New Kent tops York 62-47 in opener

New Kent’s Tommy Hale drives the baseline past York’s Jaylen Riggsbee.

Alan Chamberlain photos

Taking advantage of a nine-minute-plus field goal drought on the part of York’s Falcons, New Kent’s host Trojans built a double-digit lead in the third quarter before turning back a York rally in the fourth and pulling away for a 62-47 victory in last night’s (Wednesday) basketball season opener for both.

The Trojans utilized superior guard play and ability to block the Falcons off the boards. Despite the presence of York’s 6-foot-8 center Eric Harp in the paint, the Trojans grabbed a 43-25 edge in rebounds.

“I thought we played really good on the perimeter,” said winning coach Ronnie Cox. “We helped down on their big guy really well, and when they did shoot, we made a concerted effort to box out.”

York’s poor shooting, meanwhile, played into New Kent’s hands. Harp’s dunk just over into a minute into the second quarter staked the Falcons to an 18-13 lead. But the visitors failed to convert another field goal until the 4:54 mark of the third quarter.

New Kent, meanwhile, got a tying three-pointer from Christian Block followed by a Micah Scorsone trifecta that put the hosts in front to stay with 3:19 left before halftime. A 13-0 run had the hosts up 26-18 before York’s Tyler Christian sank a free throw to break a five-minute scoring drought.

Kevin Karaffa’s three built New Kent’s first double-digit lead (37-23) less than a minute into quarter three. York’s Jaylen Riggsbee ended his team’s field goal woes with a lay-in to cut the gap to 37-26, but Blake Kelley answered with a three to create a 14-point advantage.

“Holding them without a field goal for nine minutes — that’s pretty good defense and we’ll take that anytime,” said Cox.

About the only difficulty New Kent encountered after moving in front involved protecting the lead. With 5:30 left in the game, York had closed within six (46-40) thanks in part to the Trojans launching three-point attempts instead of milking the clock and working for higher percentage shots.

“We normally hit those threes, but that’s a sign of a team early in the season,” said Cox. “We got a little jumpy. We’ve got to learn how to close out a game and we were not doing it well tonight.”

York never got closer. Kelley buried back-to-back treys and combined with teammates Trey Cox and Tommy Hale on a 14-4 run to put the contest out of reach.

New Kent placed four in double figures led by Scorsone’s 16 points. Kelley finished with 11 while Cox and Hale tossed in 10 apiece. Karaffa totaled six followed by Block’s three and two each from Justin Cox, Joseph Nash, and Christian Hill-Sanders.

Riggsbee led York with 15 points. New Kent’s defense held Harp to eight.

“I’m very happy with our effort,” coach Cox said. “Even if things are not working the way we want to, effort can turn that around.”

New Kent’s Micah Scorsone (14) and York’s Josh McFadden lunge for a loose ball that is headed out of bounds.