NEWBERRY — Newberry Academy(10-10, 9-2 region) just didn’t have it on Friday night and loss 56-25 to Richard Winn Academy(15-1, 10-1 region). This was the second time both squads met this season and this time it was a battle for first place in SCISA A region I. The Eagles were looking to avenge a 35-17 loss at Richard Winn Academy’s home court on Dec.5.

It was a tight game in the first quarter and Newberry Academy only trailed 10-9. The visitors started to distance themselves in the second quarter and took at 20-11 lead into halftime.

The home team struggled with the length and size of Richard Winn. Those struggles continued to reveal themselves throughout the entire second half.

The visitors closed the third quarter on a 11-4 run. Then, Richard Winn lead exploded in the fourth quarter. They held a 41-18 lead in the opening minutes of the final period and kept things rolling. Senior forward Drew Spires finished with a game high of 15 points. His front court mate Charlie Bonds had 10 points. Two more players finished with nine points each for the Eagles of Richard Winn to help them cruise to their fifth straight win.

As for Newberry Academy, Dalton Morris was the only player who was near scoring in double figures. He finished with eight points and held his own against the length of Richard Winn big men.

“We were 8-1 in the region into this game and this was a battle for first. Richard Winn beat us earlier in the year and tonight just wasn’t our night. Richard Winn did a really good job in their zone defense and they are big,” said Newberry Academy;s head coach Scott Gardner. “We had 19 turnovers versus the zone defense and that’s just unacceptable. But you got to put a lot of blame on me. I didn’t have our guys prepared for Richard Winn threw at us tonight.”

Gardner continued by expressing how his team just played with a lack of energy.

“We just didn’t think we had the mojo tonight. We were a little slow, a little sluggish and it showed. We just can’t play like that. We can’t play without energy and we are not going to win very many basketball games here than we had tonight,” Garner said.

Despite the loss, Newberry Academy were able to bounce back on Monday, Jan.22, to beat Oconee Christian Academy, 56-33. Now, they will be on the road for their next two region games against Cambridge Academy on Jan.23 and Anderson Christian on Jan.26.

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