Lafayette’s physicality overwhelms New Kent in district tournament championship game
New Kent’s Dillon Mickles (left) dives to the floor in a scramble for the ball against Lafayette’s Jarquez Garrett (right).Robb Johnson photo
A Friday night contest saw New Kent’s Trojans travel to take on the hosting Lafayette Ram for an opportunity to bring home a Bay Rivers District tournament trophy. But despite the fans coming out in droves to support the visitors, it was Lafayette who took away New Kent’s scoring options that ultimately factored into the final outcome.
Lafayette’s defense disrupted New Kent’s offensive threats as they captured the Bay Rivers District tournament title with a 71-62 win.
The Rams started off dominating the paint against the Trojans. Score after score by the hosts launched them to an 18-6 lead. It wasn’t until New Kent’s Kemauri Palmer’s conventional three-point play halted the Rams’ outburst. But even with the score, the visitors found themselves trailing 22-14 after one quarter of play.
At the start of the second stanza, New Kent responded better on offense, orchestrating an 8-3 run behind four points from Josiah Reedy. But a trifecta from Ram guard Jaylen Pretlow along with Karmelo Jefferson’s putback returned hosts’ lead to eight (30-22).
The Trojans made their next move of the night with another run that kicked off with two free throws from Kyle Diggs. Followed up by a three-pointer from Dillon Mickles, New Kent cut Lafayette’s lead to five (34-29). Diggs assisted Jordan Howard on an easy basket that was followed by a score from Isaiah Carr resulted in the visitors trailing by a mere point (34-33) at the halftime intermission.
But the second half belonged to the hosting Rams, as they aggressively shadowed New Kent’s top scorers. But despite role players stepping up for the visitors, Lafayette used balance scoring to place four people in double figures. The balance and work on the boards proved more than enough to keep the Trojans away as Lafayette captured the win.
After the contest, New Kent Head Coach Garrett Ross spoke about his team stepping up during off nights of his top scorers.
“I was proud of them tonight because we had players that really didn’t play much this year step up in big moments,” he said. “We had spurts where we made it competitive, but then there were a couple of runs where we dropped the ball.
“We have to respond and that will start in the regional playoffs,” Ross concluded.
Carr’s 18 points led New Kent in the contest, while Diggs’ 14 points also placed him in double figures. Reedy finished with nine, Palmer and Mickles tossed in seven apiece, Ross pumped in five, and Ethan Smith chipped in with two.