Knights stick to fast lane to beat Grace Christian, rule their Christmas tourney
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter
JimmyLewisWT
Despite a modest rotation in terms of depth, the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team stuck to its push-the-pace process during Saturday night’s championship game of the Greenfield Christmas Tournament.
With Raleigh Grace Christian boasting a pair of shot blockers inside with 7-foot center Jaylon Gibson and 6-9 junior Keeyan Itejere, the Knights found passage to the rim within the half-court a challenging endeavor at best. Blocks and redirections piled up, enabling the Eagles to give the hosts problems.
But behind tournament Most Valuable Player Collin Guilford, Greenfield’s preferred style of play emerged superior in the fourth quarter.
Guilford beat the third-quarter buzzer with a key 3-pointer, and the Knights used a 19-3 run through their transition game to pull away for a 76-61 victory.
Key for Greenfield (14-2) in overcoming Grace Christian (8-7) inside was a 13-for-23 showing from 3-point range. The Knights, despite the size disparities, made the most of their shot selection by converting 28 of 54 shots, good for a 51.9% clip.
“Their bigs blocked a lot of shots,” Greenfield head coach Rob Salter said of Gibson and Itejere. “But we were telling them, keep being aggressive. And instead of trying to finish around them, look to find our shooters. And I thought they did a good job.”
The entirety of Greenfield’s senior-laden starting lineup finished in double figures, with Guilford leading the way with 18 points. Dji Bailey, one of two Wake Forest signees in the game along with the 7-0 Gibson, had 14. Jordan Lynch (13), Creighton Lebo (12) and Trey Pittman (11) followed.
Greenfield conceded the first six points but recovered to lead 22-20 at the end of the first quarter. Pittman’s hook shot sent the Knights into halftime with a 42-35 advantage, with the lead reaching 12 in the third quarter on back-to-back treys by Lynch and Bailey.
The Eagles made one final run before the end of the third. Off a scramble situation, Gibson put away an alley-oop to complete a 12-0 surge and tie it at 51. But Greenfield pushed the ball quickly, with Bailey finding Guilford in the corner. The resulting 3-pointer before the buzzer sent the Knights up three, which served to be a harbinger of things to come.
“Coach Salter has always done a great job of transition,” Grace Christian head coach DeShannon Morris said. “That’s the way he plays, uptempo style. We knew that coming in. We were praying they were going to miss. But anytime you hit 13 3-point shots, it’s going to be very tough. They play very unselfish basketball.”
Pittman was a fourth-quarter catalyst for Greenfield in its clinching run. Jalen Walker’s putback to open the fourth brought Grace Christian within one at 54-53, but a Pittman floater put Greenfield up by three.
After the basket, double technical fouls were handed out to Bailey and Walker, but Pittman continued to thrive in transition, hitting a 3-pointer and drawing a goaltending call against the Grace Christian length for a 61-53 cushion.
Greenfield realized its largest lead at 73-56 on Lebo’s layup.
Gibson had 18 to lead Grace Christian, while Stefan McLeod had 13. Guilford had five assists for Greenfield and a pair of steals. Bailey had four assists.
“We knew we couldn’t drive as easy as we normally could because we were playing against seven footers,” Guilford said. “So we just focused on our shot and passing the ball around.”
Greenfield opens play in the John Wall Holiday Invitational on Thursday against Raleigh Millbrook.
GRACE CHR. (61)
Anderson 1, Gibson 18, Kilby 2, Kaleta 2, Walker 10, McLeod 13, Hukins 7, Itejere 8.
GREENFIELD (76)
Guilford 18, Lynch 13, Bailey 14, Peten 3, Holland 3, Pittman 11, Lebo 12, Evans 2.
Score by quarters:
Grace Chr. 20 15 16 10 — 61
Greenfield 22 20 12 22 — 76
By Jimmy Lewis jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter
JimmyLewisWTDespite a modest rotation in terms of depth, the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team stuck to its push-the-pace process during Saturday night’s championship game of the Greenfield Christmas Tournament.
With Raleigh Grace Christian boasting a pair of shot blockers inside with 7-foot center Jaylon Gibson and 6-9 junior Keeyan Itejere, the Knights found passage to the rim within the half-court a challenging endeavor at best. Blocks and redirections piled up, enabling the Eagles to give the hosts problems.
But behind tournament Most Valuable Player Collin Guilford, Greenfield’s preferred style of play emerged superior in the fourth quarter.
Guilford beat the third-quarter buzzer with a key 3-pointer, and the Knights used a 19-3 run through their transition game to pull away for a 76-61 victory.
Key for Greenfield (14-2) in overcoming Grace Christian (8-7) inside was a 13-for-23 showing from 3-point range. The Knights, despite the size disparities, made the most of their shot selection by converting 28 of 54 shots, good for a 51.9% clip.
“Their bigs blocked a lot of shots,” Greenfield head coach Rob Salter said of Gibson and Itejere. “But we were telling them, keep being aggressive. And instead of trying to finish around them, look to find our shooters. And I thought they did a good job.”
The entirety of Greenfield’s senior-laden starting lineup finished in double figures, with Guilford leading the way with 18 points. Dji Bailey, one of two Wake Forest signees in the game along with the 7-0 Gibson, had 14. Jordan Lynch (13), Creighton Lebo (12) and Trey Pittman (11) followed.
Greenfield conceded the first six points but recovered to lead 22-20 at the end of the first quarter. Pittman’s hook shot sent the Knights into halftime with a 42-35 advantage, with the lead reaching 12 in the third quarter on back-to-back treys by Lynch and Bailey.
The Eagles made one final run before the end of the third. Off a scramble situation, Gibson put away an alley-oop to complete a 12-0 surge and tie it at 51. But Greenfield pushed the ball quickly, with Bailey finding Guilford in the corner. The resulting 3-pointer before the buzzer sent the Knights up three, which served to be a harbinger of things to come.
“Coach Salter has always done a great job of transition,” Grace Christian head coach DeShannon Morris said. “That’s the way he plays, uptempo style. We knew that coming in. We were praying they were going to miss. But anytime you hit 13 3-point shots, it’s going to be very tough. They play very unselfish basketball.”
Pittman was a fourth-quarter catalyst for Greenfield in its clinching run. Jalen Walker’s putback to open the fourth brought Grace Christian within one at 54-53, but a Pittman floater put Greenfield up by three.
After the basket, double technical fouls were handed out to Bailey and Walker, but Pittman continued to thrive in transition, hitting a 3-pointer and drawing a goaltending call against the Grace Christian length for a 61-53 cushion.
Greenfield realized its largest lead at 73-56 on Lebo’s layup.
Gibson had 18 to lead Grace Christian, while Stefan McLeod had 13. Guilford had five assists for Greenfield and a pair of steals. Bailey had four assists.
“We knew we couldn’t drive as easy as we normally could because we were playing against seven footers,” Guilford said. “So we just focused on our shot and passing the ball around.”
Greenfield opens play in the John Wall Holiday Invitational on Thursday against Raleigh Millbrook.
GRACE CHR. (61)
Anderson 1, Gibson 18, Kilby 2, Kaleta 2, Walker 10, McLeod 13, Hukins 7, Itejere 8.
GREENFIELD (76)
Guilford 18, Lynch 13, Bailey 14, Peten 3, Holland 3, Pittman 11, Lebo 12, Evans 2.
Score by quarters:
Grace Chr. 20 15 16 10 — 61
Greenfield 22 20 12 22 — 76
