New Kent knocks down Charles City 89-68 after strong second quarter
Charles City's Tanner Grubbs (center) looks for a way to escape the double team pressure applied by New Kent's Dean Powell (left) and Jared McCaughan (right).Robb Johnson photo
Seven years, 11 months, 24 days.
The last time Charles City’s Panthers defeated New Kent’s Trojans was Dec. 21, 2010, approximately 2,916 days ago. Saturday night’s encounter in New Kent hoped that the Panthers could snap the streak and provide a competitive contest. Instead, it turned into what it had been for the last eight years; a Trojan victory.
Using a powerful second quarter surge, New Kent sent the Panthers back to their den pondering another loss as the Trojans triumphed 89-68.
New Kent’s Robb Kinder three-pointer from the wing to open the contest quickly sparked an 11-2 run by the Trojans out the gate, forcing Charles City to take a timeout. But the homestanding Trojans had trouble containing Panther guard Kameron Johnson all night long. After Charles City’s Keenan Stewart knocked down a trifecta to snap the scoring drought, Johnson converted consecutive lay-ups and drained all three free throws after being fouled behind the arc to bring the Panthers within one (11-10). Johnson followed that up with an up and under lay-up to give the visitors the advantage on the scoreboard (15-14) and forced New Kent head coach Ronnie Cox to call for a timeout. The ploy worked well enough to allow New Kent to refocus and take a 20-16 lead into the second quarter.
When the second quarter started, Charles City’s magic faded. Begotten by foul trouble, the visitors sent New Kent to the free throw line often. New Kent ramped up the pressure with their man-to-man defense, stifling the Panthers and converting easy buckets. The result was a 35-12 squashing in the second quarter to take a 55-28 advantage from the break.
The Trojans maintained a steady scoring pace in the second half. On the defensive side, the hosts contained all of the Panthers players except Johnson, who provided the only bright spot for the visitors with a career-high 36 points. New Kent led by as many as 28 points before settling in with the final margin.
Victorious New Kent Head Coach Ronnie Cox spoke about a switch in the second quarter to garner easy baskets off fast breaks.
“We were going to trap and double in that second quarter to create fast break situations,” he commented. “This also made it hard for Charles City to get into their offense and it made a huge difference in our defense.
“Charles City’s players played hard, especially number 21 [Johnson]. He is a good player and we couldn’t stop him, and they always play hard in this rivalry between both schools.”
For Charles City, Head Coach Terrell Brooks said that the second quarter doomed his team.
“Turnovers, poor execution, and mental fatigue,” he said when asked what he saw in that frame. “We don’t talk on defense and it’s impossible for me to keep calling timeouts for the same things over and over.
“Communication on defense will cut out on reaching fouls,” Brooks added, commenting on how his team allowed New Kent into the bonus free throw scenario early in the contest. “When we put a team like that on the free throw line and they shoot a high percentage, we have to do better not to put ourselves in that position.
New Kent (3-4) received a team high 19 points from Mitch Morse. Jared McCaughan poured in 17 and Dean Powell also joined in double figures with 13 points. Kinder dropped in seven, the trio of Spencer GIlland, KeSean Taliaferro, and Zack Morse contributed six apiece, four points each from Noah Cross, Kevin Morris, and J.J. Jacobs, and Jalen Banks rounded out the scoring with three.
Johnson’s 36 points led all scorers in the game, as Charles City falls 0-6. Leo Charity finished with 10 points, Rashad Williams and Tanner Grubbs both dropped in six, and the cousin duo of Christian Stewart and Keenan Stewart each scored five points.