WILSON – It’s called a killer instinct.

Teams rarely naturally have it. It’s something that has to be developed.

If Hertford County High School’s varsity boys are going to be as good as they can be, it is something they will need to focus more heavily on, according to veteran boy’s basketball coach Charles Simmons.

“We lost focus in the second half,” Simmons said after his team secured a 77-71 non-conference victory over Wilson’s Beddingfield High School.

The six-point victory came after HCHS had built as much as a 15-point advantage in the first half and then allowed the Bruins to get as close as four (73-69) in the fourth quarter.

“We have to do a better job of executing and putting people away when we get them down,” the coach said.

While he was disappointed that his club let Beddingfield get back in the game, the coach was pleased that his team made their free throws down the stretch and held off the Bruins.

“We made our free throws down the stretch which was important,” he said. “It’s certainly good to be able to win a game like this on the road.”

The Bears held a comfortable 29-14 lead midway through the second quarter while visiting Beddingfield Tuesday night.

That margin came after LaMarcus “Buck” Jenkins poured in the first two baskets of the quarter and added a free throw.

Andre Lyles added another hoop and then Danny Dembry secured back-to-back buckets to close out an 11-2 spurt that gave the Bears a comfortable lead.

Bein McArie stopped the HCHS run with a three-pointer and a deuce on successive trips down the court, but Patrick Downing responded for the Bears with four consecutive points as they led 33-19.

Hertford County held a 38-24 lead at the half.

Beddingfield began chipping into the lead early in the third period when Mike Anderson scored and McArie hit three free throws to get the Bruins within 40-29.

A Jenkins free throw was followed by hoops from Lamar Monger and Lyles and another Jenkins shot from the charity stripe as HCHS went back ahead 46-29.

Beddingfield began their strongest push in the fourth quarter when McArie, who led all scorers with 29 points, hit three free throws and a bucket followed by a Sabian Locus hoop to trim the Beddingfield deficit to 58-50.

The Bruins continued to whittle the lead down, getting to within 73-69 on two McArie free throws.

After Monger’s two free throws, Mike Anderson got Beddingfield back within two again, but Marcus Burnell’s field goal sealed the win at 77-71.

The Bears will be at home tonight (Thursday) when they host non-conference foe Rocky Mount.

Hertford County (77): Lamar Monger n 24, LaMarcus Jenkins n 21, M. Burnell n 8, D. Dembry n 8, A. Lyles n 7, T. Powell n 5, P. Downing n 4

Beddingfield (71): Bein McArie n 29, Mike Anderson n 16, Sabian Locus n 12, T. Newsome n 5, J. Rolle n 4, K. Spells n 3, B. Braswell – 2