By DAN BISER

The Whiteville Wolfpack went on an 11-2 run in the final three minutes of the first quarter and controlled the tempo the rest of the way in defeating county rival South Columbus 78-41 in a Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference basketball game at the WHS gym.

In the girls game, unbeaten Whiteville came away with a 45-38 win over the Lady Stallions.

Coach Glenn McKoy’s Whiteville boys squad shook of the effects of their 67-66 final-second home loss to league-leading East Columbus last week by jumping to a 7-0 lead and holding a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

South Columbus tried to stay in striking distance in the second quarter as Whiteville held a 33-22 halftime lead.

Whiteville opened the second half with a 10-2 run and South Columbus never got closer than 17 points. The Wolfpack opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run.

Senior guard Marcel Williams scored 21 WHS points, including five 3-point goals. Senior center D.J. Anders came off the bench to score 12 points and junior forward Akebulon “Keke” Reeves had 10 points.

Whiteville, which lost the services of sophomore starting center Nur Abdullah to a shoulder injury during Saturday’s practice, improved to 4-3 in conference and 8-7 overall. The result gave Coach McKoy his 530th career victory.

“Two years ago, we were 7-7 and then won 10 of our next 12 games,” McKoy said. “Hopefully, we’re starting to turn things around a little this time.”

South Columbus suffered its third straight loss to fall to 3-4 in conference and 6-7 for the season. Backup center Greg “Beast” Elleby, who will sign next week to play football at the University of North Carolina, led Stallion scorers with nine points.

SCHS coach Nathan Faulk said that his Stallions have been plagued by turnovers and poor shooting over the past two weeks.

“We can’t let up,” he said. “We’ve got to get better. We’re much more capable than what we’ve shown lately.”

The Whiteville girls held a 27-17 halftime lead as they moved to 7-0 in conference and 15-0 overall. Shannon McCallum lead Coach Keith Jordan’s Lady Wolfpack with 13 points and Paige McCallum had 10.

Leading scorers for Coach Brett Burroughs’ South Columbus teams were Web Graham with 10 points and Amanda Dowe and Lisa Holden with nine each. The SCHS girls slipped to 2-5 in conference and 3-10 overall.

GIRLS GAME

SOUTH COLUMBUS (45): Strickland 4, Graham 11, Long 2, Dowe 9, Holden 9, Tisdale 1.

WHITEVILLE (38): Smith 3, G. Williams 2, Faison 5, S. McCallum 13, Geathers 1, Ke. Jordan 6, P. McCallum 10, Shaw 1, Burroughs 2.

BOYS GAME

SOUTH COLUMBUS (41): Batton 2, Edwards 1, Ward 2, Lanier 3, D. Vereen 4, Clay 8, Ransom 2, Elleby 9, Keel 4, Fipps 6.

WHITEVILLE (78): Williams 21, Grant 6, Reeves 10, Roland 4, Jordan 9, Shipman 3, Mahoney 5, Royal 8, Anders 12.