WEB CAST.
Northern Durham led from wire-to-wire on Tuesday night at O. David Pope Gym and handed the Garner Trojans its first loss of the season, 73-67.
The Knights (5-1) came out on fire to start the game, led by Kentrell Barkley who had 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter to help give Northern a 20-17 lead after one quarter.
Despite the poor shooting in the opening half, Garner (5-1) was able to hang around and eventually took an eight point lead midway through the second quarter thanks in large part to nine opening half points from Demarcus Sanford and five points from Sammy Saunders. But, the Knights refused to quit and battled back to take a one point, 35-34 lead at the break as Ricky Counil scored 11 of his game-high 25 in the half.
Northern came out of the locker room on fire turning a one point lead into a seven point margin over the first three minutes of the quarter before the Trojans called a timeout hoping to get back in the game. But, the Knights were able to stave off the Garner comeback as they took a 56-51 lead into the final quarter.
In the final stanza, the men of Troy pulled to within a couple of points midway through the quarter and eventually took a two-point lead but could not hang on as Northern Durham hit its free throws down the stretch to earn a 73-67 victory.
Garner returns home on Friday night at 7:30 when they open conference play taking on the Clayton Comets.
Varsity Girls Fall at Northern
Garner used a couple of spurts to turn a double digit deficit into six points in the final four minutes of the game but could get no closer as they fell to Northern Durham 51-36 on Tuesday night.
The Lady Trojans (0-6) will return to Trojan Coliseum on Friday night at 6:00 when they host the Clayton Comets.
JV Splits
The two JV teams split games against Northern Durham on Tuesday night with the JV boys winning 96-51 to avenge and early season loss to the Knights. However, the JV girls could not find a way to win as they fell 34-29.
Both JV teams will be in action on Friday when they welcome the Clayton Comets to Trojan Coliseum. The girls start at 4:00 followed by the boys at 5:00.
