New Kent survives Grafton in 51-48 Bay Rivers hoop thriller

New Kent's J.J. Jacobs (11) floats the ball over Grafton's Cole George (11) and Jacob Hanson (42).

Robb Johnson photo

With the holiday season around the corner, New Kent’s Trojans hoped to give a present to their fans before the turn of the new year. And after a stellar first half, it’d take grit down the stretch for the hosts to emerge on top.

After a dominant first half, it’d be the New Kent defense to close out the contest as they escaped with a 51-48 win against the Grafton Clippers during the Dec. 20 Bay Rivers District contest.

The hosts started hot with a putback score by Jason Hall followed by Jared McCaughan’s bucket to jump up early. After Grafton’s Cole George nailed a three that put the visitors on top (8-5), New Kent’s Jalen Banks hot first quarter saw him rattle off 10 first quarter points, including a three-pointer near the end to give New Kent’s a 19-9 lead after the first quarter.

New Kent continued the advantage into the second frame. A 10-3 run highlighted by trifectas from McCaughan and Alec Pelosa propelled the hosts to a 31-18 halftime lead.

The Trojans lead swelled up to 17 before a technical foul called against Hall swung momentum in favor of the visitors. Grafton commenced a 10-2 run to close out the third quarter, cutting the deficit back to single digits (37-28) heading into the fourth quarter.

New Kent stretched the lead out to double figures again before Grafton initiated another run. A traditional three-point play by Josiah Moore brought the Clippers within five (48-43). A basket from beyond the arc by teammate Landon Stutt cut the Trojans lead to two as the clock began to wind down.

McCaughan utilized his size for a shot from the block that provided a four-point lead (50-46) for New Kent. Grafton started to foul New Kent, sending the Trojans to the line for the bonus situation. A miss of the front end of a one-and-one resulted in Moore scoring another basket and the Trojans’ lead shrinking down to two (50-48).

Grafton’s pressure forced a backcourt violation against New Kent with 29 seconds remaining in the game. Grafton had two opportunities from the floor but misses by George and Stutt from beyond the arc resulted in a New Kent rebound. McCaughan sank a free throw with one second to go and Grafton was unable to get a shot off as time expired.

New Kent head coach Garrett Ross talked about the much-needed win for the Trojans.

“We lost our last game against York because of free throws,” he said. “Tonight, this was about mental toughness as we made three strides forward.

“But for us to finish this game off, I am just proud of them fighting through that,” Ross continued. “I like how we are finishing up this year and the last three games we have continued to play hard.”

McCaughan’s 19 points led New Kent (3-5) in the win. Banks also finished in double figures with 12, Kevin Harris contributed eight, Spencer Gilland added five, Hayden Smith pumped in three, and the duo of Hall and Julius Jacobs chipped in with two apiece.