The Pinecrest boys were punished inside by Hoke County big men Tarique Thompson and Rashad Parker early and often Friday evening in Raeford.

Late in the first half, and into the third period, the two-time Southeastern Conference champion Bucks then blew the game wide open with a barrage of threes. The final result was an 83-54 loss for the Patriots.

The third place in the league Patriots (14-9 overall, 5-5 league) meet last-place Purnell Swett (4-17, 1-9) in Monday’s 7 p.m. opening-round game of the conference tournament. The winner will face Richmond Senior, the second seed, in Rockingham on Wednesday.

The Patriots stayed close with their sticky defense until about midway through the first period when the 6-foot-5 Thompson and 6-8 Parker began making their presence felt in the paint. The pair combined to score 22 of the points as the Bucks burst out to a 30-17 lead.

Closer to halftime, a three by the Patriots’ Jamaan Calhoun closed the gap to 32-24, but two in a row from behind the arc by the Bucks’ Juwane Harris made it 38-24 at the intermission.

Aided by two threes from KeShawn Shaw-Willis and one by Brennen Wright, the Bucks stretched the margin to 52-30 on the way to a 28-point third period.

Led by Adam Cummings with four treys on six attempts, accounting for all 12 of his team-high 12 points, the Patriots were 10-for-20 on shots from beyond the arc. The nine points scored by Calhoun came on three treys in four attempts.

Thompson led the winners on senior night with 23 points. Parker finished with nine. In a Friday evening upset, Scotland High defeated Richmond 48-47.

The final SEC regular season standings: Hoke 10-0, Richmond 7-3, Pinecrest 5-5, Lumberton 4-6, Scotland 3-7 and Purnell Swett 1-9.

Pinecrest 11 13 14 16 — 54

Hoke County 19 19 28 17 — 83

Pinecrest: Ray 4 0-3 8, Brower 1 0-0 3, Ortiz 1 0-0 3, Cummings 4 0-0 12, Wooten 3 0-2 6, Martin-Calhoun 0 0-0 0, Calhoun 3 0-0 9, Winter-McRae 0 3-4 3, Ragin 1 0-0 2, Justice 2 1-2 6, Kropp 0 0-0 0, Painter 1 0-0 2, Ivey 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-11 54.

Hoke: Blue 3 0-0 6, Harris 3 2-2 10, Jones 1 0-0 2, Wright 2 0-0 5, Shaw-Willis 4 0-0 11, Parker 3 3-4 9, Thompson 10 3-5 23, Delbrige 2 0-0 4, Williams 2 0-0 4, Book 4 1-4 9. Totals 34 9-15 83.

Three-point goals: P 10 (Cummings 4, Calhoun 3, Brower, Justice, Ortiz); H 6 (Shaw-Willis 3, Harris 2, Wright).