Panthers’ offense explodes to snap 16-game losing skid to New Kent

Charles City's Kobie Trull (13) is contacted by New Kent's Jalen Banks (2) on a drive to a basket.

Robb Johnson photo

Saturday night’s contest between New Kent’s Trojans and Charles City’s Panthers was a rivalry that has been one-sided in the last 16 faceoffs as New Kent has emerged victorious in each of those games. However, a much improved and experienced Panthers team brought that streak to a halt in an impressive fashion.

The hosting Panthers scored 63 points in the first half, more than New Kent’s total in the entire game as Charles City put together a 90-61 victory in front of a capacity crowd.

The transition game for the Panthers opened the gap early on, as Justis Crawley scored eight of the team’s first 12 points as Charles City jumped out to a 12-4 lead. After New Kent’s Spencer Gilland dropped a basket to halt that mini-run, another 8-0 spurt by the Panthers pushed the lead to 20-6.

New Kent’s crowd voiced their support, as Jalen Banks attacked the basket successfully to help the visitors crawl back within eight (20-12).

However, the Panthers long-distance attack proved favorable as Christian Stewart and De’Rome Chretien dropped threes from the wing in front of New Kent’s bench to stretch out the lead. A late bucket by Panthers teammate Kameron Johnson ended the high scoring first quarter with Charles City ahead 30-17.

Things didn’t fair any better for the Trojans in the second half. Charles City’s high-octane offense and hustle style proved to be difficult for New Kent to handle. The result of the pressure style defense and explosive scoring by the Panthers was a 22-5 run, eventually leading to the hosts having a 63-26 halftime lead. From there, Charles City’s lead never dropped below 28 as the Panthers ended its streak against New Kent that spanned nearly eight years.

For victorious Charles City head coach Terrell Brooks, the message sent to his team was one of the goals he instilled in his program for this year.

“When building a program, you remember some of those from when you were in school like those cross-town rivalries that always packed the house,” he said, mentioning his time as a player in the rivalry. “We hadn’t beaten these guys in at least seven years, and I told my kids that this year one of our goals was not to lose any back-to-back games.

“The importance of coming out and getting a win here at home is the one that starts the streak and stops a streak at a same time,” Brooks continued. “Hopefully, this carries over to next week and winning starts to become contagious.”

For first year New Kent head coach Garrett Ross, he commented about his first time being involved in a community driven rivalry game.

“I think a lot that happened tonight was the passion of the community and both of these counties have a lot of passion,” he commented. “It’s a surprise that a team can get on fire with this much energy in this building and have it act as such an impact.

“When we play these guys again, I hope we return the favor,” Ross said. “We showed that we have that type of grit and fortitude to develop and program. We can continue a legacy that was established by great coaches in the past and make it something we can be proud of.”

Charles City (2-1) placed five players in double figures, with Johnson’s 26 leading the way. Crawley contributed 19, Chretien dropped in 14, Leo Charity tossed in 11, Stewart pumped in 10, Kobie Trull added eight, and Justin Bradby chipped in with two.

New Kent (1-2) received a team-high 15 points from Jalen Banks. Calvin York scored nine, Jared McCaughan and Kevin Harris added eight points apiece, the quartet of Jesse Cousins, Jason Hall, Logan Frederick, and Spencer Gilland each contributed four each, Zachurie Morse and Julius Jacobs both chipped in with two, and Tyler Adkins added one to round out the scoring.