WELDON – A late fourth quarter time-out proved crucial as the underdog Northampton County High School – East Rams took out the top seeded Durham School of Art Bulldogs 71-60 here Wednesday night.

Despite being up by five, Rams head coach Donald Gibbs called a timeout with just a tic short of three minutes left in the game.

&uot;It was a game of runs&uot; Gibbs said.

&uot;I told the guys to get back to basics and step up their defense.&uot;.

That’s exactly what the Rams did as they forced two Bulldog turnovers to help fuel a 14-3 spurt that didn’t end until less than a minute remained in the contest.

Leading the way was Northampton-East’s Adrian Sawyer and Keon Shoulars who combined for thirteen points in the two minute run.

In a contest that saw five ties and six lead changes the final score was not nearly indicative of how close this game was.

The Rams came out hot jumping to the early 8-0 lead but found themselves up by only one at the end of the first period.

Up 14-13, the second quarter began much like the first as East came out firing scoring a quick eight points to stretch the lead to 22-13.

The Bulldogs showed why they earned the number one seed, however, as they stormed back into the game with a 13-3 run of their own to go into halftime up by one.

The third quarter began like the previous two as the Bulldogs, after scoring four quick points within a minute of the break, were held without a field goal for the remainder of the quarter.

The defensive effort paid off for the underdogs as the Rams carried a 46-36 lead going in to the final period.

&uot;I’m proud of my guys, especially my seniors&uot; Gibbs insisted.

&uot;They really stepped it up tonight&uot;.

The championship game will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Weldon.