Rivalry eclipses team play as NK clashes with Charles City

Basketball rivalry games of the New Kent-Charles City variety guarantee a full house anxious to see who wins bragging rights between the two schools located just 20 minutes apart.

Coaches on both sides, however, would just as soon see the rivalry aspect watered down a bit.

New Kent won the latest renewal with an 81-63 triumph on Charles City’s floor, but what transpired left a sour taste in the mouths of both head coaches. The Jan. 7 encounter exhibited all the aspects of a playground game contrary to what is advertised as being a team sport.

“It was a win, but it was very sloppy both ways,” said New Kent coach Ed Allen. “We didn’t play well as a team and didn’t really run our offense. It was more of an individual situation than a team situation.”

Charles City coach Brenner Carter assessed the contest in similar fashion.

“I hate rivalry games,” he said. “Once that happens, the kids are out there by themselves and forget about the team.”

Both coaches complained that their opponent got too many second and third shot opportunities under the basket. Allen, meanwhile, worried about lingering effects as his team heads into the heart of a tough Bay Rivers District schedule. Especially hard to swallow was his team missing 28 shots from three-point range.

“We can’t beat good people playing like that,” he said.

Charles City kept the game close in the early going, but by the second quarter New Kent was beginning to gradually pull away. A three-point basket from Nick Sickal handed New Kent it first double-digit lead at 32-21 with 1:42 left in the first half.

“[New Kent] shot lights out,” Carter said. “We have a real lack of experience, and we have to do a better job running our offense. In the first quarter, we ran it and kept the game tight, but then things began to fall apart.”

Charles City managed just eight shots from the floor, sinking two, in the second quarter. Keeping the Panthers in the game, however, was a 14-for-19 accuracy mark at the foul stripe in the first half.

“I’ve got to give Charles City a lot of credit,” Allen said. “They did a nice job of playing hard. They’re scrappy and don’t quit, and they did a good job on the offensive boards.”

Charles City closed to within nine at 39-30 early in quarter three on Aaronde Williams’ basket off penetration in the lane. New Kent’s Adam Otey, however, bumped the lead back to a dozen with a trey and the Panthers never got closer the rest of the way.

Sickal poured in a game-high 22 points. Justin Williams finished with 14 for the Trojans, now 8-2, followed by Dorrein Akrie’s eight, Otey’s seven, six each from Donovan Gipson and Paul Kearney, Michael Owens’ five, Steven Allen’s four, Ryan Mathis’ three, and two apiece from J.B. Berkley, Kevin Chavis, and Darnell Fenton.

Williams’ 21 points topped Charles City (2-7) while Kevin Wallace tossed in 14. Trevor Jones finished with eight followed by five each from Antonio Tabb and Cetha Boone, Jared Woodley’s four, two apiece from Randall Hopkins and Cody Stewart, and one each from Kevin Braxton and Vannie Spruell.

In the JV game, E.J. Gray scored 10 of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to help lift New Kent to a 43-37 win. Charles City led 32-28 heading into the final period.

New Kent got five points each from Anthony Snipes and Arthur Turner along with four from Eric Salmon, three each from Chris Sickal, Matt Fultz, and Cory Dunn, two from Justin Parsley, and Josh Brown’s one.

Wendell Jones and Dominic Jones both scored eight to lead Charles City. Dominique Williams tossed in five while Jerron Woodley, Jamie Howard, and Joseph Tabb ended with three apiece and Joshua New contributed two.