Greenfield avenges loss to WCDS boys

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 6, 2013 1:47 PM

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Wayne Country Day planned to let Greenfield senior Robert Stokley either take over the game or become a hindrance for his team Tuesday evening.

Stokley played like a beast instead.

The 6-foot-10 center pumped in 26 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the floor and led the state-ranked Knights to a 79-76 triumph over the Chargers in Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference play.

"I have to give respect where respect is due," WCDS head coach Terry Jones said. "We put ourselves in a position where we said Stokley is going to have to either beat us or maybe hurt his team. Tonight, he wore his big boy britches and he brought it to us.

"He played a stellar ballgame."

The Knights (17-9 overall, 8-1 CPIC) clinched a share of the regular-season championship and avenged an earlier home loss to the Chargers. Ashley Williams added 20 points for Greenfield. Jordan Sharpe and Jaime Johnson collected 11 and 10 points, respectively.

WCDS junior guard Lee Atkinson torched the nets for a game-high 35 points and buried five 3-pointers. His final stat sheet also included seven rebounds and four assists. Deshar Thomas poured in 16 second-half points and Joel Davis knocked down 12.

"The takeaway from this big game (of) high-level competition ... we lost by three with a sub-par effort," Jones said. "I can only imagine what the game would have been like if we had the execution, if we had the mental focus to play in a high-level game like this. It stinks, yes, and we were so close.

"But again, we played so poor."

Greenfield established Stokley's presence during the first 21/2 minutes of the game. He converted three consecutive field goals and Williams added two baskets of his own to fuel an 11-3 surge.

No. 4-ranked Wayne Country Day (14-7, 6-3) misfired on its first eight possessions that included five turnovers.

The No. 5-ranked Knights led 21-11 after one quarter and increased the margin to 35-22 at halftime. Stokley finished 7 of 7 from the field and Greenfield logged a whopping 31 points in the paint.

"I don't know if we came out a little pressed with jitters or what, but we didn't come out our typical selves," Jones said. "We didn't come out as focused, I'll be honest with you. We had some guys who were looking like deer in the headlights."

Lee's 3-pointer and a short jumper off a steal by Thomas closed the gap to 45-39 late in the third quarter. Ty Batts and Jaime Johnson countered with consecutive 3-pointers, but the Chargers still one had more run left in them.

Marlon Coley's offensive putback pulled WCDS to within 67-63 with 21/2 minutes remaining in the game. The teams traded field goals before Stokley converted a critical, old-fashioned three-point play with 1:07 to go.

Thomas responded with a three-point play of his own, but the Knights sealed the road victory with a 6 of 7 effort at the free throw line.