New Kent focuses on defensive end, locks down Warhill in 74-38 victory

New Kent’s Khoen Christian (20) absorbs contact from a Warhill defender on a lay-up attempt in the second quarter.

Robb Johnson photo

After the Goochland holiday tournament, New Kent Trojans Head Coach Garrett Ross challenged his team to be better on the defensive end.
Challenge accepted.

Behind an aggressive trapping defense and minimizing shot attempts, New Kent cruised to a 74-38 victory over the Warhill Lions in the Jan. 9 Monday night contest.

New Kent jumped out to a 7-0 lead to kick off the game and never looked back. Contributing to the first quarter scoring barrage was Isaiah Carr, who drained three trifectas for the Trojans. Teammate Will Ross joined in with one of his own from the corner. The result of the scoring launched the hosts to a 27-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

Warhill attempted to keep the game competitive, but Kyle Diggs elected to pick up the scoring responsibilities for the hosts. Ten of his 16 first half points would come in the second quarter, elevating New Kent to a 51-26 lead at the halftime break. From there, the Trojans cruised to close out the contest.

After the contest, Coach Garrett Ross spoke about his team’s improved defense coming out of the holiday break.

“We’re a team that gets into spurts, and when we get the tips where the guards can get out, we can get creative from a defensive perspective,” the coach said. “It’s been a big focus over the last couple of weeks.

“You can’t have any let downs,” Ross continued, speaking on how every game in the Bay Rivers District can be won by any team. “Warhill is a team that can give you a lot of fits, so it was important for us to hit hard and hit early.”

Carr’s 23 points and Digg’s 22 points paced New Kent (9-4) in the scoring column. Will Ross pumped in 11, Josiah Reedy added eight, Dillon Mickles pumped in six, and the duo of David McCoy and Khoen Christian chipped in with two apiece.