Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com
PROSPERITY, S.C. — Newberry High School varsity boys’ basketball team bounced back with a huge win over their cross town rivals on Friday night. The Bulldogs(2-3) defeated Mid-Carolina(1-6) 70-47 to pick up their second win of the season.
The Friday night lights basketball edition didn’t disappoint as fans crowded the Rebels’ gym on Friday, Dec. 13th to see the much anticipated Newberry County rivalry.
It was battle of the two big men early on between Rebels’ junior big man Jaquon McKinney and Bulldogs’ junior big man Jamel Howse. The two juniors opened the game up scoring each of their teams first two baskets. McKinney scored two quick buckets from the low post where he is so effective at. Meanwhile, Howse used his athleticism to make his first shot on a put back from an offensive rebound and then knocked down a 15-footer from the free-throw line.
It was a tight contest at the end of the first quarter, but Newberry held a 14-9 lead going into the second period. Both teams caught fire from the field and shot the ball very well in the second quarter.
The two teams traded blows in the second quarter as Mid-Carolina knocked down two big shots from the three-point line and Edrick Dawkins provided a nice spark off the bench for the Bulldogs. The senior backup point guard made two three-pointers in the first half and had eight points off the bench.
Things begin to slip away a little bit towards the end of the half for the Rebels and starting shooting guard Kaden Myers went down with an ankle injury in the final minute of the half. He did return for the second half, but was clearly hobbled by that bad ankle.
The Bulldogs led 32-22 at halftime.
The third quarter was the deciding factor in the game for both teams. Mid-Carolina struggled with the best scorer battling through injury and their big man being the main focus for the Bulldogs on defense. Newberry also had their best shooting quarter of the game by knocking down four shots from deep to help extend their lead.
Newberry built a 23-point lead in the third quarter and led 54-34 going into the final quarter.
Mid-Carolina tried to put up a fight in the final period, but the hot shooting from the Bulldogs was just too much to handle and they would lose part one of the rivalry basketball series.
McKinney finished with 12 points and Myers finished with eight points. Keshon Williams. Monteith Brown and Jay Gallman all had six points each.
“We want to play a tough schedule before region play and the only way you get better is by challenging yourself. That’s what I keep telling our guys and the record right now is really not all that important. It’s all about getting ready for region and these are the teams that are going to push us to get ready for region and to be a winning team later on in the season. It’s the only way you learn by going out there and challenge yourself,” said Rebels’ head coach Kevin Winch.
The Bulldogs had three players finish in double figures and another player to finish near the double figure mark. Kenton Caldwell had 19 points, Isaiah Glymph had 12 points and Howse finished with 10 points. Gavin Brown had his best shooting game of the season so far with nine points all from behind the arc.
“We finally hit shots. We shot 27 percent coming into this game. So, we haven’t been shooting the ball very well and its partly because we still had our football legs. I am happy we shot the ball well for the firs time this season,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Adonis Hill.
The two teams will meet again for part two of the rivalry series on January 3rd at Newberry High School.
Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews