White Oak Pulls Away Late to Defeat New Bern, 77–57

White Oak Pulls Away Late to Defeat New Bern, 77–57

The White Oak Vikings continued to add to the win column, pulling away late for a convincing 77–57 victory over the New Bern Bears.

The Bears (14-3) started the game aggressively and finished the opening quarter with a slim 19–17 lead.

The game shifted in the second quarter as the Vikings (13-5) increased their defensive pressure and attacked the rim with purpose. A 17–5 run allowed White Oak to take control, building a double-digit advantage.

Vikings junior guard Joaliel Caraballo was a key factor during the surge, scoring six of his 19 points in the quarter as White Oak carried a 34–24 lead into halftime.

New Bern was led by senior guard Jordan Hawkins, who finished the half with 11 points but struggled to counter the Vikings’ physicality inside. White Oak’s defense held the Bears to just five points in the second quarter.

The Vikings opened the second half with momentum, as Caraballo scored early to extend the lead to 36–24. Junior guard Zarion Hobbs added four points of his own to help maintain the cushion at 40–31.

“After having a great second quarter, we knew we had to start the third quarter full of energy if we wanted to put them away,” Hobbs said.

Beyond scoring, Caraballo contributed as a facilitator and defender, tallying multiple assists and steals to help the Vikings take a 50–40 lead into the fourth quarter.

White Oak’s dominance on the boards proved to be a difference-maker throughout the game. The Vikings pushed the lead to 58–47 midway through the fourth quarter before putting the game away with a late run. Hobbs was the main catalyst behind the surge, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the final quarter.

“I started to see things open in the fourth quarter because my teammates were hitting shots, which made it hard for the defense to focus on me,” Hobbs said.

The Vikings continued to pull away down the stretch, leading 71–57 with under a minute to play before closing out the win.

White Oak will go on the road to face D.H. Conley (6-11) on Friday, Jan. 20, while New Bern will look to bounce back against Jacksonville (5-10) on Thursday, Jan. 29.