Curie's 'D' too tough for Robeson

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The last time Curie played Robeson, Jeremy Price and Dennis Hodges were on the bench.

Back in action for Wednesday's Public League second-round game at Curie, they definitely made their presence felt.

Price and Hodges helped spearhead a ferocious defensive effort that carried the Condors into Sunday's city quarterfinals with a 60-39 victory over Robeson.

Curie (18-7), which dropped that earlier meeting 56-52 at Robeson, put this one away early. The Raiders (12-10) shot 10 percent from the floor in the first half (2-for-20) and went almost 15 minutes without a basket from late in the first quarter till near the end of the third.

"We just wanted to get the ball up the court, play good 'D,'" said Price, who sat out a one-game suspension in the first Robeson game. "Our coach (Mike Oliver) told us that if we play defense well, the offense will come, too."

Curie never trailed and led 14-6 after Robeson's LaShane Purdy drove the lane for a layup with 1:20 left in the first quarter. Robeson's next basket, on a drive by Keonte Ford, made it 43-12 Curie at 2:36 of the third period.

"Everybody stuck to the game plan," Oliver said. "What we wanted to do was make them shoot over us. The kids were really disciplined on defense."

Price finished with a team-high 10 points and five rebounds. Hodges, who missed the teams' first meeting with a finger injury, contributed contributed seven points, seven rebounds and two steals.

"We wanted our revenge from the last loss so we came out extra strong, extra hard," Price said.

Purdy paced Robeson with 19 points (13 in the fourth quarter) and six steals.