Bengals slip by HP Christian
Greensboro Day 60
High Point Christian 59
BY JOE SIRERA GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD
joe.sirera@greensboro.com
GREENSBORO _ On a court loadedwith future Division I college basketball players, Greensboro Day sophomore John Newman had his coming-out party Friday night. The 6-foot-5 wing scored 20 points,including the decisive basket with 36.6 seconds left, to give the secondranked Bengals a 60-59 victory over No. 1 High Point Christian at Guilford College’s Ragan-Brown Field House.
With Greensboro Day (19-3) trailing for the fi rst time since the opening four minutes, Newman took the ball from the right corner and slashed down the baseline to bank in a shot and draw a foul.
“I was just thinking, ‘We’ve got to score,’ ” Newman said. “I felt like the baseline was open, so I was going to take it and make it.”
Newman didn’t make the ensuing free throw. High Point Christiancontrolled the rebound and calledtimeout in the frontcourt with 26.8seconds to play.
The Cougars (14-3) worked theball around the perimeter before Ty Graves’ pull-up shot in the lane wasdeflected. Newman and High Point Christian’s Ben Robertson collided in the air going after the rebound and the final horn sounded on an intense basketball game.
Newman’s shot was the difference,but Greensboro Day won the game with its defense. The Bengals held top-10 recruit Edrice “Bam” Adebayo to 17 points, althoughthe 6-foot-10, 265-pound power forward was a force around the basket all night.
“I can’t say enough about the job Jeff Smith does with our defense,” Greensboro Day coach Freddy Johnson said of his longtime assistant. “To have a guy like that on your bench, I feel likea football coach because he just takes over the defense.”
Smith’s defense double and triple-teamed Adebayo at every opportunity and forced him away from thebasket much of the game.
“We didn’t do a very good job” of getting him the ball, High Point Christiancoach Brandon Clifford said. “We were very stagnant offensively, especiallyearly.”
But it was at the defensive end where the Cougars struggled most.
“Our main story of the night was guarding the basketball,” Clifford said. “That’s been a hallmark of ours for years, and I didn’t have my team prepared defensively the way I expected to. I told them, ‘I’ll take this one,’ because there were things I could’ve prepared them for and I didn’t.”
GIRLS,
GREENSBORO DAY 56,
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN 24:
Gloria Smith-Bunch scored a game-high 24 points as the Bengals
cruised past the Cougars.
GIRLS
Greensboro Day 14 14 18 10—56
High Point Christian 6 4 8 6—24
GREENSBORO DAY (11-10) — Gloria Smith-Bunch 17, Chloe Brewington 11, Mahlon Brady 10, Madison Head 6, Kassidy Crosby 5, Lauren Whitley 3, Maddy Murdock 2, Ellie Baldwinn 2.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN (NA) —Maggie Williams 10, Dakota Truhe 6,Ally Powell 2, Logan Holland 2, RileyBarrett 2, Imani Stewart 2.
BOYS
Greensboro Day 17 13 19 11—60
High Point Christian 9 17 16 17—59
GREENSBORO DAY (19-3) — John Newman 20, Travon Mayo 9, Will Dillard 9, Jaquar Moorman 6, Solomon Smith 6, Jordan Perkins 5, Pearce Landry 3, Alex Michael 2.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN (14-3) —Bam Adebayo 17, Reece Bogan 11,Ty Graves 10, Ben Robertson 8,Jalen Seegars 8, Michael Hueitt Jr. 3,Michael Seals 2.
Greensboro Day 60
High Point Christian 59
BY JOE SIRERA GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD
joe.sirera@greensboro.com
GREENSBORO _ On a court loadedwith future Division I college basketball players, Greensboro Day sophomore John Newman had his coming-out party Friday night. The 6-foot-5 wing scored 20 points,including the decisive basket with 36.6 seconds left, to give the secondranked Bengals a 60-59 victory over No. 1 High Point Christian at Guilford College’s Ragan-Brown Field House.
With Greensboro Day (19-3) trailing for the fi rst time since the opening four minutes, Newman took the ball from the right corner and slashed down the baseline to bank in a shot and draw a foul.
“I was just thinking, ‘We’ve got to score,’ ” Newman said. “I felt like the baseline was open, so I was going to take it and make it.”
Newman didn’t make the ensuing free throw. High Point Christiancontrolled the rebound and calledtimeout in the frontcourt with 26.8seconds to play.
The Cougars (14-3) worked theball around the perimeter before Ty Graves’ pull-up shot in the lane wasdeflected. Newman and High Point Christian’s Ben Robertson collided in the air going after the rebound and the final horn sounded on an intense basketball game.
Newman’s shot was the difference,but Greensboro Day won the game with its defense. The Bengals held top-10 recruit Edrice “Bam” Adebayo to 17 points, althoughthe 6-foot-10, 265-pound power forward was a force around the basket all night.
“I can’t say enough about the job Jeff Smith does with our defense,” Greensboro Day coach Freddy Johnson said of his longtime assistant. “To have a guy like that on your bench, I feel likea football coach because he just takes over the defense.”
Smith’s defense double and triple-teamed Adebayo at every opportunity and forced him away from thebasket much of the game.
“We didn’t do a very good job” of getting him the ball, High Point Christiancoach Brandon Clifford said. “We were very stagnant offensively, especiallyearly.”
But it was at the defensive end where the Cougars struggled most.
“Our main story of the night was guarding the basketball,” Clifford said. “That’s been a hallmark of ours for years, and I didn’t have my team prepared defensively the way I expected to. I told them, ‘I’ll take this one,’ because there were things I could’ve prepared them for and I didn’t.”
GIRLS,
GREENSBORO DAY 56,
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN 24:
Gloria Smith-Bunch scored a game-high 24 points as the Bengals
cruised past the Cougars.
GIRLS
Greensboro Day 14 14 18 10—56
High Point Christian 6 4 8 6—24
GREENSBORO DAY (11-10) — Gloria Smith-Bunch 17, Chloe Brewington 11, Mahlon Brady 10, Madison Head 6, Kassidy Crosby 5, Lauren Whitley 3, Maddy Murdock 2, Ellie Baldwinn 2.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN (NA) —Maggie Williams 10, Dakota Truhe 6,Ally Powell 2, Logan Holland 2, RileyBarrett 2, Imani Stewart 2.
BOYS
Greensboro Day 17 13 19 11—60
High Point Christian 9 17 16 17—59
GREENSBORO DAY (19-3) — John Newman 20, Travon Mayo 9, Will Dillard 9, Jaquar Moorman 6, Solomon Smith 6, Jordan Perkins 5, Pearce Landry 3, Alex Michael 2.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN (14-3) —Bam Adebayo 17, Reece Bogan 11,Ty Graves 10, Ben Robertson 8,Jalen Seegars 8, Michael Hueitt Jr. 3,Michael Seals 2.
