WEB CAST.
The crowd wasn't as big as it will be when Duke and North Carolina get together later this year, but the intesty level was much the same and on Thursday night at Knightdale High School, the game had just about everything you could ask for, however, the Trojans rally fell short as the Knights came away with at four point, 78-74 win to make the GNRC race wide open.
Garner and Knightdale both raced out of the gate giving Garner play by play announcer, Chris Edwards all he could handle in the first quarter, but after the first stanza, Garner had a 29-24 lead.
After hitting just three shots from beyond the arc on Tuesday night, Garner came out on fire from downtown as they hit six first half three pointers including two from 6-7 Senior, Stephon Drane. The only problem was Knightdale was equally as hot from behind the line as they hit five shots to stay in the game. As the first half came to a close, the officials really let the two teams play and it became very physical which benifited Knightdale as they closed the half on a big run to take a 45-39 lead into the locker room.
The Knightdale lead would grow to as many as 12 points in the third quarter, but to the credit of the Trojans, they never let the game get away as the continued to chip away and the lead and eventually got the lead to singe digits.
Garner had the game down to under five points midway through the quarter, but after a touch foul that was call on Emmanuel McClain, one official whistled him for a technical foul which allowed Tyler Nicholson to go to the line and hit the two technical shots which put Knightdale back up and gave them some momentum as they closed the third quarter on a bit of a run as Garner had missed chances toward the end of the quarter which allowed the Knights to grow their lead to seven points, at 62-55 after three.
But, in the fourth quarter, the Trojans embodied the spirit of their Coach as they never quit even when the Knightdale lead grew to double digits, Garner continued to claw and eventually took the lead when Emmanuel McClain fired in a three from the right wing to give Garner their first lead since the first quarter at 68-66.
However, Knightdale fought right back and over the final four minutes of the game the two teams went back and forth, but in the end, the Knights made their free throws and came away with the 78-74 win over the Trojans.
With the loss, Garner's seven game winning streak has been snapped and the Trojans fall to 9-7 overall and 8-1 in the conference, meanwhile, Knightdale moves to 10-9 overall and just one game back of Garner in the conference race at 7-2.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night at 7:30 at Garner. But, before the Trojans and Knights renew their vows again this year, Garner will host SSS on Tuesday night also at 7:30.
**The Trojan Sports Network would like to thank Knightdale AD Guy Blough for his cooperation with tonight's web cast***
Scoring:
GARNER: S. Drane 24, D. Johnson 20, E. McClain 15, G. Wilson 9, D. Anderson 3, D. Reed 2.
Knightdale: T. Nicholson 21, A. McDowell 11, A. Smith 10, R. Fredrick 9, K. Brodie 9, A. Pope 4, D. Monroe 3, A. Abullah 2.
Varsity Girls Give Coach Mays a Happy Birthday
Varsity Girls basketball Coach, Hardrick Mays celebrated his birthday day on Thursday and his Lady Trojans gave him a very Happy Birthday with at 55-43 win over Knightdale.
After a slow start in the first quarter by both teams, Garner was the first team to really get things going in the second quarter as they took a double digit lead into the locker room at halftime.
The lead would continue to grow in the second half as the Lady Trojans were able to get out in transition as the fast break really helped Garner as they pulled away in the second half to come away with a 55-43 win over the Knights.
Garner will return home on Tuesday night as they host SSS at 6:00
JV Boys Lose First Conference Game of the Year
One the same night when the Varsity boys dropped their first conference game of the season, the JV Trojans lost their halftime lead as they fell to Knightdale 58-55 to split the season series with the Knights.
The Trojans took a 34-18 halftime lead after playing one of their best halves of basketball so far this year, but, Knightdale came storming back in the second half thanks mainly to the sloppy play of the Trojans.
Garner just couldn't overcome the tough second half as the fell to the Knights 58-55. With the loss, the Trojans fall to 12-3 overall and 9-1 in the conference.
They will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to SSS for a 7:30 tip off.
