Offense a no-show as New Kent suffers 39-34 loss to Poquoson
New Kent's Jason Hall (right) finds scoring difficult as he releases a shot over Poquoson's Parker Toppings (left).Robb Johnson photo
There are often games where a team has a letdown for some unknown reason. Such was the case in the Jan. 29 Bay Rivers District game for the New Kent Trojans.
With neither team unable to light up the scoreboard on the offensive end, it was the visiting Poquoson Islanders who slugged their way to a 39-34 win over the Trojans.
Low scoring was the theme for all four frames in the game. At the end of the first, New Kent’s Kevin Harris’ jump shot gave the hosts an 8-4 advantage. In the second quarter, it was Poquoson’s Wyatt Freeman’s back door lay-in that swung the momentum to the visitors, bestowing a 14-12 halftime lead.
After the Trojans regained the lead in the third quarter (21-20), the Islanders made their biggest run of the night. An 8-0 spur was capped off by a pair of three-pointers from Freeman to provide the Islanders some distance.
New Kent remained focused, reclaiming the lead at 30-29 in the fourth quarter. Both teams exchanged the lead, but it was Poquoson reserve Justin Bradshaw’s three-pointer that put the visitors on top for good (35-34).
On the Trojans next trip down the floor, Jared McCaughan’s shot caromed off the rim with 13 seconds remaining, resulting in a Poquoson rebound and New Kent forced to foul. Stretching the lead to three (37-34) after free throws by Islander guard Jackson Harper, New Kent looked to push the ball down the floor. However, the inbound pass was intercepted by Poquoson’s Matt Smith who added the final score to seal the win for the visitors.
For New Kent head coach Garrett Ross, he admitted that he thought his team would win this game after falling to Poquoson earlier in the season.
“This is a disappoint loss. I was expecting to win this game based off the way we have been playing,” the coach said. “We weren’t looking to repeat the level of performance we had the first time against them.
“They were more physical than us and we have to handle physicality,” Ross continued. “We helped with some of the different pieces, but you have to be able to call screens and be physical and we just did not do that well enough.”
Jalen Banks nine points led New Kent, who fall to 5-11. Logan Frederick pumped in eight, Jason Hall tossed in six, Calvin York added five, Harris finished with four, and Julius Jacobs chipped in with two.