New Kent grinds out 52-45 Senior Night victory over Warhill Lions

New Kent’s Josiah Reedy (1) drives around Warhill’s Elisha Arokium as he makes his way to the basket.

Robb Johnson photo

With the urge to find some sort of momentum, New Kent’s Trojans looked to a Senior Night showdown against the visiting Warhill Lions for answers. And after a battle that saw the visitors make every attempt to spoil the festivities, it was the hosting Trojans who emerged victorious.

New Kent toppled Warhill 52-45 to highlight the Feb. 7 Senior Night victory over their Bay Rivers District foe.

New Kent’s Kyle Diggs three-pointer sparked a 14-3 run that ended the first quarter and began the second frame. Closing out the scoring spree was Dillon Mickles rebound and assist to Kemauri Palmer, who drained a trifecta of his own to increase the Trojans lead to 22-11. Warhill responded with tough defense and back-to-back three-pointers from Sebastian Williams and Elisha Arokium. The Trojans had to settle for a five-point halftime advantage (26-21).

New Kent held a 44-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter when the hosts began to grind out scores. Diggs’ field goal with 1:18 on the clock provided the hosts a double-digit lead (50-40) as they held the lead for the remainder of the contest.

After the game, New Kent Head Coach Garrett Ross spoke about what his team needed to do to close out the season.

“We have to come with more energy, but we got the win for the seniors,” he commented. “Teams have gotten better in the district, and we have to get better down the stretch.”

Diggs and Palmer both scored 10 points to lead New Kent (14-6) in the scoring column. Mickles added nine, Will Ross tossed in six, Reggie Jackson and Jordan Carr added five apiece, the trio of Marty Wray, Christian Joyner, and Josiah Reedy tossed in two each, and Michael Hetzel chipped in with one.