Bengals hold off Trojans for 54-47 win
Bengals hold off Trojans for 54-47 win
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian couldn’t quite string together enough good stretches against Greensboro Day to overcome an early deficit.
The Trojans, after falling behind in the second quarter, made runs to get back in the game in the second half but couldn’t pull even and fell 54-47 in PACIS 2A/3A boys basketball Tuesday at Wesleyan.
In the girls game, Wesleyan Christian, keyed by its defense, led from the outset and beat Greensboro Day 47-33.
“We played awful,” Trojans boys coach Keith Gatlin said. “It was like we were in quicksand. We had no energy, turned the ball over — awful. Our guys don’t understand that you have to move the ball. We get it and go one-on-one, and Greensboro Day passes it from side to side. It was the same as the first time over there.
“It’s tough. It didn’t have anything to do with Kwe being out or Ben being out. When you don’t move the ball around, you’re not going to beat good teams. … You can’t win like that. You can’t score 19 points in a half. We got it to two and then went back into one-on-one. You can’t beat good teams like that.”
John Newman scored 13 points to lead the Bengals (25-4, 5-1), ranked No. 3 among NCISAA 3A teams. Jaquar Moorman added 11 points, followed by Travon Mayo with eight points.
GDS trailed 13-12 after the first quarter but outscored Wesleyan 17-6 in the second to lead 29-19 at halftime. It scored the first eight points of the quarter to lead 20-13 with 5:50 left and seven straight to lead 29-17 with 52 seconds left.
The fifth-ranked Trojans, trailing by 11, then went on an 11-2 run to pull within two with 3:00 left in the third and twice got within four in the fourth, with 6:21 left and 1:29 left. But the Bengals answered each time to rebuild their lead.
“They’d cut that lead and we’d get a big basket,” GDS coach Freddy Johnson said. “(Moorman) stepped up big for us in the second half. He didn’t shoot as well as he usually does, but he went inside and scored some big baskets.
“I think right now we have to win our last two games,” he said of how his team stands late in the season. “And if we can do that, then I think we can be of the top two seeds in the state tournament. So, it’s really important for us to win these last two games to finish it off.”
Jalen Johnson scored 17 points, including a one-handed dunk in the second half, to lead Wesleyan (17-8 overall, 3-3 PACIS), which anticipates having Kwe Parker return from his thumb injury within the next two weeks but also lost Ben Nooner to a wrist injury last game.
David Caraher added 13 points while Brendan Austin chipped in nine points.
“We just have to watch the video and try to correct it,” Gatlin said of what his team needs to do to improve down the stretch. “We’ve been going through this since November. It’s the same thing that reared it’s ugly head on us. …
“There’s nothing you can do about it now. You just try to correct it in the video session. We’ve got two more (regular-season) games left and then the playoffs. There isn’t anything you can do about it now except try to correct it in the video session.”
Bengals hold off Trojans for 54-47 win
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian couldn’t quite string together enough good stretches against Greensboro Day to overcome an early deficit.
The Trojans, after falling behind in the second quarter, made runs to get back in the game in the second half but couldn’t pull even and fell 54-47 in PACIS 2A/3A boys basketball Tuesday at Wesleyan.
In the girls game, Wesleyan Christian, keyed by its defense, led from the outset and beat Greensboro Day 47-33.
“We played awful,” Trojans boys coach Keith Gatlin said. “It was like we were in quicksand. We had no energy, turned the ball over — awful. Our guys don’t understand that you have to move the ball. We get it and go one-on-one, and Greensboro Day passes it from side to side. It was the same as the first time over there.
“It’s tough. It didn’t have anything to do with Kwe being out or Ben being out. When you don’t move the ball around, you’re not going to beat good teams. … You can’t win like that. You can’t score 19 points in a half. We got it to two and then went back into one-on-one. You can’t beat good teams like that.”
John Newman scored 13 points to lead the Bengals (25-4, 5-1), ranked No. 3 among NCISAA 3A teams. Jaquar Moorman added 11 points, followed by Travon Mayo with eight points.
GDS trailed 13-12 after the first quarter but outscored Wesleyan 17-6 in the second to lead 29-19 at halftime. It scored the first eight points of the quarter to lead 20-13 with 5:50 left and seven straight to lead 29-17 with 52 seconds left.
The fifth-ranked Trojans, trailing by 11, then went on an 11-2 run to pull within two with 3:00 left in the third and twice got within four in the fourth, with 6:21 left and 1:29 left. But the Bengals answered each time to rebuild their lead.
“They’d cut that lead and we’d get a big basket,” GDS coach Freddy Johnson said. “(Moorman) stepped up big for us in the second half. He didn’t shoot as well as he usually does, but he went inside and scored some big baskets.
“I think right now we have to win our last two games,” he said of how his team stands late in the season. “And if we can do that, then I think we can be of the top two seeds in the state tournament. So, it’s really important for us to win these last two games to finish it off.”
Jalen Johnson scored 17 points, including a one-handed dunk in the second half, to lead Wesleyan (17-8 overall, 3-3 PACIS), which anticipates having Kwe Parker return from his thumb injury within the next two weeks but also lost Ben Nooner to a wrist injury last game.
David Caraher added 13 points while Brendan Austin chipped in nine points.
“We just have to watch the video and try to correct it,” Gatlin said of what his team needs to do to improve down the stretch. “We’ve been going through this since November. It’s the same thing that reared it’s ugly head on us. …
“There’s nothing you can do about it now. You just try to correct it in the video session. We’ve got two more (regular-season) games left and then the playoffs. There isn’t anything you can do about it now except try to correct it in the video session.”
