The Pinecrest boys rode the wave of a strong finish against Scotland County on Tuesday to a 17-8 lead at the end of one quarter on Friday against Purnell Swett.

The Patriots were rolling even without the services of their strongest inside player Traivon Williams, who injured an ankle in the win over the Scots. Then something happened.

“We got in foul trouble,” Patriot coach Andrew Lacey said. “Traivon was out tonight, but I’m not harping on that because no one kid makes a team. But we were thin at the post inside. Once we got in foul trouble we didn’t have a body inside big enough to defend so that hurt us.”

The Rams closed to within two points at halftime, with Patriot inside players Greg Barnes, Frankie Painter and Chyshad McGriff all limited in their time on the court by fouls. Mitchell Hill, James Chavis and Tyrell McDonald inflicted most of the damage as the Rams dominated in the paint and went on to defeat the Pats on their home floor 68-61.

Adam Cummings and Justin Ray led the Patriots, now 6-11 overall, and 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference, with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Hill topped the 10-4 and 2-1 Rams with 19. The Patriots are idle until next Friday when they entertain Richmond Senior.

Enjoying a lot of success driving down the lane, Ray laid one in for an early 6-2 lead. Later the junior swingman fed Barnes for two points and a 14-4 advantage. A three by Cummings made it 17-8, but points came harder for the Patriots after that and much easier for the Rams.

Hill muscled his way to eight points in the second period, as the Rams closed the gap to 29-27 at the intermission.

“We made do and went into halftime up,” Lacey said. “In the second half they went on a scoring spurt and we got in more foul trouble. We never really got in sync.”

The Rams took a 30-29 lead on a three by Juwon Jones. The Pats led briefly at 40-39 after a drive for two by Brendan Ortiz, but McDonald answered with a three-point play inside and the visitors never trailed again.

The Pats were behind by as many as five points before a steal by McGriff led to a pair of free throws by Cummings, who was 10-for-11 from the line in the game. McGriff then drove the baseline for a basket that cut the deficit to 53-52 at the 4:30 mark of the fourth period.

Both teams traded turnovers before, McGriff, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, was whistled for a foul and then picked up a technical. The Rams converted all four of the free throws they were awarded to take a 57-52 lead with 3:50 remaining.

Things really got frustrating for the home team after it pulled back to within one on a steal and a basket by Cummings. Missed free throws, and an agonizing series of missed put-back attempts, were followed by three baskets in a row by Chavis to sew up a precious conference road victory for the Rams.

“You’ve got to defend your backyard,” Lacey said. “The kids didn’t play smart at all times, but they battled to the end.”

Purnell Swett 10 17 17 24 — 68

Pinecrest 17 12 14 18 — 61

Purnell Swett: Harrington 1 1-2 3, Hill 7 5-8 19, Jones 4 5-6 14, Chavis 7 2-2 17, McDonald 4 2-3 10, Gillespie 1 0-0 2, Piplan 0 3-4 3, Martin 0 0-2 0 Totals 24 18-27 68.

Pinecrest: Ray 5 4-6 14, Ortiz 3 0-3 6, Cummings 4 10-11 19, Barnes 3 2-3 8,Painter 3 0-0 6, Martin-Calhoun 0 0-0 0, Brower 0 0-0 0, Ragin 0 0-0 0, Liles 1 0-0 2, McGriff 3 0-1 6, Fields 0 0-0 0 Totals 22 16-24 61.

Three-point goals: (PS) 2 (Jones, Chavis); (PC) 1 (Cummings).