Rams regain control, top Trojans 93-72

By Alan Chamberlain | January 17, 2013 1:25 pm

NK’s Parrish Braxton launches a shot over the block attempt by Lafayette’s Mark Rivera.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Surviving Lafayette’s opening salvo, New Kent’s host Trojans erased a double-digit deficit to overtake the Rams before halftime. But after the break, the visitors returned to the strategy that earned their early lead. Lafayette owned the second half on the way to a 93-72 Bay Rivers District basketball win.

“We needed to run our offense, but we ran a playground game instead,” New Kent coach Ronnie Cox said after his team fell to 3-7 in the district and 4-9 overall.

“We missed a lot of lay-ups and stopped rebounding,” he said. “I thought we could play with them, but then we couldn’t stop number 20.”

Cox referred to Ram forward John Fitchett who poured in a game-high 39 points. By halftime, he had 25.

In contrast, New Kent’s leading scorer, Travis Claytor, saw limited action thanks to a first half ankle sprain and spent most of the second on the bench with an icepack applied to the injured area. He finished with five points, well below his 17 points per game average.

Parrish Braxton and Blake Kelley took over the scoring roles for the hosts, but their respective 19 and 18 points could not offset the Rams’ output.

Lafayette forced New Kent to play transition basketball, and the ploy worked. The Rams built a 14-point lead late in the first quarter.

But then the visitors turned down the heat, electing to drop back into a zone defense. The strategy change played into the Trojans’ hands as the hosts gradually worked their way back into the game.

Claytor’s three with 5:43 left before halftime handed New Kent a 35-34 lead, the team’s first since the game’s opening moments. A Braxton trey extended the advantage, but the Rams settled down, tying the affair 47-47 on a Fitchett three just before the first half buzzer.

Consecutive Chase Dunn stick-backs put New Kent up 53-52 early in the third period, but the Rams embarked on a 9-0 run to take control. The visitors’ lead reached 17 late in the quarter.

Dunn finished with 10 points for the Trojans. Jamar Murray totaled eight while Christian Block tossed in six, Tommy Hale added five, and Joseph Nash chipped in one.