Union Pines came away from Senior Night at South Johnston with a split in Cape Fear Valley Conference basketball action Tuesday in Four Oaks.

A shorthanded Viking girls team stumbled against the upset-minded Trojans, losing 44-42 at the buzzer. Missing senior guard Reyanna Torrence and reserve forward Brittany Saxon (both out due to illness) the Vikes trailed 22-17 at the half.

After three quarters, Union Pines had cut the Trojan lead down to 36-34, behind seven points from junior Alishia Mosley.

In the final period, she would give the Vikings a 40-38 lead after stealing the ball and sinking a basket with 2:56 on the clock. At the 1:40 mark Mosley would rebound her own miss after another steal, and bury the putback to knot the game up at 42-all.

Union Pines had the ball with less than a minute remaining and the score still tied, when an errant pass led to a turnover. From there the Trojans milked the clock, setting up an isolation play for sophomore point guard Courtney Woods. When she made her move to the basket the Viking defense collapsed around her, prompting South Johnston head coach Ronda Langdon to call a timeout with four seconds left to play.

When play resumed Woods received the inbound pass some 15 feet from the basket and released a shot up and over the outstretched hands of two Viking defenders that swished home at the buzzer giving the Trojans the thrilling upset win.

After starting the night one of five from the field, Mosley connected on her final nine shots of the game to lead all scorers with 23 points. Junior forward Melissa Snead led the Trojans with 15 points, while Woods finished with 10.

The loss was the third for Union Pines in conference play as they are now 10-3 in the conference and 17-6 overall.

In the night cap, the Union Pines boys cruised to a 58-35 victory over the Trojans.

After a slow start offensively, the Vikes maintained a high level of defense in the second quarter while also picking up the slack on offense. Union Pines outscored South Johnston 17-8 in the second period to take a 28-15 lead at intermission.

Vike leading scorer Jon Toomer picked up two early fouls in the first period and saw very limited court time in the opening 16 minutes. At the half, junior guard Justin Marshall led the Union Pines' attack with 13 points, while fellow junior backcourt mate, Eric Smith, had seven.

As the second half began Toomer picked up two quick fouls and was relegated back to the pine with just under four minutes remaining in the third period. However, Union Pines was still able to maintain a workable advantage, taking a 38-27 lead into the final quarter.

From there it was all Vikings, as Union Pines outscored the Trojans 20-8 in the final quarter to pull away for the 23-point victory. Up 43-32 midway through the fourth, the Vikes launched a 10-point run, featuring five points from Smith, that effectively put the game away with 2:26 left on the clock.

Smith led the Vikes with 14 points. Marshall, who fouled out with 6:34 left in the final quarter, finished with 13 points. Chris Henderson joined the pair in double figures, scoring 10 for Union Pines.

The Vikings are now 10-3 in CFV play and 13-10 overall, as they clinched a third-place finish in the conference.

Both teams end CFV regular-season play at home when they play Western Harnett Friday.