Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2010

Knights send Trojans to first loss

Garner fires home the 3-pointers but falls, 78-74.

It probably sounded like a misnomer when coach Battle Watkins told his Knightdale boys basketball squad in practice last Wednesday that the key to their clash with Garner was to "be aggressively patient."

But it turned out to be the perfect approach for the young Knights, who handed Garner its first Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference loss of the season, 78-74 on Thursday night.

The Knights withstood the Trojans' blazing start from 3-point range for what they hope is a breakthrough win just two days after a loss to Southeast Raleigh.

"We've struggled with consistency all year," Watkins said. "But tonight was our best effort of the season by far. I knew that if we took too many quick shots, that Garner thrives off of missed shots in their transition game.

"So I told the guys to be aggressively patient in practice."

Garner (9-7, 8-1) hit 11 of its first 15 shots (73 percent) from 3-point range, taking a 68-64 lead on the 11th of those 3-point baskets - from Emmanuel McClain - with 5:31 to play. It was the Trojans' third straight 3-pointer made and completed their rally from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter.

The Knights (10-9, 7-2) led 73-70 after a driving layup by Aaron Smith with 2:52 to play. Tyler Nicholson led Knightdale with 21 points. Four other Knights finished with nine or more points, including Smith and Adrian McDowell (10 apiece).

"Our patience showed up in our balance tonight," Watkins said. "We got a lot of guys involved early and it created more good chances for us."

Western Kentucky recruit Stephon Drane of Garner led all scorers with 23 points. His night included a stretch of nine points in a three-minute span in the third quarter that helped spark the Trojans' rally.

Donald Williams added 22 for Garner, while McClain added 15.

Garner relied almost exclusively on its outside shooting in the final two minutes of play, but none of the final five 3-point attempts the Trojans took found the mark.

D'Andre Moore made a free throw with 17.4 seconds to play to put Knightdale up 78-72. McClain scored on a layup with 12.1 seconds remaining, but the Knights got the ball inbounds and played keep away long enough for the clock to run out before Garner could foul again.

Garner hosts Knightdale on Wednesday and a win by the Knights would create a two-way tie for the league lead and give the Knights the tiebreaker advantage for the postseason.