AHOSKIE – Hertford County rolled to victory number nine.

The Bears topped non-conference rival E.T. Beddingfield 68-56 Wednesday night and in so doing improved to 9-2 for the season.

“We came out focused in the second half,” HCHS Head Coach Charles Simmons said. “I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight.”

The Bears were clinging to a three-point advantage (34-31) at the intermission, but pulled away in the third quarter.

Lamar Monger, who had 17 points for the night, started the second half with a bucket that was followed by a Deshawn Outlaw hoop.

Beddingfield answered, however, with a 5-0 run led by four points from Ken Spells that closed the gap to two (38-36).

Hertford County’s Antonio Vaughan, who had a game-high 21 points, buried a triple that sparked an 8-2 spurt which gave HCHS a more comfortable advantage.

After Vaughan’s triple, Marcus Burnell scored a hoop and Vaughan and Outlaw each scored from behind the arc as Hertford County pulled out to a 54-43 lead by the end of the third quarter.

HCHS led by 12 (60-48) with six minutes to play in the contest and maintained that lead throughout the final minutes. During the final run, Simmons was happy with the way his team played.

“We did a good job of protecting the basketball down the stretch,” Simmons said.

The teams exchanged scores early, recording four ties in the opening quarter of play until the Bears had back-to-back hoops from Outlaw to take a 16-12 advantage.

The Bruins responded with a triple from Delton Ford and a bucket by Spells to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The advantage went to three (19-16) after a Brandon Braswell hoop and got as high as seven (27-20) when Dequan Langston hit a triple, a deuce and a free throw.

The Bears, however, came back to score the next six points and eventually tied the contest on Vaughan’s three-pointer. He added another triple just before the intermission to establish the 34-31 halftime lead.

In addition to Vaughan’s 21 points, Monger had 17 and Outlaw added 15. Jamal Jones had nine points.

HCHS will be at home tonight (Saturday) when they welcome non-league foe Nash Central.

HCHS (68): Antonio Vaughan – 21, Lamar Monger – 17, Deshawn Outlaw – 15, Jamal Jones – 9, Marcus Burnell – 4, Jordan Jones – 2

Beddingfield (56): Terry Davis – 15, Delton Ford – 9, Jumal Rolle – 7, Dequan Langston – 6, Ken Spells – 6, Terrell Winstead – 5, Dahnique Eddie – 4, Quashawn Smith – 2, Brandon Braswell – 2