Threes help New Kent hang around before Jamestown pulls away to win

New Kent's Michael Amadeo looks to pass after being trapped along the sideline by Jamestown's Mike Schmitt.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Accuracy from behind the three-point arc got New Kent off to a fast start against Jamestown’s Eagles. Later, it would keep the host Trojans in the game when the visitors threatened to run away.

But unfortunately for the Trojans, they would need more than their 11 threes on the night to keep pace with the high-scoring Eagles. Jamestown, meanwhile, used a late third quarter surge to pull away for a 91-68 win Friday night.

“We had phases where we played really well,” said New Kent coach Ronnie Cox. “But [Jamestown] is not 14-1 for nothing. The Wang brothers [Evan and Mason] are tough to stop, and the rest of team has good size and can shoot.”

New Kent shooting, however, set the early tone. Kyle Claytor’s first trey of the game and a pair from Ethan Ashford staked the hosts to an early 9-4 lead. Jamestown recovered, forging a 22-11 second quarter advantage, but the three-ball worked again for the hosts.

Jared Lugg buried a pair of threes to go along with another Claytor trey to close the gap to 22-20. After the Eagles missed a one-and-one opportunity, the Trojans had a chance to tie or take the lead, but a steal and Evan Wang basket launched a 7-0 Jamestown run. The Eagles led 38-31 at halftime.

Threes from Lugg and Claytor helped the Trojans keep pace after the break. Just past the third quarter’s midway point, the hosts were within seven (52-45), but Jamestown closed the period on a 21-6 run to put the contest out of reach.

In shooting from three-point range, Lugg sank five while Claytor tossed in three, Ashford totaled two, and Ryan Curle added one. Claytor tied Mason Wang for game-high scoring honors with 23 points. Lugg finished with 17 followed by Ashford’s 10, Amari Brown’s seven, Curle’s five, two each from Darren McCaughan, Cameron Downer, and Michael Amadeo, and C.J. Reeders’ one.

“I was happy we put ourselves in position to beat them,” said Cox, whose team dropped to 6-10.

“I really want to get better going into the tournament,” he said. “If things fall in place for us, we can win a few games down the stretch. We’re closing out the grueling part of our schedule [top-ranked Smithfield hosts the Trojans next Tuesday], and then we have winnable games [Warhill, Poquoson, Lafayette] the rest of the way.”