Yellow Jackets Pick Up Huge Carolina Pines 6A Road Win at Harnett Central 66-64

Lee County used a put-back basket by MJ Sanders with 2.3 seconds to play to complete a late comeback and get past Harnett Central 66-64 in a key Carolina Pines 6A matchup Friday night. Lee County entered the game at 7-2 in conference play – one game behind the 8-1 Trojans – and erased a 10-point deficit (56-46) with 3:27 to play, outscoring the Trojans 20-8 to win a key matchup on the road. Lee County lost in similar fashion to Harnett Central in mid-January at home, squandering an 8-point lead in the final 3 minutes to lose in a thriller 70-66.

But this time the comeback belonged to the Yellow Jackets. Treyce Peace hit a huge 3 at the 2:56 mark to get Lee County within 5 at 59-54. Freshman BJ Brown would get the Yellow Jackets within 3 with a lay-up at 1:44 and Sanders would add a free throw seconds later to get Lee County within two at 59-57. A Trojan basket would push to lead to four at 61-57 before a Nick Farrow basket with 1:02 remaining to get Lee County back within 2 at 61-59. Another BJ Brown steal and lay-up would put Lee County up 62-61. Harnett Central would regain the lead at 64-62 before an Adam McLean layup tied the score at 64 apiece. Lee County would get the ball back on the final possession with an opportunity to win and Sanders would put back a Yellow Jacket miss for the final margin.

Lee County and Harnett Central are now knotted at 8-2 in league play – a half game behind 8-1 West Johnston. West Johnston and Harnett Central still have a game left on the schedule with all teams set to complete the 14-game conference schedule over the next two weeks.

Games remaining

Lee County – @ Union Pines, vs. Southern Lee, vs. Union Pines, vs. South Johnston

Harnett Central – @ Southern Lee, vs. Triton, vs. Union Pines, @ West Johnston

West Johnston – @ Union Pines, @ Western Harnett, vs. South Johnston, vs. Harnett Central, vs. Southern Lee

Standings

West Johnston 8-1

Lee County 8-2

Harnett Central 8-2

Southern Lee 5-4

Union Pines 4-4

Triton 4-7

Western Harnett 2-10

South Johnston 1-10

Remaining WFJA Broadcast Schedule – Listen in on WFJA 105.5 FM or stream on the WFJA website

Feb 10 – Harnett Central @ Southern Lee 8:00

Feb 13 – Southern Lee @ Lee County 7:30

Feb 17 – Union Pines at Lee County 7:30

Feb 19 – South Johnston @ Lee County 7:30