Trojans overcome dismal 3rd quarter, top Tabb 72-62

New Kent’s Travis Claytor glides past Tabb’s Jake Brown for two of his 21 points.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Chalk up New Kent’s basketball encounter with Tabb’s Tigers as a learning experience. The host Trojans found out that a double-digit halftime lead isn’t always safe.

Tabb bounced back from 13 down after the break to overtake the Trojans in the third quarter of Monday’s Bay Rivers District basketball affair. But the hosts rebounded from the dismal third to regain control on the way to a 72-62 triumph.

New Kent used a 15-2 second quarter run to build a 38-25 advantage just before halftime. The hosts took a 12-point lead to the locker room, thanks in part to eight three-point baskets.

“I told the kids at halftime they can’t rest on a 12-point lead, but that’s what we did,” said Trojan coach Ronnie Cox. “I think we played not to lose, but in the fourth we played to win.”

Tabb’s Kaleb Mitchell poured in 21 of his team’s 28 first half points. And it was Mitchell, along with stepped up defensive pressure, that got the Tigers back in front. Mitchell added a dozen to his point total in the third, helping the Tigers wipe out a 45-32 New Kent lead. A 19-3 run to close the quarter put Tabb on top 51-48.

But Travis Claytor drew a foul on an early fourth quarter drive to the basket, completing a three-point play to knot the game at 51-51. Tabb missed shots on its next three trips down the floor. New Kent took advantage, rebounding and scoring at the other end to lead 58-51.

Tabb responded behind Daniel Schiele’s 14 fourth quarter points. Schiele scored four as the Tigers made another run to catch New Kent at 58-all.

That would be the final deadlock. Jamar Murray’s lane penetration and scoop shot handed the Trojans the lead for good. Claytor and Blake Kelley scored on moves to the basket before Parrish Braxton’s steal and lay-in opened a 66-58 lead with 2:35 to go. Tabb got two back, but Micah Scorsone’s three, launched from in front of the New Kent bench, put the affair out of reach at 69-60 with 1:25 left.

Claytor led New Kent (4-9, 6-11) with 21 points, including 11 in the fourth. Kelley, who had 13 at halftime, ended with 18. Braxton and Murray each tossed in 11 while Scorsone totaled six, Joseph Nash had three, and Chase Dunn added two.

Mitchell, who had 33 after three quarters, disappeared in the fourth and did not score. Schiele finished with 18.

“We needed a win,” said Cox. “We want to get into the district tournament, and we knew this game would be make or break for us.

“But we’ve still got to get some wins down the stretch,” he said. “Most of the games we have left are winnable.”