Five finish in double figures as New Kent decimates York to remain undefeated

New Kent’s Michael Hetzel (23) drops in a shot over a York defender.

Robb Johnson photo

With a DJ playing musical hits at the Dec. 11 home game for New Kent’s Trojans, you can tell the hosts were on beat both on and off the court.

New Kent decimated Bay Rivers rival York Falcons 79-35 in boys’ basketball action, keeping the hosts’ record unblemished.

At first, it seemed like the Trojans would be in a battle as the Falcons slowed down the tempo of the game, resulting in the high-powered New Kent offense only pumping in 13 points, while the Falcons mustered 10 to keep within striking distance.

But the hosts flipped the switch as the second quarter began, with Christian Joyner scoring nine points in the frame as the Trojans took a 36-17 lead into the halftime break. After the intermission, it was New Kent’s reserves who corrected their mistakes from the night before (against Lakeland), coming in and being more effective both on offense and defense, keeping the home team’s lead safe and clinching the win.

After the contest, New Kent Head Coach Garrett Ross talked about his team learning to make in-game, on-the-fly adjustments with games in consecutive days.

“We are learning to play back-to-back, but I am proud of them,” the coach commented. “We are playing as a team, and they are taking the right shots and working together.

“On the defensive side, we are very active in our press and getting reads and working together,” Ross concluded.

Joyner’s 19 led the Trojans (4-0) in the scoring column. Also finishing in double figures for the hosts were Marty Wray (15), Will Ross (12), Kyle Diggs (10), an Kingston Young (10). Dylan Bowman tossed in five, and the quartet of Kristopher Leeper, Ethan Smith, Michael Hetzel, and Jarred Hathaway each pitched in with two apiece.