WEB CAST.
Garner and Clayton played another thriller on Tuesday night at Trojan Coliseum, and in a game of runs, it was the Trojans who had the last spurt to slip past the Comets 80-77 to stay atop the Greater Neuse River.
Clayton (5-1, 1-1) began the game on a 5-0 run behind great shooting from Stevy Wright and Adam Parrish, however Garner (6-0, 2-0) answered right back with a 5-0 of their own to knot the game at 10 in the early stages of the first quarter.
After a tight first quarter, the teams ended the period knotted at 16 as Garner caught fire from Donald Johnson and Gavin Wilson.
The second quarter was more back and fourth as Clayton used the inside play of Freshman, Gary Clark to take the lead, however, Garner refused to die in the first half and trailed only by two points at the break, thanks to Dominique Reed who chipped in 10 first half points to keep the men of Troy close.
In the third stanza, Garner got big production from Johnson who scored seven points to give Garner a four point lead. However, Clayton came right back thanks to the of Parrish who chipped in eight points in the quarter to keep the game tied at 57 heading to the fourth quarter.
Clayton began to pull away in the final quarter leading by as many as nine points as Clark could not be stopped inside as he finished with 19 points to lead the Comets.
Garner tried to get back in the game, but with 2:30 left in the game, the Clayton still had a nine point lead. To the credit of the Trojans, they came back with the help of their defensive play and cut the lead down to one with just 20 seconds left.
Clayton then in-bounded the basketball where Wilson stole the pass and fired it ahead to Josh McClain who laid it in for the one point Garner lead. On the ensuing possession, Clayton drove into the paint but an offensive foul was called on Anthony Gaskins. Clayton fouled Johnson on the inbound, where he went to the line, made both foul shots and give the Trojans a three point lead.
Garner stole the inbound pass as time expired and the Trojans came back for a big 80-77 win. The Trojans will hit the road on Friday night at 7:30 when they travel to Knightdale for a 7:30 tip off.
Scoring:
Garner: Gavin Wilson 24 (career high), Donald Johnson 19, Dominique Reed 14, Josh McClain 6, Larry Richardson 6, Cliff Holt 5, Emmanuel McClain 4, Deion Dorsey 2.
Clayton: Gary Clark 19, Anthony Gaskins 16, Stevy Wright 14, Adam Parrish 13, Antonio Pickett 11, Adonis Banks 6.
Varsity Girls Fall to Clayton
After a big win over West Johnston to open the conference season, Garner had a tough time defending the speed of the Clayton Comets as they jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back, defeating Garner 65-45 on Tuesday night.
With Clayton up big in the second half, Garner tried to make a run, but just couldn't get the shots to fall as the Comets picked up the GNRC win.
The Lady Trojans are back in action at Knightdale on Friday night at 6:00.
JV Boys Pick up Win Over Comets
Coach Bloms and the JV Boys kept their record perfect on Tuesday night, with a 62-52 win over the Comets.
Garner (4-0, 2-0) was led by: DeMarcus Sanford: 12 pts, 4 reb, 4 steals, 3 assts and Sammie Saunders: 13 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals.
The Trojans are back at home on Friday night when they host Knightdale at 7:30.
