Knights get physical, overcome Raleigh Christian
By Tom Ham Special to the Times
The event was the first Wilson Prep HoopState Showcase on Saturday that Wilson Preparatory Academy officials hope becomes an annual event. No championship was at stake among the eight participating teams, but varsity boys basketball teams from Greenfield and Raleigh Christian scrapped as if world supremacy was at stake as the Knights avenged a one-point loss in their season opener with a 65-60 win before a sizable, entertained crowd inside the Wilson Prep gym Saturday afternoon.
At intervals, football pads would have been helpful. Neither head coach — Greenfield’s Rob Salter or Raleigh Christian’s David Hartman, in his first season — did not deny that physical contact was excessive.
“They hit us a few times and we hit them a few times,” Hartman said. “The physical play was about even.”
Commented Salter: “This team is not like some of my other teams. This team plays pretty good in physical games. We have (physically) strong guards and (junior) Hampton (Evans) is strong. This team can definitely win physical games.”
Benefiting from excellent 3-point shooting and sticky, physical defense, Greenfield emerged with its ninth win against three losses. The Eagles, who try to play as difficult a regular-season schedule as possible with a focus upon qualifying for the Hoop State Championship and receiving an invitation to a national tournament, dropped to 6-10.
“We take our losses and lumps now,” Hartman admitted, “We go through the fire early with the hope we will be rolling when January comes around.”
The Knights found themselves repeatedly clawing from single-digit deficits until the closing seconds of the third quarter. Hampton Evans, a 6-5 junior, scored with a nifty move inside for a 39-38 Greenfield lead with 1:24 left in the third quarter. But with 19.7 seconds showing, Gabe Marquis, a 6-1 junior, buried two free throws for a 40-39 Raleigh Christian edge after three quarters.
Evans and senior Micah Sherrod, in a reserve role, combined for five 3-pointers to rally the Knights. The pair accounted for all 17 Greenfield points in the period.
The comeback gained momentum early in the fourth quarter when senior Kyshon Atkinson netted a field goal and then sneaked a pass off a steal to Kobe Edwards for a 47-43 Knights’ edge.
Evans scored and Atkinson found himself all alone under the basket with three players nearby lying on the floor after a loose-ball tussle and scored for a 56-48 margin. Less than three minutes remained.
Despite a layup from the Knights’ Matt Kirby, the Eagles weren’t through. Greenfield helped out with a turnover, three fouls and a missed shot from close range. Raleigh Christian suddenly trailed only 62-60 with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Sherrod added a free throw with 3.4 seconds to go for a 63-60 edge. However, Evans kept the ball alive on the missed second foul shot. The Knights claimed the rebound. Evans was fouled and iced revenge with a pair of free throws with 0.2 of a second to go.
Raleigh Christian’s Hartman cited four turnovers and two missed box-outs in the final three minutes as crippling for his Eagles.
“That equated to 12 points,” Hartman contended. “(Greenfield) was able to execute a little better. Turning the ball over allowed them easy opportunities.”
Reviewed Greenfield’s Sherrod: “This game was personal. We had to go back in and beat them the second time. We couldn’t let them beat us again.
“Energy and effort won it for us. We were being lackadaisical on defense the first half. We turned it up defensively. If we had played like we did the first half, we wouldn’t have won.”
Contended Salter: “We were excited to see them again. We know we gave that (season-opening) game away. We wanted to come out and play a little better. We wore them down a little bit. Heart won that game.”
Evans and Sherrod each drilled in 19 points, with Sherrod registering his season high and knocking down 4-of-5 shots from 3-point distance. Atkinson canned nine points.
Sherrod came off the bench and said his coach’s instructions included to shoot the 3-pointer without hesitation.
“We saw a mismatch with (Evans),” Sherrod explained. “When he got past his defender, it opened up a lot of spots. It helped me get 3-point shots. This was my best game.”
Greenfield wound up with an 8-7 advantage in 3-pointers as the Eagles sensed an urgency to turn to the 3-pointer late after utilizing its size advantage to pound inside for three quarters. The Knights committed 12 turnovers but forced 16.
They had 11 assists. Greenfield shot for 50% accuracy from the floor and was accurate on 8-of-18 3-point shots from 44%. The Knights of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A ranks swished 13-of-16 free throws as compared to 11 of 13 for the Eagles, also imposing defensively.
Jakel Powell, a 6-5 senior, triggered Raleigh Christian with 19 points. Marquis, who hit on six 3-point shots in the first meeting, added 17 points. The Eagles featured six players at 6-5 or taller.
Raleigh Christian jumped to an 8-2 start, but the Knights spurted to within a point at 8-7. The Eagles owned a 19-14 advantage after one quarter. The low-scoring second quarter ended with Greenfield junior Matt Kirby nailing a jumper to close the deficit to 26-22.
“So far, this win is the most satisfying,” Sherrod assured.
“What can you say about Micah?” Salter expressed. “He came in and got us going. He’s having a great year, but he was phenomenal today.
“We just had to make some plays. We attacked mismatches well and did a good job in transition. We did a good job of guarding the 3-point line this time. This is a mighty big win for us. We had lost a couple of games by one or two points and we needed to come out and win one of those. And (Raleigh Christian) is a great team.”
RALEIGH CHRISTIAN (60)
Marquis 17, Robertson, Wilson 6, Proctor 9, Copeland 9, Powell 19, Sheppard, Bryant.
GREENFIELD (65)
Kirby 6, K. Edwards 4, N. Edwards 5, H. Evans 19, Atkinson 9, Sherrod 19, Wall, C. Evans 3.
Score by quarters:
Raleigh Christian 19 7 14 20 — 60
Greenfield 14 8 17 26 — 65
By Tom Ham Special to the Times
The event was the first Wilson Prep HoopState Showcase on Saturday that Wilson Preparatory Academy officials hope becomes an annual event. No championship was at stake among the eight participating teams, but varsity boys basketball teams from Greenfield and Raleigh Christian scrapped as if world supremacy was at stake as the Knights avenged a one-point loss in their season opener with a 65-60 win before a sizable, entertained crowd inside the Wilson Prep gym Saturday afternoon.
At intervals, football pads would have been helpful. Neither head coach — Greenfield’s Rob Salter or Raleigh Christian’s David Hartman, in his first season — did not deny that physical contact was excessive.
“They hit us a few times and we hit them a few times,” Hartman said. “The physical play was about even.”
Commented Salter: “This team is not like some of my other teams. This team plays pretty good in physical games. We have (physically) strong guards and (junior) Hampton (Evans) is strong. This team can definitely win physical games.”
Benefiting from excellent 3-point shooting and sticky, physical defense, Greenfield emerged with its ninth win against three losses. The Eagles, who try to play as difficult a regular-season schedule as possible with a focus upon qualifying for the Hoop State Championship and receiving an invitation to a national tournament, dropped to 6-10.
“We take our losses and lumps now,” Hartman admitted, “We go through the fire early with the hope we will be rolling when January comes around.”
The Knights found themselves repeatedly clawing from single-digit deficits until the closing seconds of the third quarter. Hampton Evans, a 6-5 junior, scored with a nifty move inside for a 39-38 Greenfield lead with 1:24 left in the third quarter. But with 19.7 seconds showing, Gabe Marquis, a 6-1 junior, buried two free throws for a 40-39 Raleigh Christian edge after three quarters.
Evans and senior Micah Sherrod, in a reserve role, combined for five 3-pointers to rally the Knights. The pair accounted for all 17 Greenfield points in the period.
The comeback gained momentum early in the fourth quarter when senior Kyshon Atkinson netted a field goal and then sneaked a pass off a steal to Kobe Edwards for a 47-43 Knights’ edge.
Evans scored and Atkinson found himself all alone under the basket with three players nearby lying on the floor after a loose-ball tussle and scored for a 56-48 margin. Less than three minutes remained.
Despite a layup from the Knights’ Matt Kirby, the Eagles weren’t through. Greenfield helped out with a turnover, three fouls and a missed shot from close range. Raleigh Christian suddenly trailed only 62-60 with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Sherrod added a free throw with 3.4 seconds to go for a 63-60 edge. However, Evans kept the ball alive on the missed second foul shot. The Knights claimed the rebound. Evans was fouled and iced revenge with a pair of free throws with 0.2 of a second to go.
Raleigh Christian’s Hartman cited four turnovers and two missed box-outs in the final three minutes as crippling for his Eagles.
“That equated to 12 points,” Hartman contended. “(Greenfield) was able to execute a little better. Turning the ball over allowed them easy opportunities.”
Reviewed Greenfield’s Sherrod: “This game was personal. We had to go back in and beat them the second time. We couldn’t let them beat us again.
“Energy and effort won it for us. We were being lackadaisical on defense the first half. We turned it up defensively. If we had played like we did the first half, we wouldn’t have won.”
Contended Salter: “We were excited to see them again. We know we gave that (season-opening) game away. We wanted to come out and play a little better. We wore them down a little bit. Heart won that game.”
Evans and Sherrod each drilled in 19 points, with Sherrod registering his season high and knocking down 4-of-5 shots from 3-point distance. Atkinson canned nine points.
Sherrod came off the bench and said his coach’s instructions included to shoot the 3-pointer without hesitation.
“We saw a mismatch with (Evans),” Sherrod explained. “When he got past his defender, it opened up a lot of spots. It helped me get 3-point shots. This was my best game.”
Greenfield wound up with an 8-7 advantage in 3-pointers as the Eagles sensed an urgency to turn to the 3-pointer late after utilizing its size advantage to pound inside for three quarters. The Knights committed 12 turnovers but forced 16.
They had 11 assists. Greenfield shot for 50% accuracy from the floor and was accurate on 8-of-18 3-point shots from 44%. The Knights of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A ranks swished 13-of-16 free throws as compared to 11 of 13 for the Eagles, also imposing defensively.
Jakel Powell, a 6-5 senior, triggered Raleigh Christian with 19 points. Marquis, who hit on six 3-point shots in the first meeting, added 17 points. The Eagles featured six players at 6-5 or taller.
Raleigh Christian jumped to an 8-2 start, but the Knights spurted to within a point at 8-7. The Eagles owned a 19-14 advantage after one quarter. The low-scoring second quarter ended with Greenfield junior Matt Kirby nailing a jumper to close the deficit to 26-22.
“So far, this win is the most satisfying,” Sherrod assured.
“What can you say about Micah?” Salter expressed. “He came in and got us going. He’s having a great year, but he was phenomenal today.
“We just had to make some plays. We attacked mismatches well and did a good job in transition. We did a good job of guarding the 3-point line this time. This is a mighty big win for us. We had lost a couple of games by one or two points and we needed to come out and win one of those. And (Raleigh Christian) is a great team.”
RALEIGH CHRISTIAN (60)
Marquis 17, Robertson, Wilson 6, Proctor 9, Copeland 9, Powell 19, Sheppard, Bryant.
GREENFIELD (65)
Kirby 6, K. Edwards 4, N. Edwards 5, H. Evans 19, Atkinson 9, Sherrod 19, Wall, C. Evans 3.
Score by quarters:
Raleigh Christian 19 7 14 20 — 60
Greenfield 14 8 17 26 — 65