Kirby leads Knights past Tigers in double overtime
The Greenfield School boys basketball team overcame a lion’s share of adversity in a showdown with Trinity Academy of Raleigh on Monday evening, coming away with an 81-65, double overtime home win behind a 31-point night from senior guard Matt Kirby.
The 2-A Knights of the NCISAA 2-A/3-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference climbed to 22-7 overall in a game that they led for most of regulation before a bad bounce late allowed the 2-A Tigers (14-5) of the 2-A/3-A Conference to tie the game. Greenfield and Trinity battled back and forth throughout the first overtime before the Knights ran away with a 19-3 second overtime period.
“Our guys stepped up,” said Greenfield head coach Rob Salter. “When we did make a couple mistakes, we kept on saying next play, move on. I thought we did a good job of refocusing and getting to the next play when we did make a mistake.”
The victory did not come without a cost for Greenfield, as leading scorer Hampton Evans was concussed by an accidental elbow to the head within the game’s first few minutes.
Salter said he anticipated Evans missing at least a week, perhaps longer.
In Evans’ place, several other players stepped up.
Kirby led the Knights with 31 points and seven assists, hitting big shot after big shot and going 14-for-15 from the free-throw line.
“He completely controlled the game,” Salter said. “He made big-time plays, big-time shots. He was great.”
Kyshon Atkinson posted 15 points, followed by freshman point guard Kobe Edwards with 10. Jack Adair posted eight points and 14 rebounds.
After leading for most of the game, the Knights, up by two, inbounded the ball to Kirby with about three seconds left, but his dribble went off his foot and right to a Trinity Academy player, who tied the game and was fouled in the process, but missed the free throw, sending proceedings to overtime at 56-56.
“It was a very unlucky play,” Salter said. “It was a really good high school game. It was a very physical game. We showed a lot of toughness and we stayed together to win that game.”
With Greenfield trailing 60-59 with a minute left in overtime, Kirby buried a 3 to put the Knights up by two. Trinity then tied the game, and Greenfield missed a shot at the win before dominating the second overtime.
“We’ve lost a couple close ones to some unlucky situations,” Salter said. “…For us to be down in the first overtime, our guys just stayed together and believed. We still made a couple of bonehead mistakes, but they scrapped and stayed together. I thought our togetherness won the game.”
The Knights will host CPIC foe Parrott Academy for Senior Knight on Friday.
The Greenfield School boys basketball team overcame a lion’s share of adversity in a showdown with Trinity Academy of Raleigh on Monday evening, coming away with an 81-65, double overtime home win behind a 31-point night from senior guard Matt Kirby.
The 2-A Knights of the NCISAA 2-A/3-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference climbed to 22-7 overall in a game that they led for most of regulation before a bad bounce late allowed the 2-A Tigers (14-5) of the 2-A/3-A Conference to tie the game. Greenfield and Trinity battled back and forth throughout the first overtime before the Knights ran away with a 19-3 second overtime period.
“Our guys stepped up,” said Greenfield head coach Rob Salter. “When we did make a couple mistakes, we kept on saying next play, move on. I thought we did a good job of refocusing and getting to the next play when we did make a mistake.”
The victory did not come without a cost for Greenfield, as leading scorer Hampton Evans was concussed by an accidental elbow to the head within the game’s first few minutes.
Salter said he anticipated Evans missing at least a week, perhaps longer.
In Evans’ place, several other players stepped up.
Kirby led the Knights with 31 points and seven assists, hitting big shot after big shot and going 14-for-15 from the free-throw line.
“He completely controlled the game,” Salter said. “He made big-time plays, big-time shots. He was great.”
Kyshon Atkinson posted 15 points, followed by freshman point guard Kobe Edwards with 10. Jack Adair posted eight points and 14 rebounds.
After leading for most of the game, the Knights, up by two, inbounded the ball to Kirby with about three seconds left, but his dribble went off his foot and right to a Trinity Academy player, who tied the game and was fouled in the process, but missed the free throw, sending proceedings to overtime at 56-56.
“It was a very unlucky play,” Salter said. “It was a really good high school game. It was a very physical game. We showed a lot of toughness and we stayed together to win that game.”
With Greenfield trailing 60-59 with a minute left in overtime, Kirby buried a 3 to put the Knights up by two. Trinity then tied the game, and Greenfield missed a shot at the win before dominating the second overtime.
“We’ve lost a couple close ones to some unlucky situations,” Salter said. “…For us to be down in the first overtime, our guys just stayed together and believed. We still made a couple of bonehead mistakes, but they scrapped and stayed together. I thought our togetherness won the game.”
The Knights will host CPIC foe Parrott Academy for Senior Knight on Friday.