New Kent overcomes early hangover to keep Charles City winless

Charles City’s Kyle Jones uses a high-arcing fadeaway shot attempt to get over the outstretched hand of New Kent defender C.J. Reeders.

Andre' Jones photo

After Charles City and New Kent suffered setbacks the previous evening before their Saturday night rivalry clash, coaches expressed how numbers and tired legs could have an impact on the pace of the game. In the early going, it showed.

But the host Trojans overcame a sluggish start and used the scoring of Kyle Claytor and Ryan Curle during a third quarter run to overpower the visiting Panthers 79-31, sweeping the season series.

Charles City had an opportunity to go ahead before the tip-off, as New Kent received a pregame technical foul for grasping the rim. Instead, the Panthers clanked both of the free throws and would not see a lead in the contest.

As for the Trojans, their struggles amounted to poor shooting from the field. Despite a 10-2 run to kick off the contest, they failed to pull away from the upset minded visitors. Charles City’s Conner Robbins floater and three-pointer placed the Panthers within striking distance midway in the first quarter (12-7).

New Kent fought back, as Jordan Hernandez threw down a two-hand slam on a breakaway. But even his dunk failed to light a fire to the Trojans’ offense, who slugged through the first quarter. Meanwhile, a jumper by Panther guard Ray Crump and a free throw by senior classmate Kyle Jones kept the game close after the first quarter, with New Kent ahead 19-10.

A Claytor free throw and jumper along with lay-ins by teammates Amari Brown and Hernandez initiated a 7-0 run to start the second quarter for New Kent. A back and forth scoring battle began with both teams exchanging scores before signs of the Trojans’ offense appeared with 1:15 remaining in the half. A Jared Lugg corner three kicked off the spurt, with Curle finessing a hook shot over Panther defenders and Micahel Amadeo’s putback with mere seconds remaining in the half to widen the halftime margin to 36-17.

And when the third quarter rolled in, so did Claytor’s offense. The senior guard connected with a lay-up and followed it up with a three-pointer. After Charles City’s Robbins knocked down a bank jumper, Claytor responded with another three, forcing the Panthers to regroup with a timeout.

But with Claytor garnering the Panthers attention, he used his passing to find teammates Dean Powell and C.J. Reeders for scores. Chip in with two free throws and the senior was responsible for 16 points in the quarter.

And when Claytor went to the bench, it was Curle who finished the quarter strong. Curle sank the first of two free throws, and after missing the second, followed it up with a putback tap. His uncontested three from the wing bestowed a 40-point lead for New Kent heading into the final frame (63-23). New Kent outscored Charles City 16-8 with a running clock in play to close out the contest.

After the game, New Kent head coach Ronnie Cox talked about the slow start and the key to the big run after the break.

“It’s tough playing back-to-back because it takes a toll on you,” Cox said. “It’s not easy to get into a rhythm.

“But the third quarter was a big one for us,” the winning coach continued. “You have to get Charles City a lot of credit. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort.”

As for Panthers’ head coach Wayne Keys, he expressed the early momentum was stolen even before the game began.

“When New Kent got that technical foul, I thought we could make those free throws and steal some momentum,” the Panther coach said. “But we failed to do that, and turned the ball over on the ensuing play and from there.

“I thought that play could have been positive for us,” Keys continued. “But tonight, we had no energy, looked sluggish, and when New Kent made that big run in the third quarter, we missed a lot of assignments.”

Claytor’s 16 led New Kent, now 8-6, in scoring. Brown and Curle also finished in double figures for the hosts with 11 and 10 respectively. Hernandez and Reeders pumped in eight apiece, Patrick Minor scored five, four apiece from Powell, Amadeo, and Hunter Torrez, and three from Lugg.

Charles City (0-10) received double-digit scoring from Robbins, who finished with 10. Crump dropped six, Davon Johnson and Steven Crewe added four apiece, Charles Brown, Saquan Bradby, and Justis Crawley each contributed two, and Jones chipped in with one.