NEWBERN &045; The John Essex Hornets held their own last night in the first round of the boys 1A Area 6 against the Maplesville Red Devils. John Essex couldn’t hold long enough as Maplesville pulled away from a close game to beat the Hornets 52-44.

John Essex hung tough against the bigger Maplesville team through out the game. Though the Red Devils led for most of the game, their largest lead prior to the fourth quarter was five points.

The game was tied six times in the first three quarters.

Maplesville held a 13-11 advantage after one quarter of play. A runner by Phillips followed by a free throw ties the game at 19 late in the second quarter. Preston Parker would get inside for a lay up to put the Hornets on top for the first time in the game, 21-19 with 1:50 left to half time. Maplesville used their offensive rebounding prowess to score five of the next seven points to take a 24-23 lead at the half.

A Rainey three-pointer would open up the second half scoring for John Essex to make the score 26-24 with the clock reading 5:34. The Red Devils would outscore the Hornets 9-2 the rest of the third quarter to move ahead 33-28.

Both teams pushed the ball in the final eight minutes as the Hornets struck first on a short jumper by Rainey. Maplesville would go on a 13-5 run to go up by 11 with 1:50 left to go in the game. Two John Essex steals and a missed shot help the Hornets get within four, but there was only 39 seconds left in the game, as the red Devils closed it out with free throws.