Greg Hollis | [email protected]
PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Bulldogs extend their win streak to four games after winning part one of their basketball rivalry series. Newberry(4-1) defeated Mid-Carolina(4-4) 63-57 to take the first game in their inter-county rivalry on Friday, Dec. 12th.
The ‘Friday Night Lights’ basketball edition had fans fill the gymnasium on the campus of Mid-Carolina from both sides of the rivalry on Friday to see the two schools battle it out. Newberry has dominated this rivalry in basketball the last few years, but a new face was added to tilt the scale for the Rebels. Eighth grade sensation Treyvon Smith had himself a night with his first 20-10 game this season.
Jason Dunbar got off to a hot start for the Bulldogs and scored their first two baskets. The Rebels also showed some fight and were able to tie the game at 7-7 after settling down. Gavin Brown closed the quarter on a 8-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Brown was able to knock down two huge three-pointers and sink both of his free-throw attempts.
Smith got off to a bit of a slow start in the first quarter with just four points, but did get to the free-throw line twice and missed all four attempts. The youngest player on the floor picked up his game in the second quarter and so did his teammates. Senior guard Justice Scott had four of his nine points in the second quarter to close the gap, but then the two-time all region point guard Kenton Caldwell got things going for Newberry.
Caldwell scored 11 of his 20 points in the second quarter. He knocked down two three-pointers and was able to get to the free-throw line. The Bulldogs went into halftime with a double-digit lead, 33-22.
The Rebels came out the half and made their run. It started on the defensive end after being able to hold the Bulldogs to just 12 points for the entire third quarter. They started off the quarter on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 35-35. Smith got things going offensively in the third quarter as well for the Rebels by scoring eight of his 23 total points.
Newberry was finally able to steal some momentum and close out the quarter on a 8-4 run. Smith had a huge dunk to close out the third quarter for the Rebels that got their home crowd back into the game. The Bulldogs led 43-39 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter became the Dunbar versus Smith show. The senior guard scored nine points in the fourth quarter, while Smith scored five points but could’ve easily scored more had he made his free-throws. The Rebels stormed back but the Bulldogs kept answering their runs.
The young big man made a tough lay up and got the foul to cut the lead down to just two points late in the game, 60-58. He missed the free-throw but they were able to get a stop. Then, Jaquon McKinney was able to draw the foul but missed a pair of free-throws as well. Newberry would eventually shut the door close for the Rebels to avoid going into overtime or a game winning shot by knocking down their free-throw attempts.
Despite the tough loss, Smith finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. Scott had nine points, six rebounds and six steals. Junior guard Landon Wicker didn’t shoot the ball well like he normally does but still had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“I think this was a growing experience for us honestly. I felt like we handled the pressure of this game well and we handled the environment well. I’ve got a lot of young and inexperienced guys who haven’t been in this environment before and felt that type of pressure before with a rivalry game at home with a big crowd. I was proud of the way we handled the crowd and weathered the storm to battle back. In our earlier games this season, I didn’t see that,” said Rebels head coach Kevin Winch.
He continued, “We would get down and kind of fold a little bit. Tonight our guys battled and showed a lot of maturity and growth. Like you said, a few more shots go down or we make a few more plays then its a different outcome. I was proud of the way our big guys battled and how our guards executed the game plan. We did a good job overall of handling the pressure and I am proud of our effort. Newberry is a great team and they are really experienced. They have a senior led team but I was proud of our young guys for how they handled the moment.”
On the Newberry side of things, Dunbar had 21 points and Caldwell finished with 20 points. Senior forward AJ Jeter also had 10 points and double-digit rebounds.
“Great win. There is no such thing as a bad win especially when you are playing Mid-Carolina. As you know most of our guys played football and they still have those football legs. This was their third game this week so I am going to give them some rest tomorrow because we have to play again on Monday,” said Bulldogs head coach Adonis Hill.
Newberry returned back to their home floor to face Clinton on Monday, Dec. 15th. Mid-Carolina will be back in action at home on Tuesday, Dec. 16th to face Ninety Six. Then, these two teams will get together again on Friday, Dec. 19th for part two of the rivalry series.
Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3119 or on X @TheNBOnews