Immediately after Tuesday's 47-44 victory over Union Pines, the North Moore girl's basketball players sprinted to the locker room to make a phone call.

Head coach Sammy McNeill, in Philadelphia for an annual eye exam, learned of his team's upset victory in a consolation game of The Pilot Cup.

Later, North Moore defeated O'Neal 52-39 in the boys' consolation contest.

"He was pretty excited," said Mustang point guard Allison Braswell, who went nine for 10 at the free-throw line in the last quarter to help turn away a Viking comeback. "I was just glad they (Vikings) were putting me at the line."

The 5-foot-4 senior finished the game with 18 points, including a 12-for-13 night at the charity stripe. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, nine of them in the first half.

Leading 19-18 at halftime, Braswell and Miranda Love sparked a 14-2 run that gave the Mustangs a 33-20 lead late in the third period.

"We just tried to run the plays -- a lot of backdoor cuts -- kept them guessing," Braswell said. "We got ahead and started getting some momentum. We wanted to win more than they did."

The Vikings got back into the game with their reserves on the floor. After a basket by Torianna Baldwin made it 35-31, Viking coach Henry Douglas put his starters back in.

Moments later, a three by Courtney Sauer put them in front 40-39.

The lead changed hands several times before the teams entered the final minute of the game tied at 43-43.

Both teams turned the ball over, and the Vikings missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities before Braswell was fouled near mid-court with 19.2 seconds left in the game.

She made both for a 45-43 Mustang lead. Sauer made one of two at the line at the 11.2 mark before Braswell sank two more with 7.8 seconds on the clock for a three-point Mustang lead. A desperation three by the Vikings' Lindsay Cameron was off the mark as time expired.

Coupled with Monday's victory over Faith Christian, the Mustangs are 2-1 after winning only one game all last season.

"We were planning on winning a lot more than one game this year," said acting coach Mark Braswell. "We knew we were better with a lot of people back. We expected to have a chance to win and were disappointed, losing on Saturday (first round to Pinecrest)."

For Union Pines (0-2) it was their second loss in a row where it held a one-point lead inside the last two minutes. The two teams are scheduled to meet again next Tuesday at North Moore.

"We put them on the free-throw line a lot and they're a good free-throw shooting team," Douglas said. "We have to go back and look at things, and try to get back on the right track."

Afterward, North Moore Principal Mike Tylavsky was in a playful mood, concerning the absence of McNeill, the second-year coach of the Mustangs.

"We won one game last year and now we're 2-0 without him," he said. "I'm thinking of telling him we won't be needing his services any more."

The improving O'Neal boys (0-3) cut an 11-point North Moore lead to five at 36-31 late in the third quarter on a basket by Devin Muldoon.

A few minutes later, a trey by Ryan Chisholm and a three-point play by Jerome Maness upped the lead to 45-33.

Maness led the Mustangs (2-1) with 15 points, while Ray Morganstern topped the Falcons with 20.

Girls' Consolation Game

North Moore 7 11 17 12 -- 47

Union Pines 10 9 10 15 -- 44

North Moore -- Braswell 3 12-13 18, Love 3 2-4 8, Harper 3 1-2 7, Monroe 3 1-2 8, Covington 2 0-0 5, Chandler 0 1-2 1, Barrett 0 0-0 0, Powers 0 0-0 0, Owens 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 14 17-23 47.

Union Pines -- Sauer 3 2-4 9, Cameron 2 0-0 4, Thurlow 2 0-0 4, Wilborn 2 3-5 7, Dowdy 0 0-0 0, Shiflett 2 1-2 5, Bridges 1 0-0 2, Baldwin 1 2-2 4, Fairley 2 1-1 5, Clendenin 1 2-2 4. Totals -- 16 11-16 44.

Three-point goals: North Moore 2 (Covington, Monroe); Union Pines 1 (Sauer).

Boys' Consolation Game

O'Neal 9 10 12 8 -- 39

North Moore 14 16 7 15 -- 52

O'Neal -- Clark 1 3-4 5, Davis 0 0-0 0, McGowan 1 2-2 4, Morganstern 7 4-4 20, Ross 0 0-3 0, Cutler 0 0-0 0, Neal 0 3-4 0, Richardson 0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Muldoon 2 0-0 4, Howe 0 1-2 1, Tribble 0 0-0 0, Alston 0 1-2 1, Baxter 0 1-2 1. Totals -- 11 15-23 39.

North Moore -- M. Brower 2 0-0 4, Chisholm 1 2-3 5, Chesney 0 0-0 0, Purvis 2 0-0 5, Maness 4 6-7 15, Simmons 3 1-3 7, Barrett 0 3-4 3, R. Brower 2 0-3 4, T. Brower 1 0-1 2, Thomas 1 0-0 3, Ross 1 0-0 2, Chandler 1 0-1 2. Totals -- 18 12-22 52.

Three-point goals: O'Neal 2 (Morganstern 2); North Moore 4 (Chisholm, Thomas, Purvis, Maness).