NK settles for 3rd in BRD

New Kent bounced back from its first setback of the season a night earlier by claiming the consolation prize in the Bay Rivers District Basketball Tournament.

Ironically, the Feb. 19 battle for third place featured the two top-seeded teams — New Kent and Tabb — that had been expected to vie for the tourney title. After overcoming a slow start, New Kent took command before halftime on the way to a 59-52 win.

With district player of the year Steven Allen in street clothes and seated on the bench due to a leg injury, the Trojans sputtered out of the gate. Tabb vaulted to an 8-0 lead, keeping the hosts off the scoreboard until Adam Otey sank one of two free throws at the first quarter’s 3:17 mark.

Otey’s spin move in the lane recorded the Trojans’ initial field goal at 2:48, and from there, the hosts gradually overtook the Tigers. That feat came compliments of Otey who drained a three-pointer out of the corner to create a 23-23 deadlock midway through quarter two.

The hosts went on to take a 39-27 lead to the locker room at halftime, thanks in part to Otey’s 17 points and nine second quarter points from Justin Williams. New Kent led by as many as 16 after the break, and the Tigers could not draw closer than the final margin.

Tabb closed within 10 early in the last quarter, but the Trojans responded with a spread offense to erase time off the clock and keep the ball out of the visitors’ hands.

“I was pleased with the way we played and came back,” said Trojan coach Ed Allen. “That was our pre-game question: How are we going to come back tonight?

“I was interested to see how we’d handle Steven not being there, but our other starters — Paul Kearney, Justin Williams, Adam Otey, and Everett Christian — took it upon themselves to make it happen and went out there and played really well,” the coach said.

“I think our defense was much better, our shot selection was much better, and we played under control and ran our offense better,” he said. “We did a good job with our zone and then we went to the spread and that shortened the game for us. We also got a lot of contributions from people off the bench who don’t get to play that much.”

Otey poured in a game-high 21 points for the Trojans, who head into this week’s Region I tournament with a 22-1 record. Williams finished with 11 followed by Christian’s seven, Kaleb Lamb’s six, Kearney’s five, Neko Burson’s four, Anthony Snipes’ three, and Josh Brown’s two.

Tabb’s Chris Horn was the lone Tiger in double figures with 15 points.