NC Warriors troubled the Hoyas in a nail-biting win
Small forward Damonte Pellote (0), point guard Jalan Johnson (1), center Giovanni Harris (5)and center Evan Daniel (4) communicate and reflect on their flaws as their team overcomes the Harrison Hoyas’ (4-3) defense. The NC varsity boys basketball team’s (8-0) willpower helped their victory against Harrison with a score of 57-53. The Warriors remain undefeated, and players and spectators become thrilled about what the season holds for the Warriors.
December 9, 2022
The NC boys varsity basketball team (8-0) played the Harrison Hoyas (4-2) for the eighth game of the season Friday, December 9. Returning from a dauntless win against Paulding County (3-3) winning 59-46, NC persevered to sustain their six-game winning streak. After the NC Lady Warriors varsity team (5-5) lost, the boys’ team strived to pull through a win for NC.
The first quarter started out with NC senior center Giovanni Harris (5) scoring an and one to put the Warriors up by two. After a coast-to-coast fastbreak from NC senior point guard Mekhi Sherman (2), he put the Warriors up four points (9-5). The first quarter ended with Harisson’s senior center Noah Peterson’s (31) free throws, NC still in the lead (11-10).
Junior center Vally Kone (21) scored the first points for NC in the second quarter making the score 13-15. The Warriors finally gained control over the lead when NC junior point guard Malique Card (24) stole the ball from Harrison and passed it off to senior center Evan Daniels (4) for a three-pointer making the score 22-21. Senior point guard Jalan Johnson (1) threw an alley-oop to junior small forward Noah Holloway (3). The crowd lifted the spirits for NC going into halftime (24-23).
“Going into the locker room and being able to feel the frustration from many players is what drove us to come out of the locker room ready to fight. As a team, we knew that we weren’t playing to our full potential and needed to change the way we played as a team in the second half. As a team we discussed we need to make better decisions and work as a team instead of playing for ourselves and apply the concepts we do in practice into the game,” NC junior point guard Liam Simington (12) said.
To open the second half, Harrison started with a three-pointer making the score 24-26. With the Warriors playing better throughout the second half, Daniels posterized the Hoyas and provided the Warriors with a huge confidence booster when looking at the scoreboard which read 34-29. To end the third quarter Harrison junior small forward Jordan Howe (24) shot a two-point buzzer-beater (40-39).
Starting the final quarter, Johnson threw an eye–catching, cross-court pass to NC senior small forward Damonte Pellot (0) for a three-pointer (43-39). Aggressive plays from the players showed the crowd how eager both teams aspired to come out victorious. The score remained close throughout the fourth quarter, but the Warriors managed to stay content during the game’s final minutes and created several stops to win the match (57-53). The NC Warriors plan to continue their win streak as they prepare to face the South Paulding Spartans (4-1) Saturday, December 10 in NC’s Arena.
“The coach and the players were satisfied with the win even though we made lots of mistakes during it. As a team, we understand we have many things to work on during practice if we want to compete in regional standings. Now we focus on our next game tomorrow against South Paulding,” Simmington said.
