2 13, Marcus Estep 0 3-4 3, Landon Couch 1 3-4 5, Clay Goodin 1 0-0 2, Hayden Callebs 0 1-2 1, Matt Golden 2 0-0 4, Reed Baker 1 1-1 3, Chris Saylor 1 3-4 5, Leevi Hunter 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15 17-23 49.

Williamsburg 18 19 16 12 — 65

Pineville 9 14 13 13 — 49

3-point goals: Williamsburg 3 (Cunningham 1, Sl. Hunter 1, Poore 1), Pineville 2 (Caldwell 1, B. Goodin 1).

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN