Knights turned back again in state title clash
LEWISVILLE — The momentum from Thursday’s decisive defeat of archrival Wayne Country Day did not travel with the Greenfield School boys basketball team for Saturday’s NCISAA 2-A championship game. The Burlington School added a third straight 2-A title after handing the Knights a 78-65 defeat in their second title game loss in as many years.
“We’re sad that we lost, but I’m definitely not disappointed in the guys. I’m so proud of them,” assured head coach Rob Salter in a postgame telephone interview.
Foul trouble throughout the contest and a bunch of shots that would not fall conspire to doom the No. 3-seeded Knights, who finished 28-11, against the No. 1 Spartans (23-15) in the teams’ second meeting of 2023. The Burlington School pulled out a 68-64 win in the MLK Classic Showcase at Farmville Central on Jan. 16, scoring the last six points to stun the Knights, who had led much of the contest. This time Greenfield was playing catch-up from the second quarter, Salter said.
“We played really hard we just didn’t play good enough to win,” he said. “We were up most of the first quarter and they hit a shot at the buzzer to take the lead. … And we had the looks we wanted, we had great looks all night but just didn’t make them.”
Greenfield, the 1-A runner-up in 2022, was making its 12th trip to the NCISAA championship game but the first at the 2-A level. The Knights won five 1-A crowns, most recently in 2019.
The Spartans pulled away from a 13-11 lead through one quarter to a 36-22 halftime advantage that the Knights were barely able to chip into the second half. Salter said that Greenfield fought to within nine points but a whistle cut that momentum and Burlington kept the Knights at arm’s length the rest of the way.
“Obviously, there’s always going to be questionable calls,” Salter said. “They were pounding it inside. I mean, they’re huge so they were definitely pounding it inside, but the problem with us – it was foul trouble, but we also missed shots we shouldn’t have. We missed free throws in the first half that could have really helped us. I mean, our guys played so hard. I’m so proud of them. We just didn’t play well enough to win, so hats off to them. They made free throws and we didn’t.”
With junior forward Hampton Evans, who had 22 points in the January matchup with TBS, saddled with early foul trouble along with freshman point guard Kobe Edwards and junior wing Nik Edwards, Salter’s options were limited throughout Saturday’s championship game at Forsyth Country Day School.
“When you have three starters that can’t play because of foul trouble, let me tell you about that,” Salter said. “Kobe and Nik and Hampton combined for five points. That kills you.”
Junior guard Matt Kirby filled the void somewhat with a game-high 27 points for Greenfield while senior Kyshon Atkinson dropped in 11 points.
“Matt was phenomenal tonight,” Salter said. “He was great inside and out, penetrating and shooting the ball. He really put us on his back and kept us in the ballgame.”
The Spartans were paced by junior point guard Zion Walker with 20 points, one of four scorers in double figures. Josh Randolph, a 6-7 junior wing, and 6-8 sophomore post Kaden Hammond each provided 14 points while 6-4 junior guard Jordan Durham added 12 points.
“They’re big and athletic and they’ve got a phenomenal point guard in Zion Walker,” Salter said. “He’s had a fantastic year for them this year and he led them today. He made the plays and the free throws when he needed to.”
It was the final game for an indispensable quartet of seniors the Knights will certainly miss — Atkinson, Jack Adair, Micah Sherrod and Bryson Wall.
“I just want to thank our four seniors — they were phenomenal this year and their whole career,” Salter said. “I wanted it so bad for them because they’re such fantastic young men and represent our school the way they should.”
But Evans, whose buzzer-beater as an eighth grader eliminated The Burlington School from the 1-A quarterfinals in 2020, will head an impressive returning cast for Greenfield, which demonstrated that it’s as much as a state contender at the 2-A level as it was for more than 20 years in the 1-A ranks.
“I’m so proud of us getting there,” Salter said. “A lot of people doubted us, didn’t think we would get this far this year. Some of the stuff we’ve gone through but these guys stayed together. This was such a tight, tight team, man, they were so close and I loved coaching ‘em every second. But we do, we’ve got a lot of talent coming back and these guys are going to use this to motivate themselves and continue to get better because these guys love being in the gym and love working with each other. You know, we’re gonna be back. We’re going to try it again next year. You know, we’re excited with what we have coming back.”
GREENFIELD (65) Kirby 27, Atkinson 11, H. Evans 5, Sherrod 3, Adair 13, C. Evans 6.
BURLINGTON (78) Walker 20, Flippen 7, Lassiter 8, Durham 12, Randolph 14, Taylor 3, Hammond 14.
Score by quarters:
Greenfield11 11 16 27 — 65
Burlington 13 23 13 29 — 78
LEWISVILLE — The momentum from Thursday’s decisive defeat of archrival Wayne Country Day did not travel with the Greenfield School boys basketball team for Saturday’s NCISAA 2-A championship game. The Burlington School added a third straight 2-A title after handing the Knights a 78-65 defeat in their second title game loss in as many years.
“We’re sad that we lost, but I’m definitely not disappointed in the guys. I’m so proud of them,” assured head coach Rob Salter in a postgame telephone interview.
Foul trouble throughout the contest and a bunch of shots that would not fall conspire to doom the No. 3-seeded Knights, who finished 28-11, against the No. 1 Spartans (23-15) in the teams’ second meeting of 2023. The Burlington School pulled out a 68-64 win in the MLK Classic Showcase at Farmville Central on Jan. 16, scoring the last six points to stun the Knights, who had led much of the contest. This time Greenfield was playing catch-up from the second quarter, Salter said.
“We played really hard we just didn’t play good enough to win,” he said. “We were up most of the first quarter and they hit a shot at the buzzer to take the lead. … And we had the looks we wanted, we had great looks all night but just didn’t make them.”
Greenfield, the 1-A runner-up in 2022, was making its 12th trip to the NCISAA championship game but the first at the 2-A level. The Knights won five 1-A crowns, most recently in 2019.
The Spartans pulled away from a 13-11 lead through one quarter to a 36-22 halftime advantage that the Knights were barely able to chip into the second half. Salter said that Greenfield fought to within nine points but a whistle cut that momentum and Burlington kept the Knights at arm’s length the rest of the way.
“Obviously, there’s always going to be questionable calls,” Salter said. “They were pounding it inside. I mean, they’re huge so they were definitely pounding it inside, but the problem with us – it was foul trouble, but we also missed shots we shouldn’t have. We missed free throws in the first half that could have really helped us. I mean, our guys played so hard. I’m so proud of them. We just didn’t play well enough to win, so hats off to them. They made free throws and we didn’t.”
With junior forward Hampton Evans, who had 22 points in the January matchup with TBS, saddled with early foul trouble along with freshman point guard Kobe Edwards and junior wing Nik Edwards, Salter’s options were limited throughout Saturday’s championship game at Forsyth Country Day School.
“When you have three starters that can’t play because of foul trouble, let me tell you about that,” Salter said. “Kobe and Nik and Hampton combined for five points. That kills you.”
Junior guard Matt Kirby filled the void somewhat with a game-high 27 points for Greenfield while senior Kyshon Atkinson dropped in 11 points.
“Matt was phenomenal tonight,” Salter said. “He was great inside and out, penetrating and shooting the ball. He really put us on his back and kept us in the ballgame.”
The Spartans were paced by junior point guard Zion Walker with 20 points, one of four scorers in double figures. Josh Randolph, a 6-7 junior wing, and 6-8 sophomore post Kaden Hammond each provided 14 points while 6-4 junior guard Jordan Durham added 12 points.
“They’re big and athletic and they’ve got a phenomenal point guard in Zion Walker,” Salter said. “He’s had a fantastic year for them this year and he led them today. He made the plays and the free throws when he needed to.”
It was the final game for an indispensable quartet of seniors the Knights will certainly miss — Atkinson, Jack Adair, Micah Sherrod and Bryson Wall.
“I just want to thank our four seniors — they were phenomenal this year and their whole career,” Salter said. “I wanted it so bad for them because they’re such fantastic young men and represent our school the way they should.”
But Evans, whose buzzer-beater as an eighth grader eliminated The Burlington School from the 1-A quarterfinals in 2020, will head an impressive returning cast for Greenfield, which demonstrated that it’s as much as a state contender at the 2-A level as it was for more than 20 years in the 1-A ranks.
“I’m so proud of us getting there,” Salter said. “A lot of people doubted us, didn’t think we would get this far this year. Some of the stuff we’ve gone through but these guys stayed together. This was such a tight, tight team, man, they were so close and I loved coaching ‘em every second. But we do, we’ve got a lot of talent coming back and these guys are going to use this to motivate themselves and continue to get better because these guys love being in the gym and love working with each other. You know, we’re gonna be back. We’re going to try it again next year. You know, we’re excited with what we have coming back.”
GREENFIELD (65) Kirby 27, Atkinson 11, H. Evans 5, Sherrod 3, Adair 13, C. Evans 6.
BURLINGTON (78) Walker 20, Flippen 7, Lassiter 8, Durham 12, Randolph 14, Taylor 3, Hammond 14.
Score by quarters:
Greenfield11 11 16 27 — 65
Burlington 13 23 13 29 — 78
