New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

NK platooning, pressure wears down West Point

By Alan Chamberlain | December 12, 2008 1:55 pm

New Kent’s basketball season opener with invading West Point did not count in the standings, but the host Trojans played as if the season was on the line. A smothering first half press quickly wore down and intimidated the Pointers in a contest that left little doubt as to the outcome after one quarter.

The Trojans used a 13-0 run over the final two minutes of the opening quarter to stretch a three-point lead to 16 and pulled away from there on the way to a 107-60 conquest. The Dec. 1 opener was billed as a “benefit” game that is not included in the teams’ records.

New Kent’s baseline-to-baseline pressure defense forced 21 West Point turnovers in the first half. By the break, the hosts were cruising 56-28.

“We played hard,” winning coach Ed Allen said. “We come out hard and I want us to be able to put pressure on them in the first half. How we play the second half depends on what we’ve done in the first.”

Allen rotated five-man lineups off the bench every two to three minutes. Fresh legs meant relentless pressure on the Pointer offense.

“We’ve got some versatility,” Allen said. “We get after you on defense and then on offense we’ve got guys who can take you off the dribble or pull up and shoot threes. I think everybody out there has an understanding of their role on this team.”

And the Trojans have balanced scoring. Seven players finished in double figures while another just missed twin digits by a field goal.

The Trojans, however, were a bit hasty in the beginning, missing their first seven shots from the floor and allowing the Pointers to hang around. Late in the quarter, West Point trailed 14-11, but a Nick Sickal three-pointer opened the run that would put away the visitors.

The Trojan defense forced five straight turnovers, all leading to points. Three were steals culminating in easy lay-ins. As time ran out in quarter one, New Kent held a 27-11 advantage.

The run continued as play resumed, reaching 33-11 before a pair of Marcus Doyal free throws just over a minute into quarter two broke the Pointer drought. The visitors, however, never recovered even though the Trojans resorted to a half-court game after the break.

“We backed up in the second half and took off the press,” Allen said. “I wanted to see what we could do.”

All the Trojans did was lengthen their advantage on the scoreboard.

Michael Owens led the Trojans with 17 points while Sickal finished with 15. Paul Kearney scored 14 followed by Steven Allen with 13, Dorrein Akrie’s 11, and 10 each from Justin Williams and Adam Otey. Donovan Gipson tossed in eight while J.B. Berkley scored six, Ryan Mathis contributed two, and Everett Christian chipped in one. Doyal’s 18 points topped West Point.