New Kent takes off in second quarter, coasts by Gloucester in home opener

New Kent's Marty Wray gets up a shot against a contested defender.

Robb Johnson photo

After defeating defending 4A state champion Atlee in their season opener, New Kent’s Trojans’ basketball team opened up their home basketball slate by hosting Bay Rivers District newcomer Gloucester. For the visiting Dukes, they recognized that the home-standing Trojans are still one of the top teams in the area.

After a close first quarter, New Kent outscored Gloucester 74-28 in the final three frames to defeat the Dukes 95-48.

The Trojans flexed their muscles in the opening minutes, as Jared Hathaway sank two three pointers and Marty Wray’s buckets sparked an 11-3 run to kickoff the game. But New Kent’s aggressive play on their defensive end bit them early, resulting in the Dukes heading to the free throw line 13 times in the first quarter, draining nine of them as part of an 11-1 run. By the time the first quarter buzzer sounded, the Trojans held a mere one point advantage (21-20).

But from that point forward, New Kent’s offense grabbed hold of the contest. Wray dropped 14 points in the second quarter, finishing with 26 in the first half as the hosts outscored Gloucester 31-9 in the second quarter, taking control at the break with a 52-29 lead. New Kent continued to apply pressure in the third, adding 32 in the stanza as they captured their district opener with a victory.

New Kent Head Coach Garrett Ross spoke about the team’s win and his team ability to click early on in the season.

“We are a team with good chemistry and that plays out on our defense,” he said. “Our offense is generated by our defense and this team really exemplifies that.

“This is the deepest team I have ever coached,” Ross added. “We have the most talent from the first person to the last person, and that gives us so many options.

New Kent improves to 2-0 on the season.