Red-hot Knights bomb Cape Fear Christian 115-69
By Tom Ham Special to the Times
The streaking Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team expected a break from tense outcomes against visiting Cape Fear Christian Academy of Erwin of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A ranks Monday evening.
And Cape Fear head coach Dwain Ellis admitted: “Defense is our problem.”
Did the Knights, 2021-22 NCISAA 1-A runners-up and playing at the 2-A level for the first year, ever feast in exploding to a record-setting 115-69 victory for their fifth consecutive win after a season-opening loss.
Greenfield established a school record with 18 field goals (54 points) from 3-point range and missed tying the single-game scoring mark by one point.
With a two-shot opportunity at the foul line, Greenfield junior Jo-Willem Tewes earned the opportunity to tie or break the record when fouled with six-plus seconds remaining. But with the clock running nonstop because of the Knights’ huge lead, time expired before Tewes could attempt a free throw.
Greenfield head coach Rob Salter declined to complain about his team’s defensive effort. But the 32 minutes of court time belonged to the offenses.
Along with swishing 18-of-29 shots from 3-point range, Greenfield, overall, knocked down 39-of-59 shots for a sizzling 60% accuracy. The Knights thrived at the foul line, sinking 19-of-24 attempts for 80% accuracy.
The Eagles (2-2) were not shabby, connecting on 28-of-52 attempts from the floor 54%. The teams erupted for 68 points in the third quarter, when Greenfield shot 14 of 19 from the floor and Cape Fear posted a scorching 80% accuracy, hitting 12-of-15 shots.
“An impressive display of shooting,” Salter said. “We’ve got that potential. The 3s came on right decisions. We have a lot of guys that can fill it up when they get going. Three’s started raining from everywhere.”
Nine Knights scored at least once from beyond the arc. And the Eagles, led by sharp-shooting junior Zeke Brock, found the range 10 times from 3-point land.
“(Junior) Cole (Evans) got it started for us,” Salter credited. “He is an elite shooter. The guys came out with good energy. The transition was sensational. The guards on the outside did a great job in transition. We scored in our half-court offense. We got it done in a lot of ways. A lot of good things got us going. It was impressive to watch it get going.”
Evans found the mark on five of his 3-point shots for 15 points.
“I was in rhythm and my teammates were getting me the ball,” said Evans, who did not start. “It was easy to get to my spot and knock down shots.”
Of being a key cog in a scorefest, Evans replied: “It felt good. The defense was a little bit slack. I wanted to come in, knock down shots and help the team win. That was a good feeling.”
“We thought we could have this type of game but we knew we had to take (Cape Fear) seriously and respect them.”
The score was knotted at 5-5 and 10-10 when, suddenly, the Evans boys, Cole and Hampton, another junior, ignited Greenfield on a 20-0 tear before promising 6-foot-5 eighth-grader Lathan Wilborn’s jumper finally ended the drought for the Eagles, who were plagued by 10 turnovers in the first quarter.
The remainder of the contest was filled with milestones. Senior Kyshon Atkinson stepped across midcourt and drained a heave at intermission for the biggest halftime lead of 62-32.
After three periods, the Knights needed just one more point for 100 on junior Xavier Baptiste’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Greenfield reached and surpassed the century mark in the opening moments of the final quarter on junior Nik Edwards 3-pointer for a 102 total. Then the nonstop clock took over.
Hampton Evans continued his scoring rampage with a game-high 30 points in just three quarters. Freshman Kobe Edwards and Cole Evans each poured in 15, followed by senior Jack Adair with 14 and Atkinson with 11. Eleven Knights scored. Baptiste led with seven rebounds, followed by senior Micah Sherrod with six.
Cape Fear’s Brock impressed with a 29-point effort, while eighth-grader Brandon Surles bucketed 14. The Eagles managed just 14 rebounds.
“We knew it was going to be rough,” Ellis said. “We knew about Greenfield.
“We have a bunch of young basketball players (four freshmen, two eighth-graders and two seniors). We are building for the future.
“We put up some points, but we couldn’t stop the 3-bomb. That was really bad; we have to work on stopping that.”
The Knights expect a sterner test Tuesday evening when they welcome Living Waters Christian of Jacksonville, projected a top contender in the North Carolina Christian Athletic Association.
CAPE FEAR CHRISTIAN (69)
Brock 29, Scarborough 8, Bolton, Dunlow, Medlin, McLamb 4, Brooks, Chestnut, Ellis 6, Solurn 14, Wilborn 8, Godwin.
GREENFIELD (115)
K. Edwards 15, N. Edwards 3, C. Evans 15, Atkins 11, Adair 14, Sherrod 8, Lucas 6, Wall 4, Baptiste 7, Tewes 2, H. Evans 30.
Score by quarters:
Cape Fear 12 20 31 6 — 69
Greenfield 30 32 37 16 — 115
By Tom Ham Special to the Times
The streaking Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team expected a break from tense outcomes against visiting Cape Fear Christian Academy of Erwin of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A ranks Monday evening.
And Cape Fear head coach Dwain Ellis admitted: “Defense is our problem.”
Did the Knights, 2021-22 NCISAA 1-A runners-up and playing at the 2-A level for the first year, ever feast in exploding to a record-setting 115-69 victory for their fifth consecutive win after a season-opening loss.
Greenfield established a school record with 18 field goals (54 points) from 3-point range and missed tying the single-game scoring mark by one point.
With a two-shot opportunity at the foul line, Greenfield junior Jo-Willem Tewes earned the opportunity to tie or break the record when fouled with six-plus seconds remaining. But with the clock running nonstop because of the Knights’ huge lead, time expired before Tewes could attempt a free throw.
Greenfield head coach Rob Salter declined to complain about his team’s defensive effort. But the 32 minutes of court time belonged to the offenses.
Along with swishing 18-of-29 shots from 3-point range, Greenfield, overall, knocked down 39-of-59 shots for a sizzling 60% accuracy. The Knights thrived at the foul line, sinking 19-of-24 attempts for 80% accuracy.
The Eagles (2-2) were not shabby, connecting on 28-of-52 attempts from the floor 54%. The teams erupted for 68 points in the third quarter, when Greenfield shot 14 of 19 from the floor and Cape Fear posted a scorching 80% accuracy, hitting 12-of-15 shots.
“An impressive display of shooting,” Salter said. “We’ve got that potential. The 3s came on right decisions. We have a lot of guys that can fill it up when they get going. Three’s started raining from everywhere.”
Nine Knights scored at least once from beyond the arc. And the Eagles, led by sharp-shooting junior Zeke Brock, found the range 10 times from 3-point land.
“(Junior) Cole (Evans) got it started for us,” Salter credited. “He is an elite shooter. The guys came out with good energy. The transition was sensational. The guards on the outside did a great job in transition. We scored in our half-court offense. We got it done in a lot of ways. A lot of good things got us going. It was impressive to watch it get going.”
Evans found the mark on five of his 3-point shots for 15 points.
“I was in rhythm and my teammates were getting me the ball,” said Evans, who did not start. “It was easy to get to my spot and knock down shots.”
Of being a key cog in a scorefest, Evans replied: “It felt good. The defense was a little bit slack. I wanted to come in, knock down shots and help the team win. That was a good feeling.”
“We thought we could have this type of game but we knew we had to take (Cape Fear) seriously and respect them.”
The score was knotted at 5-5 and 10-10 when, suddenly, the Evans boys, Cole and Hampton, another junior, ignited Greenfield on a 20-0 tear before promising 6-foot-5 eighth-grader Lathan Wilborn’s jumper finally ended the drought for the Eagles, who were plagued by 10 turnovers in the first quarter.
The remainder of the contest was filled with milestones. Senior Kyshon Atkinson stepped across midcourt and drained a heave at intermission for the biggest halftime lead of 62-32.
After three periods, the Knights needed just one more point for 100 on junior Xavier Baptiste’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Greenfield reached and surpassed the century mark in the opening moments of the final quarter on junior Nik Edwards 3-pointer for a 102 total. Then the nonstop clock took over.
Hampton Evans continued his scoring rampage with a game-high 30 points in just three quarters. Freshman Kobe Edwards and Cole Evans each poured in 15, followed by senior Jack Adair with 14 and Atkinson with 11. Eleven Knights scored. Baptiste led with seven rebounds, followed by senior Micah Sherrod with six.
Cape Fear’s Brock impressed with a 29-point effort, while eighth-grader Brandon Surles bucketed 14. The Eagles managed just 14 rebounds.
“We knew it was going to be rough,” Ellis said. “We knew about Greenfield.
“We have a bunch of young basketball players (four freshmen, two eighth-graders and two seniors). We are building for the future.
“We put up some points, but we couldn’t stop the 3-bomb. That was really bad; we have to work on stopping that.”
The Knights expect a sterner test Tuesday evening when they welcome Living Waters Christian of Jacksonville, projected a top contender in the North Carolina Christian Athletic Association.
CAPE FEAR CHRISTIAN (69)
Brock 29, Scarborough 8, Bolton, Dunlow, Medlin, McLamb 4, Brooks, Chestnut, Ellis 6, Solurn 14, Wilborn 8, Godwin.
GREENFIELD (115)
K. Edwards 15, N. Edwards 3, C. Evans 15, Atkins 11, Adair 14, Sherrod 8, Lucas 6, Wall 4, Baptiste 7, Tewes 2, H. Evans 30.
Score by quarters:
Cape Fear 12 20 31 6 — 69
Greenfield 30 32 37 16 — 115