King, White stage duel in CPIC regular-season finale

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 6, 2016 11:38 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

The genuine article can be difficult to find -- whether it's an obscure artifact or a modern gym of culture enlightenment.

Today's world is brimming with such items posing as bonafide.

That notion, however, does extend to either Wayne Country Day's Jamal King or Greenfield's Coby White. The two staged an epic battle in front of a frenzied fan base inside the WCDS gym on Friday evening.

The Knights, who never trailed, survived a furious second-half rally and pulled out a 72-68 victory.

The game's opening quarter was stamped by White, who routinely left defenders and finished with winding, contortionist-like layups at the rim. He netted a game-high 29 points.

When not attacking the paint, White found shooters -- most notably twin siblings Luke and Jake Taylor, who combined for six 3-pointers on the evening.

Greenfield's matchup zone and man-to-man defense frustrated Wayne Country Day. The Knights built a 20-point second-quarter advantage and led 41-24 at the break.

Then King woke up in the third quarter.

The 6-foot-4 freshman scored at will on the block and was joined by the timely shooting of Cole Atwood, whose second 3-pointer in a 45-second span prompted a Greenfield timeout with 5:38 left in the quarter.

The Chargers continued to surge.

Following a Greenfield turnover at midcourt, King gained control of the basketball and delivered a one-handed, tomahawk dunk that seemingly tested the building's structural integrity. Greenfield led by 11 with three minutes to go in the period.

White, however, dictated the remainder of the game. He attacked the basket with crossover dribbles, hesitation moves and see-you-later speed. He scored five points -- all from the free throw line -- drew praise from Greenfield head coach Rob Salter.

"He's the real deal," Salter said, "one of the top sophomores in the country... and unselfish. Our guys love playing with him."

King added a 3-pointer to his 22-point total. A late steal by DJ Rawlinson and subsequent free throws by Jake Taylor sealed the road win.

WCDS (13-14 overall) lost its sixth straight game. Head coach David Flowers honored seniors Tony Townsend and Jamal Forde prior to tip-off.