Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com
NEWBERRY — Newberry Academy(3-3) completes the season sweep against Whitmire(0-7, 0-2 region 1-A) after defeating them 53-33 at home.
The Eagles and Wolverines got together for the second time this season on Tuesday, Dec. 10th. The first matchup between the two teams was very competitive. Newberry Academy was able to secure a 49-41 win in a close battle. The second game looked much different with Whitmire dealing with a number of injuries that forced them to start four eighth graders from their junior varsity team.
The home team Eagles jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter and held Whitmire to just three points. Newberry Academy led 11-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Whitmire young core showed some fight in the second quarter and kept the game close. The Eagles still took a 26-12 lead into halftime.
Newberry Academy put a huge gap on the scoreboard in the third quarter and held Whitmire to just six points while building a nearly 30-point lead. The Eagles close out the quarter on a 10-0 run and that pretty much sealed the deal.
“We just tried to run our normal stuff. They were handicapped a bit with some of their players not being there. Their point guard was out with a concussion. We played them earlier and it was a lot closer, but obviously bringing up some young players to play against our more veteran players was the difference. I was happy with our guys the way we ran our stuff, trapped tonight and play man defense. I thought we did a pretty good job overall executing our game plan,” said Eagles head coach Scott Gardner.
The Eagles moved to .500 on the season and will hit the road to take on Laurens Academy on Dec.16th. Whitmire will look to pick up their first on the season against Calhoun Falls Charter in a road game on Friday, Dec. 13th.
Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews