WEB CAST .
Donald Johnson hit a key free throw with 10.9 seconds left to give Garner a five point lead, that they wouldn't relinquish as they came from behind to defeat Southeast Raleigh 62-58 on Friday night.
Garner (11-0, 5-0) found themselves in a dog fight in every sense of the word as Southeast Raleigh (8-4, 3-2) came ready to play on Friday night and opened up a 22-16 lead after the first quarter, as the Bulldogs played a uptempo physical type of basketball game.
Southeast saw their lead grow in the second quarter as midway through the period, they had a 11 point lead over the Trojans, who were playing very out of character and had several turnovers as they struggled with the Bulldogs pressure defense.
However, Garner clawed their way back at the end of the half to cut the lead to four points at 34-30 at the break.
Garner was able to stay in the game thanks to the rebounding of Deion Dorsey who finished the game with 20 rebounds while Dominique Reed had 12 blocked shots to create several fast break chances for the Trojans.
In the third quarter, Garner began a run that would send them into the lead as Johnson scored 10 of his teams first 12 points in the third quarter to give the Trojans a one point advantage halfway through the third. That lead would grow to as many as 11 in the games third stanza before Southeast made a run.
The Bulldogs came storming back thanks to a balanced scoring effort from Tyler Griffs and Donyea Johnson and made it a 49-48 Trojan lead going to the final quarter.
After an uptempo high intensity game through three quarters, the final stanza was very methodical as both teams tried to grind their way to the victory. But, as they have done most of the season Johnson and Gavin Wilson put the team on their back scoring a combined 11 points in the final quarter.
However, Southeast had several chances to tie the game as they trailed by one three for the majority of the game, but, most of their threes went begging. Garner struggled all night from the line shooting just 39 percent for the game, from the line.
With 10.9 seconds left, Johnson went to the line for two shots and the Trojans up by three, after missing the first, he hit the second and Southeast had their shot on the other end blocked by Reed to keep the Trojans perfect.
Garner will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to East Wake for a 7:30 tip-off.
Varsity Girls fall to Southeast
After a big win over SSS, Garner was feeling good about their chances to upset Southeast Raleigh. However, the Bulldogs who finished second in the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational, made sure there would be no upset on Friday as they defeated Garner 59-18.
Southeast began the game on a 6-0 run and never looked back as they cruised to victory.
The Lady Trojans are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to East Wake for a 6:00 tip.
Trojans stay perfect after big rally
