Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

<p>Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com</p>

Greg Hollis | ghollis@www.newberryobserver.com

NEWBERRY — Tuesday night hoops featured a clash of two cross town rivals and a packed gymnasium that was standing room only. Newberry(9-9, 2-0 region) varsity boys’ basketball team defeated Mid-Carolina(5-10, 0-1 region) 62-28 to move to .500 and earn their fourth straight win.

The Bulldogs came into the Tuesday night contest hot and on a three game win streak. The Rebels entered the contest looking to get their first region win, but had a tall task of doing it without one of their starting big men, Connor Cromer. He was out with an injury to his left foot and sitting on their bench in a walking boot and street clothes.

It was tight defensive battle in the opening quarter and both offenses were searching for a spark plug. The Bulldogs led 11-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Newberry started to put some distance between themselves and the visitors in the second quarter and got control of the game. They started the quarter on 9-3 run and built a double digit lead. The home team led 23-10 at halftime.

The Bulldogs came out equally aggressive in the third quarter, and built a 20-point lead. Newberry was up 31-10 with 5:12 left in third quarter and didn’t let up. Three players finish with double-digit scoring totals and everyone got a chance to play for the Bulldogs in this big rivalry game.

Newberry starting point guard Darius Elkins led all scorers with 15 points and knocked down two huge three-pointers in the game. Kenton Caldwell finished with 14 points and some highlight reel assists, including one assists to AJ Jeter that led to a dunk that got the crowd roaring. Jeter had 11 points and two big time blocks.

Jamerius ‘Shep’ Shepard, or better known as the energizer, had eight points and two steals. It was a total team effort in this Bulldogs’ victory and they never trailed in the game after the seven minute mark in the first quarter.

“I keep harping on it, energy and effort. We got that from all the guys today. We are peaking at the right time. This is why we play the non-region schedule that we play. We don’t worry about our non-region record because we know iron sharpens iron,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Adonis Hill. “Peaking at this time and this level, is what we want. Isiah[Glymph] got cleared today and you probably saw him on the bench. I didn’t play him tonight but I will ease him back again. So, we are 2-0 this week and got a tough one at Saluda.”

As for the Rebels, they struggled all night on the offensive end. Starting point guard Ty Floyd was the only double-digit scorer for Mid-Carolina and the leading scorer(11 points). Kaden Myers had unusually bad night shooting the ball and finished with just six points. Starting center Jacob Clark also struggled and had only six points.

“I felt like we played good basketball and we executed our game plan fairly well, especially on the defensive end the early. We controlled the tempo of the game, but we just didn’t make shots,” said Rebels head coach Kevin Winch. “We got good looks for our shooters, but it just wasn’t our night shooting the basketball. So, that’s really the message that we are a better team than that final score reflects and shooting will really come around for us.”

Winch remain optimistic that his crew can right the ship as they get into the heart of region play. They will have a few days off before hitting the road at Abbeville on Jan.19.

Newberry will have a quick turnaround against in a road matchup against Saluda on Jan.17.

Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews