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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