Friday night’s boys’ basketball game at James Moore gym between Southern High School of Durham and Pinecrest was a tale of two halves.

The cold, cold shooting Spartans scored only two points in the first quarter and trailed the home team 29-20 at halftime before warming up. Too many turnovers also played a part as the Patriots faltered in the fourth quarter, falling to 1-4 with a 65-56 defeat.

Adam Cummings was four for six from beyond the arc and led the Pats with 16 points. Traivon Williams scored 14 and Justin Ray added 11. Reggie Prince led the visitors with 15.

Two quick baskets by Williams got the Pats off to a 4-0 start. A tip-in by the senior made it 12-2 early in the second period. An old-fashioned three-point play by Ray, and back-to-back threes by Cummings, helped take them to the intermission with the nine-point advantage.

Jermaine Martin and Brendan Ortiz each scored two baskets for the Pats to help offset a 23-point, Prince-led third period by the Spartans that closed the gap to 47-43. Through three quarters, the Patriots had made 21 of 38 shots from the field (55 percent), lessening the impact of 23 turnovers.

With just over six minutes remaining in the game, Martin fed Cummings for a three that made it 51-47. The Pats would make only one more basket the rest of the way, but the looseness with the basketball continued. A dunk in transition by Prince early in a decisive 11-0 run gave the Spartans their first lead of the game at 52-51 with 5:05 remaining.

The visitors, now 2-1, outscored the home team 45-27 in the second half. The Patriots are scheduled to travel to Jack Britt on Tuesday.

Box Score

Southern: Belcher 4 0-0 8, Collins 5 2-4 12, Prince 7 0-0 15, Gaddy 0 2-2 2, Mann 0 1-2 1, Hamilton 4 0-0 11, Cameron 1 2-2 4, Riley 6 0-1 12 Totals 27 7-11 65.

Pinecrest: Martin 2 0-0 4, Ray 3 5-9 11, Ortiz 3 0-0 6, Cummings 6 0-0 16, Painter 0 1-2 1, Williams 7 0-1 14, Brower 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, McCrimmon 0 0-0 0, Barnes 2 0-0 4, Liles 0 0-0 0, McGriff 0 0-0 0 Totals 23 6-12 56.

Three-point goals: (S) 4 (Hamilton 3, Prince); (P) 4 (Cummings 4)

Girls Fall in Durham

Another strong defensive performance was not enough as the Pinecrest girls’ basketball team dropped a 43-26 decision at Southern High School in Durham Friday night.

The Patriots (3-2) limited the Spartans (3-0) to just 13 field goals in 44 attempts (29.5 percent), but couldn’t muster up enough offense of their own. They trailed 22-16 at halftime before being outscored 11-4 in the third quarter.

Felicia Painter led the Pats with eight points. Janea Williams contributed six points and 11 rebounds. They travel to Jack Britt for a 6 p.m. tip-off Tuesday.

Southern Defeats Jayvees

The Pinecrest boys’ junior varsity basketball team came from 14 points behind to briefly take the lead in the third quarter before falling 57-51 to Southern High School of Durham Friday night.

Troubled by the full-court trapping defense of the visitors, the Patriots trailed 23-9 midway through the second period. They broke the pressure for a basket by Jamaan Calhoun to spark a rally. Later, two quick steals by the Pats led to baskets by Mack Kropp and Ben Williams, cutting the gap to 27-20.

In the final two minutes of the half, a baseline drive by Kropp, a steal and a layup, and then a pair of free throws by Calhoun, cut the deficit to 27-26 at the intermission. Kropp scored again on the first possession of the second half to give the Pats their first lead of the game.

The home team led for the final time at 30-29 after Kropp fed Tyler Coe inside for two points. The Spartans responded with a 6-0 run and led 48-40 before the Pats made one more bid to complete the comeback.

Trevon Wooten turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play to get it started. Trailing 54-51 with 35 seconds remaining, a potential tying three-point attempt by Wooten bounced off the front rim.

Wooten led the Patriots, now 2-3, with 14 points. Calhoun added 11 and Jaquell Kelly and Kropp contributed nine and eight points, respectively.