Josh Reid’s last-minute layup gives Village dramatic win over Trinity
Village Christian fights off Trinity Christian to stay unbeaten
Village Christian remained unbeaten with a thrilling 55-53 win against rival Trinity Christian on Tuesday night in an early-season NCISAA Sandhills Conference matchup at John D. Fuller Recreation Center.
Josh Reid, who finished with 13 points for the Crusaders, collected a loose ball and made the go-ahead layup with 26 seconds left to help Village improve to 5-0 on the season.
“It’s still early and these games are always close,” said Village coach Kurtis Darden.
“The last bucket didn’t come how I drew it up, but it went in and I’m happy. I think we may be similar in age with our teams — they have some young guys that play a lot, I have some young guys that play a lot.”
Zavian McLean added a game-high 20 points and Justin Thomas added 12 to join Reid in double figures.
The Knights led by double figures for much of the first half, using a 13-2 run to take an early advantage before carrying a 30-21 lead into halftime.
Trinity coach Heath Vandevender said the Crusaders (4-1) played “young and soft” in the first 16 minutes.
But Trinity battled back after the break behind Todd Burt, who scored 12 of his team-best 16 points in the second half. Cam Oakes added 14, including the game-tying 3-pointer with just over a minute left in regulation before Reid’s difference maker.
With a chance to tie it or take the lead in the final seconds, the Crusaders were unable to get a good look.
“I thought they (Village) took it to us and were the more mature team, more aggressive team (in the first half),” said Trinity coach Heath Vandevender
“I thought we played a little better in the second half. ... We did hit some shots and make some runs, but that last possession that we drew up we didn’t get anything that we wanted.”
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Reliable Reid
Reid saw his moment and seized it on Tuesday night. After scoring nine of his 13 points in the first half, Reid waited and waited for an opportunity to shift the game in favor of the Knights down the stretch.
“We preach patience, we preach 50-50 balls,” Darden said. “That’s what it came down to. We made some plays but had a lot of turnovers.”
After “a lot of fumbling” under the basket with just under 30 seconds left to go, Reid got his chance.
“I was waiting on my opportunity to do something and it happened to fall in my hand,” he said. “Oh, there it is. ... I just have to keep the same mentality.”
Calm Zavian
McLean, who is set to play college basketball at Columbia University in New York next season, didn’t have his best game on Tuesday.
Turnovers were a problem, but he was solid and reliable when it counted, scoring 20 points, including some key buckets down the stretch that helped the Knights counter Trinity’s final surge.
“I felt he could have had 30 if he had made some smarter plays,” Darden said of McLean. “He made them when it counted.”
Growing up
After a quiet first half, the 6-foot-7 Burt thrived in the second half with 12 points. Finding a place in the high post, Burt knocked down several jumpers in the middle of Village’s zone defense and had several looks around the basket.
He threw down an alley-oop with just under four minutes remaining to key Trinity’s final run.
Still, Vandevender would like to see more consistency from his young group moving forward.
“We gotta grow up,” he said.
“We’re 4-1 and I don’t like losing home games or conference games. The conference is loaded. I think we played nine and five of those guys are either sophomores or freshmen. Our seniors have got to play better. Todd’s gotta play better and Travon (Jackson) gives us everything he can. Marcus (Boykins) had a much better second half than a first half. It’s just gonna take time to gel and come together.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3519.
Village Christian fights off Trinity Christian to stay unbeaten
Village Christian remained unbeaten with a thrilling 55-53 win against rival Trinity Christian on Tuesday night in an early-season NCISAA Sandhills Conference matchup at John D. Fuller Recreation Center.
Josh Reid, who finished with 13 points for the Crusaders, collected a loose ball and made the go-ahead layup with 26 seconds left to help Village improve to 5-0 on the season.
“It’s still early and these games are always close,” said Village coach Kurtis Darden.
“The last bucket didn’t come how I drew it up, but it went in and I’m happy. I think we may be similar in age with our teams — they have some young guys that play a lot, I have some young guys that play a lot.”
Zavian McLean added a game-high 20 points and Justin Thomas added 12 to join Reid in double figures.
The Knights led by double figures for much of the first half, using a 13-2 run to take an early advantage before carrying a 30-21 lead into halftime.
Trinity coach Heath Vandevender said the Crusaders (4-1) played “young and soft” in the first 16 minutes.
But Trinity battled back after the break behind Todd Burt, who scored 12 of his team-best 16 points in the second half. Cam Oakes added 14, including the game-tying 3-pointer with just over a minute left in regulation before Reid’s difference maker.
With a chance to tie it or take the lead in the final seconds, the Crusaders were unable to get a good look.
“I thought they (Village) took it to us and were the more mature team, more aggressive team (in the first half),” said Trinity coach Heath Vandevender
“I thought we played a little better in the second half. ... We did hit some shots and make some runs, but that last possession that we drew up we didn’t get anything that we wanted.”
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Reliable Reid
Reid saw his moment and seized it on Tuesday night. After scoring nine of his 13 points in the first half, Reid waited and waited for an opportunity to shift the game in favor of the Knights down the stretch.
“We preach patience, we preach 50-50 balls,” Darden said. “That’s what it came down to. We made some plays but had a lot of turnovers.”
After “a lot of fumbling” under the basket with just under 30 seconds left to go, Reid got his chance.
“I was waiting on my opportunity to do something and it happened to fall in my hand,” he said. “Oh, there it is. ... I just have to keep the same mentality.”
Calm Zavian
McLean, who is set to play college basketball at Columbia University in New York next season, didn’t have his best game on Tuesday.
Turnovers were a problem, but he was solid and reliable when it counted, scoring 20 points, including some key buckets down the stretch that helped the Knights counter Trinity’s final surge.
“I felt he could have had 30 if he had made some smarter plays,” Darden said of McLean. “He made them when it counted.”
Growing up
After a quiet first half, the 6-foot-7 Burt thrived in the second half with 12 points. Finding a place in the high post, Burt knocked down several jumpers in the middle of Village’s zone defense and had several looks around the basket.
He threw down an alley-oop with just under four minutes remaining to key Trinity’s final run.
Still, Vandevender would like to see more consistency from his young group moving forward.
“We gotta grow up,” he said.
“We’re 4-1 and I don’t like losing home games or conference games. The conference is loaded. I think we played nine and five of those guys are either sophomores or freshmen. Our seniors have got to play better. Todd’s gotta play better and Travon (Jackson) gives us everything he can. Marcus (Boykins) had a much better second half than a first half. It’s just gonna take time to gel and come together.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3519.
