Knights joust Chargers

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 8, 2014 11:31 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Charged up on emotions, Wayne Country Day had everything go in its favor during the first three minutes against bitter archrival Greenfield on Friday evening.

But the Knights spoiled the senior night party.

Greenfield drained 10 3-pointers and got a team-high 17 points from Xavier Mills in an 86-56 triumph over WCDS in the Coastal Plains Independent 1-A/2-A Conference regular-season finale for both teams.

The No. 3-ranked Knights (26-4 overall) finished 10-0 in league play and earned an opening-round bye in next week's CPIC tournament. The Chargers (21-10, 6-4) are expected to host a quarterfinal-round game Tuesday.

A disco ball illuminated a dark gymnasium as Wayne Country Day took the floor. Fans dressed in white T-shirts and painted faces provided energy for a team that needed a signature victory heading into the postseason.

It looked promising.

The Chargers scored eight of the game's first 10 points during the first three minutes. But a traveling call negated Joel Davis' open-court dunk, and the Knights easily turned the miscue into a basket.

"You could see the air let out for a second and that's all it takes for Greenfield," WCDS head coach David Flowers said. "If you give them any kind of momentum, you're in trouble. It's hard to stop them."

Greenfield quickly turned the deficit into a 21-13 lead after one quarter of play. The margin swelled throughout the second quarter as Wayne Country Day struggled to defend in transition, and couldn't find any open spaces offensively.

Turnovers piled up.

So did the points on the Knights' side of the scoreboard.

"Greenfield, I talked to (head coach) Rob (Salter) afterwards and he said this is one of the best games they have played all year," Flowers said. "They hit 3s, defended well and you have to give them credit because they played their butt off and we didn't. We tried a lot of different things.

"They were hitting shots and we weren't hitting shots. It was tough for us to get up some shots and at times, I think we just forced things."

The Knights converted 34 field goals, including 10 from behind the 3-point arc. The Chargers hit 19 shots from the floor and claimed a 13-8 edge at the free throw line.

Joel Davis paced Wayne Country Day with 16 points. Senior Lee Atkinson contributed 14, while Shahim Muhammed provided six points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Atkinson, and fellow seniors Tyler Talton and Marlon Coley, played the final 96 seconds on the court together. Coley, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury, buried two 3-pointers.

Talton collected two rebounds.

"It's going to be tough to lose them," Flowers said. "Tyler is a kid that plays hard. Marlon has had a tough year all year. Lee, he's an all-around player. I think he took (the loss) the hardest."