Brighton Hudson (W, 1-0) worked six strong innings on Thursday afternoon at Wiley Warren Field and Jake Ellington (S, 1) pitched the seventh as Garner earned a 6-4 road victory over Broughton to open the 2013 season.
Garner (1-0) fell behind 2-0 early before climbing back into the game as Jacob Faucette scored the Trojans first run on a balk call. Broughton (0-1) regained a two-run (4-2) lead midway through the contest before Skylar Strickland singled home Carrington Austin (who was a perfect 4-for-4 on the afternoon) and later in the fourth inning, Vince Jefferies came home on a fielder's choice to even the score.
The Trojans took the lead for good when Austin singled home Taylor Stephens with the winning run before the men of Troy tacked on some insurance to defeat the Caps 6-4.
Garner and Broughton will truncate their season series on Friday afternoon at Trojan Park with first pitch slated for 4:00.
Golf Finishes Second
The Garner golf team got off to a tremendous start on Thursday afternoon finishing season out of seven teams in a conference match at River Ridge.
The Trojans return to the links on Tuesday at 3:30 when they travel to Wilmar for a conference showdown.
Baseball Tops Broughton in Season Opener
US Security Associates
Trojans Pull Away from Pine Forest to Advance
WEB CAST.
The name of the game is to survive and advance and on Monday night in the opening round of the playoffs, Garner did that as the Trojans moved past Pine Forest 72-50 inside Trojan Coliseum.
Garner (22-4) jumped out to a quick start taking a 15-4 advantage with 4:20 left in the opening quarter only to go stone cold from the field before Sammy Saunders caught fired scoring 11 of his 17 points in the opening half to lift the Trojans to a 34-27 lead at the break.
Despite being out-rebounded in the opening half, Pine Forest (15-12) did its best to stick around using the three point shot to climb back into the game on several occasions.
Garner built a 13-point, 51-38 lead after the third quarter only to see Pine Forest claw back in with back-to-back three point shots from Travis McEachern who finished the game with 23 points.
But, in the fourth quarter the homestanding Trojans pulled away as four Garner players scored in double figures led by 17 from Saunders. Demarcus Sanford added 12 while Foster Dubar poured in 11 and Julius Barnes finished the game with 10 in the 70-52 victory for Garner.
The Trojans will continue the playoff journey on Wednesday night at 7:00 when they travel to Fayetteville to battle Seventy First High School the champion of the Mid South Conference.
Trojans Fall Short in Conference Championship
WEB CAST.
Garner and Clayton battled in two epic regular season contests and on Friday night inside Trojan Coliseum they met, this time for the Conference Tournament Championship. However, it was a late Comet surge that sent Clayton over the edge with a 71-59 victory.
The Trojans (21-4) built an early 7-0 lead only to see Clayton (25-2) answer back to take a 20-17 lead after the first quarter. But to the credit of Garner they never faltered and came storming back on the strength of Foster Dubar who scored 14 of his career high 20 points in the first half to keep the Trojans hanging around and as the halftime buzzer sounded, the game was knotted at 31.
Coming out of the break, the men of Troy were firing on all cylinders building a six point lead on a pair of buckets from Demarcus Sanford (who finished with 19 points) and the Comets were forced to call a timeout with 4:46 remaining in the quarter.
Following the timeout, Clayton came back building a 48-43 lead after the quarter as Anthony Gaskins led the Comets with eight of his 26 points in the third quarter.
In the final stanza, the Comets, on the strength of Gary Clark who poured in 14 of his game-high 36 in the fourth quarter as Clayton built a nine point lead before the Trojans came answering back trimming the lead to one on several occasions but could never climb over the hump as Clayton pulled away and defeated Garner 71-59.
Garner will now await their seeding in the state playoffs which begin on Monday night at 7:00. Most likely at home.
Trojans Advance to Conference Championship with Thrilling Win
WEB CAST.
Garner and Knightdale met for the third time this season on Thursday night inside Trojan Coliseum, but unlike the first two meetings, this one lived up to the billing. Despite the fact that Garner only trailed once, by one, early in the game made little difference as the Knights hung close but had the late rally fall short as the men of Troy advanced to another Greater Neuse River Conference Tournament Championship game with a 54-50 win over the Knights.
Knightdale (14-11) trailed by just three (31-28) at halftime and managed to stay close throughout the second half falling behind by no more than six at any point. With the Knights hanging close, the Trojans relied on its senior leader, Demarcus Sanford, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 in the second half to keep the Knights at bay.
However, Knightdale would not go away as they continued to chip away at the Garner (21-3) lead cutting it to just two points (52-50) with 22 seconds left. Following a timeout, the Knights took the ball inside and missed a couple of layups before Sanford boarded the miss and on the play, the Knights were hit with a technical foul with just a few seconds left - after a couple of Sanford free throws, the Trojans were able to sustain the lead and knock off Knightdale for the ninth consecutive time in the series.
The Trojans had only two players who registered points in the second half as Jasper Stallings contributed eight of his 12 in the second half for the four point win.
Garner will advance to the Conference Tournament Championship game Friday night against the Clayton Comets who defeated Southeast Raleigh 65-57 on Thursday night. The contest will be held inside Garner's Trojan Coliseum and tip-off is slated for 7:00.
Preceding the game will be the girls championship tilt, also at Garner pitting Southeast Raleigh against East Wake, that contest will tip-off at 5:30.
Trojan Wrestling Update
Congratulations to the following members of the wrestling team for making it to the East 4A Regionals. Mason Crawford, James Box, Aschalew Teka, Justin Scales, Emon Kizer, Francisco Cedra-Rodriquez, Jonathan Ruiceco and Amani Soumaoro.
These wrestlers will try to qualify for the states as the compete this weekend at Cape Fear High School.
Good luck to the Trojans this weekend!
Trojans Roll Past Wildcats in Conference Tournament
WEB CAST.
Garner survived an early West Johnston spurt on Tuesday night before turning up the defensive pressure and using a big second quarter to coast into the semi-finals of the Greater Neuse River Conference Tournament with a 87-48 win over the Wildcats at Trojan Coliseum.
West Johnston (2-20, 0-15) took its first and only lead of the game at 6-3 two minutes into the opening period before Garner (20-3, 14-1) found its stride going on an 8-0 spurt thanks to a trio of three-pointers from Sammy Saunders along with a big first half from Patrick Henneghan who had 10 of his career high 17 in the opening half of play.
Garner took command of the contest and opened the second period leading 23-6 as they held the Wildcats scoreless for over a six minute stretch between the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Trojan offense went to work continuing the onslaught before taking a 48-21 lead into the halftime break.
Coach Eddie Gray was able to insert every player on his roster into the game on Tuesday night as Garner took a 69-38 lead after three quarters and finished the contest with an 87-48 victory.
The Trojans will be back in action on Thursday night in the semi-final round of the conference tournament. Garner will host both semi-final games inside Trojan Coliseum. First, Southeast Raleigh and Clayton will battle at 5:30 while the Trojans will take on Knightdale at 7:00.
Trojans Down Central to Share Conference Crown
WEB CAST.
Garner ended the 2012-13 regular season on Friday night at Trojan Coliseum and, on senior night, won a share of the conference championship for a fifth straight season with a 75-68 victory over Harnett Central.
Harnett Central (8-14, 4-10) began the game on fire as the Trojans could not get any of their point blank jump shots to fall as Central built a six point, 18-12 lead after the opening eight minutes.
Central sustained its hot shooting into the second stanza as Garner (19-3, 13-1) played every senior on the roster before coach Eddie Gray subbed in the regular starters, which allowed the Trojans to spurt back into the contest and cut the lead to a single point at 31-30 at the break.
In the opening, half, Skyler Strickland, who got the senior night start scored all six of his points in the opening half which tied his career high. Additionally, Foster Dubar, added seven of his 11 in the first half for the men of Troy.
Central came charging out of the gates in the second half and built a 41-37 lead with 4:39 left prompting Garner to call a timeout to regroup. Following the timeout, the Trojans went on a spurt of 10-5 to climb back into the lead and took the lead for good with 1:51 left in the third before closing the third stanza with a 52-51 lead.
Demarcus Sanford, took over in the final period pouring in 10 of his 23 points to lead a balanced attack of four players in double figures. For Sanford, Friday marked his third consecutive game with 23 points and his fourth straight contest of 20 points or more.
Julius Barnes added 17 along with 11 from Dubar and 10 from Sammy Saunders to lift the Trojans to a 75-68 victory.
Garner returns to action on Tuesday night at 7:00 in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Trojans will not know its opponent or its seed in the tournament until after a coin flip on Saturday morning.
The Trojans won the coin flip on Saturday morning and will have home court advantage in the conference tournament. Garner will host West Johnston at 7:00 on Tuesday. Knightdale and East Wake will also play on Tuesday at Garner, they will tip at 5:30.
Varsity Girls Fall
Garner and Harnett Central went into the halftime break tied at 25. However, it was Central who came out of the gate blazing in the second half going on a spurt to put the game away and down the lady Trojans 57-39.
Coach Mays and the lady Trojans will return to action on Monday night at 5:30 in the opening round of the conference tournament as Garner will take on Harnett Central from East Wake High School.
JV Splits
The JV teams earned a split on Friday night in their season finales. The girls finished the season with a 39-36 loss while the boys closed the season with a dominating 62-43 victory.
Baseball Rosters Announced
2013 Baseball Rosters
Varsity JV
Austin Gallogly
Ellington Godwin
Faucette Haris
Galavotti Lee
Jeffries Phillips
Lamb Robinson
Lee Smith
Stephens Torruella
Strickland Ward
Woodall Wiley
Brown Blalock
Corbin Elliott
Gulley Jones
Hudson Pearce
Kieft Pippen
Monahan Weatherspoon
Norris Wright
Stewart Yokley
Trojans Down Bulldogs in Final Road Test
WEB CAST.
After a slow start on Tuesday night, Garner found its stride and passed the final road test with flying colors downing Southeast Raleigh 67-59.
Southeast Raleigh (11-9, 7-5) took an early 10-0 lead before the Trojans went on a run of their own outscoring the Bulldogs 18-8 over the final 6:50 of the opening stanza to take a 18-17 lead after the first quarter.
Garner (18-3, 12-1) held close and took a lead of as many as three points in the second quarter thanks to the play of Kyreece Mills who scored all 12 of his points, including a pair of three pointers, in the opening half. Additionally, John Alston poured in six of his eight points in the first half to lift the men of Troy to a 31-30 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Garner dominated in particular, Jasper Stallings, who scored eight of his 10 in the third to give the Trojans a six point, 53-47 lead heading into the fourth.
However, the Bulldogs did not go quietly, as Justin Morris and Kwamaine Fairley scored 14 each to keep Southeast in the game until the final stages when Demarcus Sanford took over, scoring a game-high 23 points to lead the Trojans to the 67-59 victory.
Garner returns to action on Friday night when they conclude the regular season and host Senior Night as Harnett Central visits Trojan Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 8:00.
Varsity Girls Fall
Garner could not get anything going on Tuesday night as Southeast Raleigh dominated from start to finish defeating the Trojans 87-48.
The lady Trojans return to action on Friday night for Senior Night when they host Harnett Central at 6:30.
JV Falls
Both JV teams fell to Southeast Raleigh on Tuesday night. The JV girls fell 44-20 while the boys dropped a heart breaker 64-58.
Each team will host Harnett Central on Friday night when the girls at 4:00 and the boys at 5:15
Trojan Wrestlers Have Great Showing
Congratulations to the Trojans wrestling team for a great showing in the Greater Neuse River Conference tournament at Smithfield-Selma last weekend.
Sevearl wrestlers took home championships while others had tremendous individual efforts.
James Box won the Greater Neuse championship at 113 pounds.
Emon Kizer second place finish at 138
Mason Crawford placed thrid at 106 and Aschalew Teka was also third at 120
Fourth place finishes go to Jonathan Ruiceco at 195 and Amani Soumaoro at 285.
Garner will return to the mat on February 22nd when they compete in the regional tournament.
Congratulations to the Trojans for an outstanding season and great showing at the conference tournament.
Garner Chiropractic & Wellness CenterTimber Crossings Shopping Center
205 Timber Drive West
Garner, NC 27529
(919) 779-2225
Track Try-Outs Announced
Tryouts for track will start on Tuesday, February 19th at 3:00 on the track. If you plan on coming out please make sure you have a current physical and concussion form on file and that all paperwork is complete BEFORE February 19th. If you have any questions stop by and see Coach George in room 806 or Coach Lee in room 903.
Trojans Blast Knights to Stay in Race
WEB CAST.
Garner had a huge first half spurt and survived a big third quarter comeback by Knightdale to keep pace at the top of the league standings with an 82-63 road win on Friday night.
For the second game in-a-row, Garner (17-3, 11-1) got out to a big first quarter leading, racing out to a 23-6 lead after the opening eight minutes and unlike the game on Wednesday night, the Trojans were able to build on that lead in the second stanza as Foster Dubar scored six of his 11 points in the second quarter. Garner also got big first half play from Sammy Saunders who poured in 12 to help give the men of Troy a 44-24 lead at the break.
Knightdale (12-9, 6-6) came storming back in the third quarter and seemingly every shot attempted found the bottom of the net as the Knights erased a 20-point deficit and turned the game into a five point game heading into the final eight minutes of play. Ronshad Allen-Shabazz lead the Knights with 12 of his 15 points in the third quarter.
The Knights continued to chip away at the Trojan lead pulling as close as two (58-56) early in the fourth only to see the Trojans break the game wide open.
Julius Barnes and Demarcus Sanford put the team on their backs and helped will the men of Troy to victory. Barnes, who finished with a new career high of 20 points nailed a pivotal three pointer from the left wing to put the Trojans up by double digits late in the game and really seal the contest.
Meanwhile, Sanford, poured in 23 points (five off his career high) including nine in the final eight minutes as the Trojans took home the 82-63 win over the Knights.
For Garner, it was their eighth straight victory over Knightdale and now the Trojans lead the all-time series 18-5.
The men of Troy return to action on Tuesday night at 8:00 when they travel to Southeast Raleigh to battle the Bulldogs.
Varsity Girls Comeback Falls Short
Galavotti, Jefferies Continue Football Career
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| Vince Jefferies and Anthony Galavotti pause for a picture |
Over that two year period, the senior class that paced the Trojans put together a record of 29-2 and on Wednesday morning inside Trojan Coliseum, Anthony Galavotti and Vince Jefferies signed their National Letters of Intent.
Anthony Galavotti
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| Nelson Smith, Drew Cook; Gary Galavotti, Anthony Galavotti, Barbra Galavotti |
The Senior, said he chose Western Carolina over offers from Sacred Hart and Charleston University (West Virginia) because of several reasons. He cited the proximity to home and a coaching staff which has "been on me from the beginning."
He continued, "I love the mountains and I get to play against some of my old high school teammates in the Southern Conference, like Greg Milhouse (Appalachian State)."
Galavotti liked the fact that the coaching staff at Western was new and said the Catamounts were "a program on the rise." Starting nine true-freshman a season ago, playing time looks to be in the near future of Galavotti.
He said he needs to "get bigger in the off-season and maintaining my speed as I get bigger and bringing a good attitude into camp."
He plans to major in environmental engineering.
Vince Jefferies
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| Nelson Smith, Nadia Jefferies, Ka'asha Jefferies; Maribel, Vince and Vincent Jefferies |
The senior signal caller turned down preferred walk-on spots at Georgia Tech, Purdue, Western Carolina and Appalachian State.
But for Jefferies, Shaw was where he ended up, when asked why Shaw he said, "it was the environment and coaching staff that made it seem like a great fit for me. I always asked God where he wanted me to go and He kind of just told me this is where I want you to go and where I want you to shine at."
The proximity to home was also something Jefferies cited as to why he chose Shaw.
Jefferies does expect to challenge for a starting spot at quarterback at Shaw when camp opens in the fall. "I spoke with coach and he said the probability of me starting early is very high looking at the skill set and intangibles that I can bring to the table."
He plans to major in criminal justice at Shaw.
Garner Comeback Falls Short
WEB CAST.
Garner fell behind by 10 points midway through the final quarter on Wednesday night at Jerry Smith Court only to storm back and cut the Clayton lead to three, however the comeback fell just short as the Trojans dropped their first conference game of the season, 67-61.
Clayton (19-2, 10-1) fell behind 21-6 after the opening quarter sparked by the play of Trojan sophomore Julius Barnes who converted a four-point play late in the opening stanza to lift the men of Troy to a 15 point lead.
However, the Comets came storming back in the second quarter led by Anthony Gaskins who finished the half with 10 points along with eight from both Gary Clark and Chis Dixon. Despite the second quarter surge, the Comets still trailed Garner (16-3, 10-1) by three points, 29-26 at the break.
The second half belonged mostly to the Comets who seemed to hit every shot they took building a five-point lead, 48-43 after three quarters.
Garner seemed stagnant on offense in the final stanza as Clark, poured in 13 second half points to finish with 21 points for the Comets. The junior also achieved a triple-double capturing 19 rebounds and blocking 11 Garner shots.
But the real killer for the Trojans was the play of Gaskins who scored 22 points in the second 16 minutes to finish with a game high 32 points including six three pointers in the contest.
Despite the Comet offensive surge, the Trojans still had a shot at the end of the game storming back from a 10-point deficit with 4:05 left in the game to cut the game to two points (63-61) with 1:03 to play. However, the men of Troy could not get a key rebound at the end of the game and the Comets nailed a its free throws down the stretch to even the season series with Garner with a 67-61 win.
The Trojans return to action on Friday night when they travel to Knightdale for an 8:00 tip-off.
Varsity Girls Upset Comet
Trojans Hammer Wildcats to Stay in League Lead
WEB CAST.
Garner dominated from start to finish of Tuesday night's basketball contest against the visiting West Johnston Wildcats as the men of Troy were able to get everyone on the roster playing time in a 78-44 blowout victory at Trojan Coliseum.
Garner (16-2, 10-0) found the going a little touchy in the opening moments falling behind by a couple of points in the dawning moments of the contest but rallied back to lead 29-12 after the opening quarter thanks to the play of Foster Dubar who came off the bench to score six of his eight first half points in the opening stanza.
West Johnston (2-16, 0-11) had no answer in the second quarter allowing Garner to run out to a 42-22 lead on the play of John Alston who poured in five of his career high seven points in the second quarter.
In the second half, it was more of the same as the Trojans took a 65-29 lead into the fourth quarter and won the game going away, 78-44.
The men of Troy shot 78 percent (21 of 27) from the line tonight to aid the cause as Garner earned its 17th straight win over West Johnston to take a 19-2 lead in the all-time series.
Garner returns to action on Wednesday night at 8:00 when they travel to Jerry Smith Court to battle the Clayton Comets for the Greater Neuse River championship.
Varsity Girls Earn Second Win
Garner picked up its second win of the season on Tuesday night, easing past West Johnston 59-50. The lady Trojans had little problems taking a comfortable lead into the break before coasting for the nine point win.
The Lady Trojans return to action tomorrow night when they travel to Clayton to battle the Comets at 6:30.
JV Boys Down Wildcats
The JV boys kept pace in the Greater Neuse River with a 51-27 win over West Johnston. Garner is at Clayton on Wednesday with tip-off slated for 5:15.
The JV girls begin the action at 4:00.
Free Thorws Help Garner Survive Spartans
WEB CAST.
Free throw shooting has not always been the best part of the Garner Trojans body of work, but on Friday night in Smithfield, the men of Troy shot 85 percent (23-of-27) from the line en route to a hard fought, 71-64 victory over the Smithfield-Selma Spartans in the final regular season game between the two schools as members of the Greater Neuse River Conference.
Smithfield-Selma (8-11, 2-8) overcame a 10-point (34-24) halftime deficit to take a 41-40 lead with 2:34 left in the third quarter when Seth Turner nailed one of his four three pointers. However, following a timeout called by the Trojans, the men of Troy rattled off a mini-spurt to close the third stanza up by a point at 44-43.
Garner (15-2, 9-0) managed to build upon its lead during what eventually became a six-point possession when Demarcus Sanford was intentionally fouled racing down court for a fast break lay-up which resulted in a three-point play and possession of the ball for Garner. On the ensuing possession, the Trojans got a bucket from Jasper Stallings for two of his career high 20 points to take a seven-point lead.
However, SSS battled back and cut the lead to three points at 67-64 with 23 seconds left and the Spartans had possession of the ball. Following the timeout, SSS inbounded the ball only to see Garner sophomore, Julius Barnes, steal the ball help secure the 71-64 victory for the Trojans.
Garner returns to action on Tuesday night at 7:30 when they host West Johnston inside Trojan Coliseum.
SCORING:
GARNER: Demarcus Sanford 25, Jasper Stallings 20, Julius Barnes 10, Kyreece Mills 9, Sammy Saunders 4, Patrick Henneghan 4
SSS: Seth Turner 23, Montel Shepherd 17, James Mitchell 10, Jeremiah David 6, Tez Leach 4, Zay Best 2, Jeron Hodges 2.
Varsity Girls Earn First Victory
Coming off a heart breaking, double overtime loss at Harnett Central on Wednesday night, the varsity lady Trojans bounced back in a big way defeating Smithfield-Selma 54-46 to earn their first victory of the season.
Both teams headed into the locker room dead even before Garner pulled away in the second half and nailed the foul shots down the stretch to hang on for the nine point victory.
Garner returns to action on Tuesday when they host West Johnston inside Trojan Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 6:30.
JV Sweeps
Both JV teams earned wins on Friday night helping Garner complete a four game sweep of SSS. The JV girls earned a 24-14 win while the JV boys defeated SSS 63-46.
The JV BOYS will host West Johnston on Tuesday night at 4:30 while the JV Girls will NOT play West Johnston because the Wildcats do not field a JV girls team - the ladies will be back in action on Wednesday at Clayton.
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