Knights fall flat in CPIC title game
By Andrew Schnittker
Entering the 2-A/3-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference Tournament this week, the Greenfield School boys basketball team’s goals were to capture a conference title on its home court, and prepare and build momentum for the upcoming NCISAA 2-A playoffs.
With that in mind, it would be difficult for the team to be more discouraged by a 81-56 loss to rival Wayne Country Day in the CPIC title game on Friday night.
“It was very frustrating,” said Greenfield senior Kyshon Atkinson. “We came out really flat tonight. We were not playing Greenfield basketball. It really hurt us, because we let our fans down. We let the organization down, because it’s built on hard work, and we didn’t show that at all tonight.”
The Knights (26-10), who lost to the Chargers (27-6) for the second time in a week, struggled with turnovers and poor shot selection against WCD’s match-up zone defense.
However, by far the biggest culprit in the loss was poor defense, as the Knights seemed out of sync on their rotations, allowing frequent drives into the paint and open 3-point shots.
“It’s disappointing,” Salter said. “I’m embarrassed. Congrats to Wayne, they just whipped our behind. They were the better team, they were better coached, they wanted it more. I’m not going to lie, that’s as embarrassing of a loss as I’ve had here in a long time in that type of situation. I’m at a loss for words right now.”
Jordan Cooper, who scored 18 points in the title game, was named the CPIC Tournament MVP. Also on the all-tournament team for WCD were Nayshin Waller (18 points), Carlos Vazquez (17) and Jai Williams (14).
Atkinson scored a game-high 20 points and was Greenfield’s lone all-tournament team rep. Matt Kirby followed him with 11.
“We just can’t keep anybody in front of us right now,” Salter said. “We’re not rotating, and when we do, we’re a step and a half slow. We’re not anticipating on the defensive end, and we don’t have the size. … They all got in the lane. They utilized their size over us, and I told the guys there’s going to be some changes going into the state tournament next week. We’ve got to figure some things out.”
Knights junior forward Hampton Evans, who had been sidelined since Jan. 23 with a concussion, returned.
There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter, as Evans was struck in the head by an inadvertent elbow on a shot-block attempt, but Salter said there was good news on that front after the game.
“Our trainer doesn’t think it’s a concussion,” Salter said. “So that’s a good thing, hopefully. He’s got a big goose egg on his head. I think it scared him, it scared all of us, it scared me. Hopefully he’ll be OK.”
The first quarter offered a glimpse into the defensive struggles to come for the Knights, as Cooper buried a deep 3 from just inside half court at the first quarter buzzer, giving the Chargers a 22-15 lead after eight minutes.
The Knights continued to suffer with poor passing and shot selection, and defensive rotations, in the second frame, allowing the Chargers to balloon their lead to as much as 17, and take a 42-29 lead into the locker room.
“Defensively, we were not talking to each other, and we were not sitting down,” Atkinson said. “Everybody was standing up. We were letting them penetrate too easily and get mostly everything they wanted. And they were knocking down shots.”
The Knights could not adjust their way back into the game in the third quarter, continuing to struggle to find answers against Wayne Country Day’s match-up zone and defend the Chargers’ dribble-drive penetration.
Wayne Country Day extended its lead to 27 through three quarters, and the Knights stumbled to the finish line, with plenty of soul searching left to do ahead of the state playoffs.
“I got on the guys hard,” Salter said. “This is not the type of momentum you want going into the state tournament, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We play like that, we go home (next) Saturday or whenever we play. If we figure it out, maybe we can play for a little while.”
With five minutes left in the second quarter, Wayne Country Day’s student section, standing in the back left corner of the gym, was ejected for abusive language towards the referees and escorted from the building. At halftime, four students under the age of 16 were allowed to re-enter and sit with their parents.
Greenfield will not await its draw and seed in the NCISAA 2-A playoffs, with the bracket set to be revealed Sunday.
“We need a whole 360 turn around,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got to come together as a team, as a family and figure out what’s going on, because this is not Greenfield basketball if we want to compete in the state playoffs.”
WAYNE COUNTRY DAY (81)
Cooper 18, Waller 18, Vazquez 17, Williams 14, Cogdell 8, Coles 5, Jones 2.
GREENFIELD (56)
Atkinson 20, Kirby 11, Adair 6, Baptiste 6, C. Evans 6, N. Edwards 4, Sherrod 3, Wall 2, Evans 2, K. Edwards 2.
Score by quarters:
WCD 22 20 22 17 — 81
GFS 15 14 8 19 — 56
By Andrew Schnittker
Entering the 2-A/3-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference Tournament this week, the Greenfield School boys basketball team’s goals were to capture a conference title on its home court, and prepare and build momentum for the upcoming NCISAA 2-A playoffs.
With that in mind, it would be difficult for the team to be more discouraged by a 81-56 loss to rival Wayne Country Day in the CPIC title game on Friday night.
“It was very frustrating,” said Greenfield senior Kyshon Atkinson. “We came out really flat tonight. We were not playing Greenfield basketball. It really hurt us, because we let our fans down. We let the organization down, because it’s built on hard work, and we didn’t show that at all tonight.”
The Knights (26-10), who lost to the Chargers (27-6) for the second time in a week, struggled with turnovers and poor shot selection against WCD’s match-up zone defense.
However, by far the biggest culprit in the loss was poor defense, as the Knights seemed out of sync on their rotations, allowing frequent drives into the paint and open 3-point shots.
“It’s disappointing,” Salter said. “I’m embarrassed. Congrats to Wayne, they just whipped our behind. They were the better team, they were better coached, they wanted it more. I’m not going to lie, that’s as embarrassing of a loss as I’ve had here in a long time in that type of situation. I’m at a loss for words right now.”
Jordan Cooper, who scored 18 points in the title game, was named the CPIC Tournament MVP. Also on the all-tournament team for WCD were Nayshin Waller (18 points), Carlos Vazquez (17) and Jai Williams (14).
Atkinson scored a game-high 20 points and was Greenfield’s lone all-tournament team rep. Matt Kirby followed him with 11.
“We just can’t keep anybody in front of us right now,” Salter said. “We’re not rotating, and when we do, we’re a step and a half slow. We’re not anticipating on the defensive end, and we don’t have the size. … They all got in the lane. They utilized their size over us, and I told the guys there’s going to be some changes going into the state tournament next week. We’ve got to figure some things out.”
Knights junior forward Hampton Evans, who had been sidelined since Jan. 23 with a concussion, returned.
There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter, as Evans was struck in the head by an inadvertent elbow on a shot-block attempt, but Salter said there was good news on that front after the game.
“Our trainer doesn’t think it’s a concussion,” Salter said. “So that’s a good thing, hopefully. He’s got a big goose egg on his head. I think it scared him, it scared all of us, it scared me. Hopefully he’ll be OK.”
The first quarter offered a glimpse into the defensive struggles to come for the Knights, as Cooper buried a deep 3 from just inside half court at the first quarter buzzer, giving the Chargers a 22-15 lead after eight minutes.
The Knights continued to suffer with poor passing and shot selection, and defensive rotations, in the second frame, allowing the Chargers to balloon their lead to as much as 17, and take a 42-29 lead into the locker room.
“Defensively, we were not talking to each other, and we were not sitting down,” Atkinson said. “Everybody was standing up. We were letting them penetrate too easily and get mostly everything they wanted. And they were knocking down shots.”
The Knights could not adjust their way back into the game in the third quarter, continuing to struggle to find answers against Wayne Country Day’s match-up zone and defend the Chargers’ dribble-drive penetration.
Wayne Country Day extended its lead to 27 through three quarters, and the Knights stumbled to the finish line, with plenty of soul searching left to do ahead of the state playoffs.
“I got on the guys hard,” Salter said. “This is not the type of momentum you want going into the state tournament, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We play like that, we go home (next) Saturday or whenever we play. If we figure it out, maybe we can play for a little while.”
With five minutes left in the second quarter, Wayne Country Day’s student section, standing in the back left corner of the gym, was ejected for abusive language towards the referees and escorted from the building. At halftime, four students under the age of 16 were allowed to re-enter and sit with their parents.
Greenfield will not await its draw and seed in the NCISAA 2-A playoffs, with the bracket set to be revealed Sunday.
“We need a whole 360 turn around,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got to come together as a team, as a family and figure out what’s going on, because this is not Greenfield basketball if we want to compete in the state playoffs.”
WAYNE COUNTRY DAY (81)
Cooper 18, Waller 18, Vazquez 17, Williams 14, Cogdell 8, Coles 5, Jones 2.
GREENFIELD (56)
Atkinson 20, Kirby 11, Adair 6, Baptiste 6, C. Evans 6, N. Edwards 4, Sherrod 3, Wall 2, Evans 2, K. Edwards 2.
Score by quarters:
WCD 22 20 22 17 — 81
GFS 15 14 8 19 — 56
