HARTSVILLE — An exemplary defensive performance – coupled with an equally impressive offensive outburst – gave Newberry a dominant 86-57 victory over host Coker last week for its seventh straight win.
Newberry (17-8, 10-5 South Atlantic Conference) came out of the gates with a flurry of points, leading 8-2 mere minutes into the game. The Wolves later extended that margin to 16-5 after a TJ Brown (Columbia) 3-pointer just six minutes into the contest. Another 8-2 run further built the Wolves’ lead to 24-7 after a pair of free throws from Drake Downs (Simpsonville).
The Wolves closed the half on an 11-4 run to take a commanding 35-11 lead into the break. 24 of Newberry’s 35 first-half points came in the paint, compared to a paltry six for Coker (11-14, 5-10 SAC).
The second half was much of the same for the Wolves: They quickly brought their advantage up to 28 early in the second 20 minutes, 43-15, thanks in part to free throws from Malakhi Stremlow (Traverse City, Mich.) and QuanDaveon McCollum (Clio), as well as a 3-pointer from Andrew Robinson (Lexington), one of his three 3-pointers on the night.
Newberry didn’t allow the Cobras to get any closer than 21 points throughout the second half, and a Downs dunk put the exclamation point on the game for the Wolves with less than a minute remaining for the final score.
McCollum contributed another double-double for Newberry – his 10th double-double of the season and third consecutive – going for 19 points and 10 rebounds. Stremlow had a double-double of his own with 10 points and 12 rebounds, his fifth of the season. Malik Joseph (Eleuthera, Bahamas) just missed out on the double-double frenzy as he collected 13 points and nine boards.
Joining their teammates in double-figures were Robinson (13) and Downs (10). Booker Cusaac (Lexington) and Landon Harrison (Columbia) also registered buckets for the Wolves. Newberry obliterated Coker on the glass to the tune of a 58-23 rebounding edge, which led to 25 second chance points for the Wolves and a 48-26 scoring advantage in the paint.
Leave a Reply