Scots sophomore Kam Prince (3) goes up for a layup as a Purnell Swett defender contests on Jan.22,2026.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — “This game hurt me more than any of them this season.” The pain of the loss was evident in head coach Jarvis Cobb’s words. After being down for the majority of the game against the Purnell Swett Rams, the Fighting Scots efforts in the fourth quarter came up just short after a 56-54 defeat on Thursday.
Cobb was emotional after the game, to say the least and was short for comments after the defeat.
“Missed layups and free throws plagued us. I tell them everyday in practice, if we don’t make those we are going to lose games we should win,” Cobb said.
“We must value every possession, and that didn’t happen. That’s the reason the outcome was the way it was—too many turnovers and not capitalizing.”
Scotland carried momentum after a buzzer-beater from sophomore Bryson Crosland that made the score 45-37 going into the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Scots held the Rams to just eight points and put themselves in prime position to either tie or take the lead with 18.6 seconds left and the score 53-51.
With a chance to tie the score, senior Zaymon Gibson missed on a layup that would have evened the score at 53-53. Late free throws down the stretch and the Scots not getting a shot off before the buzzer sounded sealed the win for the Rams.
“Great job of battling back to give us a chance to win,” Cobb said. “But we have to learn once we put ourselves in a position to win, we finish it.”
Scotland now sits at 8-8 and will look to bounce back in a rematch at home versus the Lumberton Pirates on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Travis Petty Jr can be reached at [email protected] or 910.506.3171 ext 2027. Follow him on Facebook @Travis Petty Jr.