Bench gives Greenfield a lift in win over Woodlawn
y Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
Perhaps a weekday afternoon start had something to do with it, but the starting five of the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team came down with another bout of early narcolepsy Tuesday versus Woodlawn School.
Playing their second game in four days following a 30-day shutdown due to COVID-19, the Knights frequently misfired from 3-point range in the first quarter, allowed offensive rebounds to slip through their fingers and the most egregious of the sins as seen from the sideline — sagging off the Trailblazers defensively when man-to-man pressure was requested.
However, in contrast to the six-player roster of Woodlawn, Greenfield’s reserves proved ready to contribute until its main cogs were prepared to perform. Using its bench to wear down another opponent and stabilize matters at the start before freshman Hampton Evans and junior Aaron Murphy proceeded to notch double-doubles, the Knights outpaced Woodlawn 30-8 off the bench to remain undefeated in a 78-59 decision.
Greenfield, a 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, remained unbeaten through four games as Woodlawn of the 1-A Southern Piedmont Athletic Association dropped to 4-2.
The Knights trailed 14-13 after one quarter, getting seven of that total from their bench. Sophomore Bryson Wall drew an early five-seconds call in the attempt to drum up energy on the defensive end, while sophomore Jackson Watt made one of his three 3-pointers in the final seconds of the quarter.
“I give all the credit to the bench,” Greenfield head coach Rob Salter said. “I thought Bryson, K.J. (Peten) and Nik Edwards — all those guys that came off the bench gave us a spark, which kind of woke the starters up a little bit in the first half. The first group was slow today, the second group got us going and we kind of went from there.”
Playing without freshman guard Jordan Vick due to a violation of team rules and injured sophomore C.J. Alston, Evans took over with force once the second quarter got underway. Greenfield didn’t trail again after the freshman was fouled on a layup attempt, starting a 16-3 run for the Knights that ensured the lead never reached single digits again. Evans, who finished with his second straight double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, provided the first 10 points of the second period. The bench didn’t halt its contributions after the usual suspects arrived, with Watt converting a three-point play and Edwards, a freshman, getting a putback to go. Edwards’ bucket sent Greenfield into halftime with a 37-25 advantage.
The starters acknowledged the sluggish opening and gave credit where warranted.
“Our bench brung it to us,” Murphy said. “Our first five lacked energy, and that’s when our guys came off the bench and helped us out.”
The Knights made half of their shots on 31-of-62 shooting and continued to send up the 3-point shot despite the first-quarter struggles. Greenfield was 12 of 29 from distance, with Watt going 3 for 4.
“We believe in ourselves,” Salter said of Greenfield’s 3-point proficiency. “We put in a lot of work with shooting and I tell our guys don’t worry about it if you miss it. We were taking good shots; they just weren’t going in. We started making them in the second half.”
Murphy, a physical 6-foot-4 wing, asserted himself in the second half. He compiled his own double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, sealing off Woodlawn defenders and getting to the rim for layup opportunities. Murphy struggled finishing in the first half as a starter before finding the basket over the final 16 minutes.
With Evans and Murphy cleaning up the backboards, Greenfield owned the glass by a 42-16 margin.
“He can be such a dominant player,” Salter said of Murphy. And that’s what we’ve got to have to be successful.”
Murphy was 4 for 9 from the field in just over 24 minutes of play. His fourth-quarter layup gave Greenfield its biggest lead of 28 at 72-44.
“We were rusty, but we’re getting there,” Murphy said. “We’re trying to get back in the momentum before COVID hit — we’re just trying to play the right way.”
For Woodlawn, Hima Mohammed led the Trailblazers with 22 points. Scott Mozorov was the only other Woodlawn player in double figures with 15 as the visitors were forced to finish the contest with just five players over the remaining 6 minutes, 34 seconds after Henderson Williams was lost to fouls.
That wasn’t an issue on the Greenfield bench, nor is it expected to be in the near term.
“We can go 10, 11, 12 guys,” Salter assured. “We had two guys not dress today that are important to us, and so our depth is going to be something that will carry us throughout the year, I think.”
WOODLAWN (59)
Mohammed 22, Mayo 3, Morozov 15, Williamson 8, Williams 3, Bowen 8.
GREENFIELD (78)
Evans 26, Murphy 10, Clay 3, Kirby 4, Holland 5, Peten 2, Edwards 4, Watt 12, Wall, Pittman 6, Sherrod 6.
Score by quarters:
Woodlawn 14 11 13 21 — 59
Greenfield 13 24 27 14 — 78
y Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
Perhaps a weekday afternoon start had something to do with it, but the starting five of the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team came down with another bout of early narcolepsy Tuesday versus Woodlawn School.
Playing their second game in four days following a 30-day shutdown due to COVID-19, the Knights frequently misfired from 3-point range in the first quarter, allowed offensive rebounds to slip through their fingers and the most egregious of the sins as seen from the sideline — sagging off the Trailblazers defensively when man-to-man pressure was requested.
However, in contrast to the six-player roster of Woodlawn, Greenfield’s reserves proved ready to contribute until its main cogs were prepared to perform. Using its bench to wear down another opponent and stabilize matters at the start before freshman Hampton Evans and junior Aaron Murphy proceeded to notch double-doubles, the Knights outpaced Woodlawn 30-8 off the bench to remain undefeated in a 78-59 decision.
Greenfield, a 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, remained unbeaten through four games as Woodlawn of the 1-A Southern Piedmont Athletic Association dropped to 4-2.
The Knights trailed 14-13 after one quarter, getting seven of that total from their bench. Sophomore Bryson Wall drew an early five-seconds call in the attempt to drum up energy on the defensive end, while sophomore Jackson Watt made one of his three 3-pointers in the final seconds of the quarter.
“I give all the credit to the bench,” Greenfield head coach Rob Salter said. “I thought Bryson, K.J. (Peten) and Nik Edwards — all those guys that came off the bench gave us a spark, which kind of woke the starters up a little bit in the first half. The first group was slow today, the second group got us going and we kind of went from there.”
Playing without freshman guard Jordan Vick due to a violation of team rules and injured sophomore C.J. Alston, Evans took over with force once the second quarter got underway. Greenfield didn’t trail again after the freshman was fouled on a layup attempt, starting a 16-3 run for the Knights that ensured the lead never reached single digits again. Evans, who finished with his second straight double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, provided the first 10 points of the second period. The bench didn’t halt its contributions after the usual suspects arrived, with Watt converting a three-point play and Edwards, a freshman, getting a putback to go. Edwards’ bucket sent Greenfield into halftime with a 37-25 advantage.
The starters acknowledged the sluggish opening and gave credit where warranted.
“Our bench brung it to us,” Murphy said. “Our first five lacked energy, and that’s when our guys came off the bench and helped us out.”
The Knights made half of their shots on 31-of-62 shooting and continued to send up the 3-point shot despite the first-quarter struggles. Greenfield was 12 of 29 from distance, with Watt going 3 for 4.
“We believe in ourselves,” Salter said of Greenfield’s 3-point proficiency. “We put in a lot of work with shooting and I tell our guys don’t worry about it if you miss it. We were taking good shots; they just weren’t going in. We started making them in the second half.”
Murphy, a physical 6-foot-4 wing, asserted himself in the second half. He compiled his own double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, sealing off Woodlawn defenders and getting to the rim for layup opportunities. Murphy struggled finishing in the first half as a starter before finding the basket over the final 16 minutes.
With Evans and Murphy cleaning up the backboards, Greenfield owned the glass by a 42-16 margin.
“He can be such a dominant player,” Salter said of Murphy. And that’s what we’ve got to have to be successful.”
Murphy was 4 for 9 from the field in just over 24 minutes of play. His fourth-quarter layup gave Greenfield its biggest lead of 28 at 72-44.
“We were rusty, but we’re getting there,” Murphy said. “We’re trying to get back in the momentum before COVID hit — we’re just trying to play the right way.”
For Woodlawn, Hima Mohammed led the Trailblazers with 22 points. Scott Mozorov was the only other Woodlawn player in double figures with 15 as the visitors were forced to finish the contest with just five players over the remaining 6 minutes, 34 seconds after Henderson Williams was lost to fouls.
That wasn’t an issue on the Greenfield bench, nor is it expected to be in the near term.
“We can go 10, 11, 12 guys,” Salter assured. “We had two guys not dress today that are important to us, and so our depth is going to be something that will carry us throughout the year, I think.”
WOODLAWN (59)
Mohammed 22, Mayo 3, Morozov 15, Williamson 8, Williams 3, Bowen 8.
GREENFIELD (78)
Evans 26, Murphy 10, Clay 3, Kirby 4, Holland 5, Peten 2, Edwards 4, Watt 12, Wall, Pittman 6, Sherrod 6.
Score by quarters:
Woodlawn 14 11 13 21 — 59
Greenfield 13 24 27 14 — 78
