Simmons to return to Havelock lineup tonight

Trey Simmons is back.

Havelock’s top scorer will make his return tonight against Jacksonville. Simmons spent the previous two weeks recovering from a severe concussion, which occurred in a Jan. 21 game against New Bern. He was treated and released from CarolinaEast Medical Center that night.

“I plan on starting him,” Havelock coach Bill Fryczynski said. “At practice (Thursday), he was fine. He’s ready to go. He was ready to go several days ago.”

Simmons was averaging more than 15 points per game before the injury. In his absence, the Rams (8-10, 6-5 Coastal Conference) were 3-1, with their only loss coming against the 3A’s top-ranked team, South Central. The Rams are in the middle of a battle for a playoff spot.  

Havelock trailed by 10 points, 30-20, at halftime before storming back in the second half to beat Washington, 60-58, Wednesday.  

“In the third quarter, we just blitzed them,” Fryczynski said. “We outscored them by 12 points and held on.”

Senior center Tavarion Horne led the Rams with 14 points against the Pam Pack, while junior forward Taj Abdul-Kaudeyr scored 13 and junior forward David Layne added nine points.

Raheem Moss and Justin Godette hit key free throws down the stretch.

The Cardinals (15-6, 9-2) are in a two-horse race with South Central for the conference title. They’re led by senior sharpshooter Steven Williams and 6-foot-5 forward Deon Boyce, who had 16 points and seven rebounds in Jacksonville’s 69-47 loss to South Central on Jan. 26.

The Rams lost to the Cardinals by 20 points in their first meeting on Jan. 6 in Jacksonville.

“They’re quick and they’re a transition team,” Fryczynski said. “They’re really hard to keep up with. I would say they’re South Central-like. They’re not quite as big and long.” 

The junior varsity girls begin the night of basketball at 4 p.m., followed by the junior varsity boys, varsity girls and then the varsity boys game.