Smithfield subdues New Kent on Senior Night
New Kent's Julius Jacobs goes in for the quick lay-up after the opening tip.Robb Johnson photo
New Kent’s Trojans have struggled all year with consistency. And even with a packed house on Feb. 13 in celebration of Senior Night, it was an epidemic that repeated itself in the Bay Rivers District contest.
Powered by a monstrous first quarter, the visiting Smithfield Packers cruised to a 70-53 victory over the Trojans.
New Kent’s J.J. Jacobs provided the hosts its only lead of the night with his game opening lay-up. But from there, the Packers showed their superiority with a 24-8 run, capped off by Tyler McGee’s two trifectas. The lead remained in double digits (40-26) by the time halftime rolled around.
Smithfield stepped on the gas in the third quarter, forcing the Trojans into countless turnovers en route to outscoring the host 18-7 to stretch the lead that reached nearly third points early in the fourth quarter. From there, the Packers held ground in claiming the win.
After the contest, New Kent head coach Garrett Ross spoke about his team’s disappointing regular season performance.
“I wish we had a month earlier together and I feel like every day they get better,” he commented. “We talked about one of our assistants when he played and how they were a number one seed and their team loss to an eight seed.
“There is no reason when we play our game and play it for 30 minutes that we can’t beat anybody,” Ross added. “Tonight, we probably played 24, 25 minutes out of 32 and against a good team like that, they pour it on.”
In preparation for both regional play and next year, the head coach also reflected about the program’s future.
“We talked about this being a brotherhood and what these seniors did for this team,” Ross said as he wrapped up his comments. “Change is going to establish the path for next year’s team and how we just going to keep getting better. That’s our motto every day.”
Jared McCaughan’s 19 led New Kent (5-16) in scoring. Calvin York contributed 14, Jalen Banks added nine, Jacobs pumped in four, Hayden Smith tossed in three, and the duo of Zach Morse and Jason Hall chipped in with two.