-
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Keyton Newland runs from behind the basket to lay up a shot in a game earlier in the season. The team secured their playoff spot after beating Garner in a tie-breaker match Friday, Feb. 14.
The Newcastle Bobcats and Garner Longhorns met Friday in Bryson for a tie breaker match determining who secured a playoff spot. With a dominating 49-33 win, Newcastle inched its way into the playoffs.
The two teams had met previously in January with Newcastle winning the first game easily with a score of 46-26, but fell in the second matchup 56-54.
The Bobcats used their experience with the team to their advantage and started their game Friday, Feb. 14 in control.
Newcastle was ahead with 11 points in the first quarter due to a 3-point shot from Jayden Hemby and 2-point shots from Keyton Newland, Ryland Hinojosa, Jacob Omundi and Hemby. Their lead was only by three points with the Longhorns on their tail.
The defense held strong for Newcastle in the second quarter and held Garner to only five points while putting another 10 points on the board, six of which came from Omundi. A 2-point shot from Newland and made free throw shots from Newland and Tristan Clemons brought the score to 21-13 at the half.
The game was only an eight point difference, but that did not stop the Bobcats from bringing the determination they had on display all night. Newcastle put another 12 points on the board while holding Garner to only seven points in the third quarter.
Things continued to look up for the Bobcats into the fourth quarter as they started with a 13-point lead with the score at 20-33. Newcastle brought their fight again and had the most scoring of any quarter at the very end.
Things started out early in the fourth quarter with a 2-point shot from London Martinez that was immediately followed up with a 3-point shot from Hinojosa.
In total, the Bobcats had 16 points in the final quarter, which held back the Longhorns who pushed for a win and scored 13 points.
Despite their end-game push, it was not enough to break the determination of the Bobcats who came away with the win and secured their spot in the playoffs.
Leading in scoring for the Bobcats was Hinojosa with 13 points, followed by Omundi with 10 points, Newland and Hemby with seven points, Clemons with five points, Martinez with three points and Cooper Clayton and Joey Soito with two points each.
The Bobcats are moving to the bi-district game Tuesday, Feb. 18, against the Forestburg Longhorns with a 6 p.m. start time at Chico High School.
