RSS

E-mail

Twitter

Facebook

Tumblr

Trojans split week, win conference opener

By Chris Edwards
Citizen journalist

Garner vs. Enloe

The Garner Trojans returned to play Wednesday, Dec. 9 as they welcomed the Enloe High School Eagles to town for their final tune-up before conference play began two days later. Garner played and lost to Enloe five days earlier, with the Eagles 67-56. Garner was looking to avenge the 11-point loss Wednesday, but Enloe rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Garner once again 57-52.

Donald Johnson drives to the basket for two of his 14 points as Garner falls to Enloe 57-52 Wednesday, Dec. 9. KEN HALL, KENHALLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Before the contest, Garner Head Coach Eddie Gray said his team would have to keep the turnovers down to win the game. Coming into the game Wednesday, the Trojans had turned the ball over 96 times on the season and 64 times in their previous two contests. This time, Garner kept the number to a manageable 21 turnovers for the game; however, the game came down to three possessions late in the fourth quarter, which ultimately cost the Trojans a win.

Enloe came out firing on all cylinders, taking a quick 5-0 lead within the first 90 seconds of the contest and prompting Coach Gray to call a timeout to calm his Trojan team down. The Trojan coach must have found the right words to say to his guys because after the timeout, Garner went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. The Eagles continued to fight, but after the first period of play, Garner had a 19-14 lead.

In the second stanza, the Trojans found their touch from beyond the arc midway through the quarter as Gavin Wilson hit shots from downtown on back-to-back possessions to give Garner a 10-point lead. But again, Tommy Moore and his Eagle squad wouldn’t go away, cutting Garner’s lead to six points at 33-27.

The third quarter was a sloppy one for the Trojans, but at least Trojan senior Stephon Drane found his stride from the paint, scoring eight second-half points — four of them in the third quarter. Drane’s baskets paced the Trojans to a 46-41 advantage after three periods.

Garner’s play became increasingly more sporadic in the fourth quarter, and Enloe took advantage of that fact, pulling ahead with a four-point lead midway through the final period. Garner continued to fight back despite three questionable calls by the referees. With 32 seconds to play, Garner was down three and got the ball with a chance to tie the game, but a Gavin Wilson three from left of the key went begging, and Garner fell to Enloe 57-52.

The biggest key to the Eagles’ victory was their free throw shooting. Enloe was 16 of 22 from the charity strip while Garner got to the line just six times and only made three. The loss dropped Garner to 1-4 on the season while Enloe improved to 7-0.

SCORING

Garner

D. Johnson 14

S. Drane 10

D. Anderson 10

J. McClain 8

G. Wilson 6

D. Dorsey 4

Enloe

M. Tabb 17

Jar. Blankney 14

D. Rich 14

C. Ashley 5

M. Walker 4

D. Pryor 2

Jan. Blankney 2

E. Chapman 1

Garner vs. W. Johnston

The final game of the week for the Trojans was against a very familiar opponent: the West Johnston Wildcats, a team that knocked Garner out of the conference tournament a year ago on Garner’s home court.

Garner last won back-to-back conference championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 when they won the crown three years running. Meanwhile, West Johnston was looking for their third win of the year under the direction of first-year Head Coach Kris Bennett, who replaced the now-retired Shelly Marsh (a member of the N.C. Athletic Director Hall of Fame).

Marsh left the cupboard very full for Bennett, whose team is loaded with seven juniors and six seniors, including the dual threat of Ben Jacobs and Mark Parker. Jacobs has been a Trojan killer in his time on the Wildcat varsity squad; in the last meeting against Garner, Jacobs scored 33 points.

But Jacobs and Parker were both held in check Friday, Dec. 11 as Garner demolished West Johnston 88-63 to win the conference opener.

Again, free-throw shooting was the key in this game but for a different reason this time. Garner went 14 of 25 from the line for 56 percent, while West Johnston was just 6 of 22 from the charity strip for 27 percent. Matt Fogg and Jacobs both had rough nights from the line for West Johnston with Fogg going 0 for 6 and Jacobs going 4 for 10 from the line.

Garner’s quickness was just too much for the Wildcats too. Garner took a 24-8 lead after the first quarter and kept the foot on the gas in the second period to take a 20-point lead into the locker room at 47-27.

For the first time all year, Garner put together their first complete game and had a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures. The Trojans cruised through the second half and pulled away with the victory.

With the win, the Trojans improve to 2-4 on the season and are now 10-2 all-time against the Wildcats. Garner will be back at home this Friday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. when they welcome the Knightdale Knights.

SCORING

Garner

D. Anderson 19

S. Drane 19

D. Johnson 14

E. McClain 13

G. Wilson 12

J. McClain 7

M. Koschilney 2

D. Dorsey 2

W. Johnston

B. Jacobs 18

S. Johnson 14

S. Dance 10

M. Parker 9

M. Fogg 4

A. Justice 4

T. Colton 3

T. Davis 1

Related articles:

• Trojans’ basketball season ends in thrilling fashion
• Garner avenges playoff loss to Southern Durham with big win
• Trojans slip into second round of NCHSAA sectionals

 Print This

Leave a Reply

We believe that reader interaction is a valuable feature on our website and aim to foster an online community that is enriching, robust and respectful. We reserve the right to remove any comment that contains profanity or obscenity; is an advertisement for services or a solicitation of funds; contains a personal attack or a threat; or is unrelated to the story.