NEWBERRY — The Bulldogs snap a three game losing streak with a huge home win over a region opponent. Newberry(9-10,2-2 region 4-AAA) defeated Swansea(3-17, 0-4 region 4-AAA) by the score of 71-52 at home on Thursday, Jan. 29th.
The short-handed Bulldogs entered Thursday’s contest in desperate need of a win after losing their previous three games. It was the first meeting between the two region opponents this season, and Newberry decided to keep the game plan simple. The game plan was get the ball to senior big man AJ Jeter as early and often as possible.
The first quarter was slow for both teams but Swansea got off to a quick start by taking an early 5-0 lead. The home team quickly responded with a 10-2 run of their own. The Bulldogs didn’t look back and would lead 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Newberry would make their run in the second quarter to create some distance on the scoreboard for themselves. They started the second period on a 11-2 run and would lead by 15 points, 24-9, before the Tigers were forced to call a timeout to try to regroup.
Jeter would score nine of his 19 total points in the second quarter and finished the first half with 13 points. Senior guard Kenton Caldwell would also have a dominant performance in the first half. He scored 12 of his 15 total points in the first half and had eight points in the second quarter. Xavier Harding and Sincere Glymph also provided a nice spark off the bench for the Bulldogs in the second half.
Newberry used their defense to create easy points on offense in transition. They outscored the Tigers 24-11 in the second quarter and held a 34-18 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs would continue to dominate in the second half and their lead would extend to 20 plus points in the third quarter. Senior shooting guard Gavin Brown got going on the offensive end in the third quarter after being held scoreless in the first half. He finished the game with 10 points and scored five in the third quarter.
Newberry would lead by as much as 24 points in the third quarter and it was again behind their defense. They pressured the ball and forced a lot of turnovers that lead to points in transition. The play of the game happened with about four minutes left in the third quarter when the Bulldogs got a steal and Caldwell found Jeter for the alley-oop on the fast break.
The home team would lead 53-32 at the end of the third quarter and would put the visiting Tigers away in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs bench played well in the final eight minutes of the game by scoring 10 bench points in the fourth period.
Newberry snapped their three-game losing streak and will need to keep that same energy for Silver Bluff. The Bulldogs will rely heavy on their bench as senior center Le’Matthis Whitener left the game in the first quarter against Swansea with a left ankle injury and did not return. Now, they are done two key players heading into Friday’s matchup.
However, the game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. against Silver Bluff on Friday, Jan. 30th. Newberry will have to find a way to overcome injuries in this tough region road battle.