BY MICHAEL LINDSAY
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
GREENSBORO — Wesleyan Christian played how it wanted most of the game. But Greensboro Day changed that in a hurry down the stretch.
The Bengals used two key spurts midway through the second half to build a double-digit lead and hung on to defeat the Trojans 71-62 in PACIS 2A/3A boys basketball Tuesday at Greensboro Day.
In the girls game, Wesleyan Christian pulled away in the second half to beat Greensboro Day 42-33.
“We played great until the third quarter,” Trojans boys coach Keith Gatlin said. “We had them dead in the water, we thought, because we were moving the ball. But when you give someone 51 points in the second half, you can’t beat anybody — bottom line.
“We got up eight, and then our guys just started going one-on-one. Our guys don’t understand the concept of: When you’ve got people moving side to side, you can get whatever you want. We took 24 3s and made eight. They took four and made two. You can’t beat a JV team if you give up 51 points in a half.”
David Caraher hit four 3-pointers en route to 16 points — all in the second half — to lead Wesleyan (13-6, 1-1), which led 25-21 at halftime. Kwe Parker added 13 points, followed by Brandon Childress and Michael Buckland with 10 each.
The Trojans stretched their lead to 35-27 with 4:05 left in the third quarter before the Bengals went on a 10-0 run to lead 37-35 with 1:33 left and eventually 41-40 heading to the fourth quarter.
Greensboro Day then began the final eight minutes with a 20-7 run, keyed by a couple quick turnovers and baskets on its part and a couple impatient possessions on Wesleyan’s part, to lead 61-47 with 3:28 left in the game.
“We told them, ‘Guys, if you take quick shots, you give them easy run-outs,’” Gatlin said. “We played right into their hands. You can’t set up your defense when you take quick shots — that’s the problem with taking quick shots. And that’s been our problem all year.”
The Trojans (20-3, 2-0) did whittle its deficit to five with 1:03 left. But the Bengals, who were led by John Newman with 15 points, Jaquar Moorman with 14 points and Jordan Perkins with 13 points, made enough free throws to seal it.
“I’m proud of my team for our second-half performance,” said Greensboro Day coach Freddy Johnson, who earned his 950th win and was honored before the game for his selection into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame. “We didn’t do great the
last three minutes, but I thought the second half for us was really outstanding.
“We got a couple turnovers, easy baskets. I thought it was like night and day. But I think they kicked us in the first half and were more ready to play than we were. … They’re really good. We weren’t doing what we wanted to do. In the second half, we got more aggressive and got them into foul trouble.”
ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
GREENSBORO — Wesleyan Christian played how it wanted most of the game. But Greensboro Day changed that in a hurry down the stretch.
The Bengals used two key spurts midway through the second half to build a double-digit lead and hung on to defeat the Trojans 71-62 in PACIS 2A/3A boys basketball Tuesday at Greensboro Day.
In the girls game, Wesleyan Christian pulled away in the second half to beat Greensboro Day 42-33.
“We played great until the third quarter,” Trojans boys coach Keith Gatlin said. “We had them dead in the water, we thought, because we were moving the ball. But when you give someone 51 points in the second half, you can’t beat anybody — bottom line.
“We got up eight, and then our guys just started going one-on-one. Our guys don’t understand the concept of: When you’ve got people moving side to side, you can get whatever you want. We took 24 3s and made eight. They took four and made two. You can’t beat a JV team if you give up 51 points in a half.”
David Caraher hit four 3-pointers en route to 16 points — all in the second half — to lead Wesleyan (13-6, 1-1), which led 25-21 at halftime. Kwe Parker added 13 points, followed by Brandon Childress and Michael Buckland with 10 each.
The Trojans stretched their lead to 35-27 with 4:05 left in the third quarter before the Bengals went on a 10-0 run to lead 37-35 with 1:33 left and eventually 41-40 heading to the fourth quarter.
Greensboro Day then began the final eight minutes with a 20-7 run, keyed by a couple quick turnovers and baskets on its part and a couple impatient possessions on Wesleyan’s part, to lead 61-47 with 3:28 left in the game.
“We told them, ‘Guys, if you take quick shots, you give them easy run-outs,’” Gatlin said. “We played right into their hands. You can’t set up your defense when you take quick shots — that’s the problem with taking quick shots. And that’s been our problem all year.”
The Trojans (20-3, 2-0) did whittle its deficit to five with 1:03 left. But the Bengals, who were led by John Newman with 15 points, Jaquar Moorman with 14 points and Jordan Perkins with 13 points, made enough free throws to seal it.
“I’m proud of my team for our second-half performance,” said Greensboro Day coach Freddy Johnson, who earned his 950th win and was honored before the game for his selection into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame. “We didn’t do great the
last three minutes, but I thought the second half for us was really outstanding.
“We got a couple turnovers, easy baskets. I thought it was like night and day. But I think they kicked us in the first half and were more ready to play than we were. … They’re really good. We weren’t doing what we wanted to do. In the second half, we got more aggressive and got them into foul trouble.”
