Caroline causes chaos in New Kent’s plans, roll to double-digit win over Trojans

By Robb Johnson | December 20, 2022 11:23 pm

New Kent’s David McCoy (11) and Jordan Howard (12) makes a blockade to prevent Caroline’s Malek Beasley Morton (center) from driving to the basket.

Robb Johnson photo

Holiday tournaments haven’t been kind to New Kent High School’s boys’ basketball team in the past few years. Monday night’s matchup against the Caroline Cavaliers in the Goochland Holiday Tournament produced the same result as the previous year’s matchup: A Caroline win.

Behind 33 points from Gabe Campbell, Caroline coasted to an 88-68 victory to topple the New Kent Trojans.

The up-tempo style of Caroline gave fits to the Trojans’ defense. After New Kent took an 11-10 lead at the 4:25 mark of the first half, the Cavaliers countered with an 11-2 run to close out the quarter, taking a comfortable advantage into quarter number two.

After Caroline built its first double-digit lead of the contest (25-15), New Kent pumped in the next seven points to close the gap. After Caroline’s Dillon Mickles converted two free throws, Trojan guard Will Ross responded with a long-distance connection, while teammate Ethan Smith converted a lay-up to pull within two (31-29). The Cavaliers would hold on long enough to take a 39-33 advantage into halftime over New Kent.

The third quarter became a nightmare for the Trojans, as their defense completely collapsed, allowing Caroline to convert easy baskets, and pushing their lead to as many as 19. And despite a Trojan run in the fourth quarter that brought the lead back to single digits, another Cavaliers run would push the game out of reach in the contest.

After the game, New Kent Head Coach Garrett Ross expressed his dismay with his team’s performance in the contest.

“I didn’t take any positive lessons from this,” the coach commented. “We have to play defense. That is just plain and simple.

“You can’t give up 88 points and win games,” Ross continued. “That is the lesson tonight. We don’t talk on defense, we don’t get rebounds, and we just weren’t physical enough.”

New Kent (5-4) received a team-high 16 points from Kyle Diggs. Isiah Carr (15), Ross (14), and Mickles (10) all finished in double figures. Khoen Christian added nine, while the duo of Josiah Reedy and Kamauri Palmer each chipped in with two apiece.