SBMOP WINTER CLASSIC: Gators crowned by Chargers' King

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 28, 2016 9:57 AM

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BY BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Giving Wayne Country Day's Jamal King room to rise and fire is never a good idea.

Spring Creek's defense allowed it to happen several times in Tuesday's matchup.

And the Gators paid for it dearly.

Behind the strength of King's 25 points, the Chargers cruised to a 61-42 victory over the Gators in the first round of the fourth annual Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic.

The Chargers play Parrott Academy in today's semifinal.

"I'm seeing Jamal King turn into a player -- and that's what's scary," said WCDS head coach David Flowers. "We've talked about scoring at every level. He's got to learn how to score at every level to be a big-time player, and he's starting to come into his own."

King made his presence known early into the game.

On the Chargers' first possession, King placed his feet a couple of feet behind the collegiate 3-point line.

Swish.

A couple of plays later, King once again reeled in a pass from beyond the arc, and once again took his shot.

Swish.

King ended up scoring the first nine points for WCDS. He scored 12 points in the first quarter, and ended up with 20 by halftime.

"If he's going to make 3's, we're in trouble," said Gators' head coach Taylor Jones. "He was making deep shots. We didn't really do a good job of contesting -- our hands were down a lot. But I mean, you won't play very many kids who are like him."

King began the second half just like he did the first -- another deep 3-pointer. The guard would only score one more basket for the entire game, but the damage had already been completed.

The Chargers held a 33-18 lead after two quarters. In the second half, the margin never dipped below 13 points.

As a team, WCDS nailed 11 3-pointers. Along with the six long balls made by King, Marcus Metcalf tallied two and Cole Atwood recorded three.

"Where we play at in the 1-A division, there's a lot of size," Flowers said. "We play a lot of 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 guys during the year so we have to shoot the ball well."

Along with his 25 points, King also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots. Jimmie Sanders tallied 14 points and nine assists.

Jamerion Dawson led the Gators with 11 points. Cameron Jones registered eight points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Now the Chargers turn their attention to Parrott Academy, a team they defeated 70-52 on Dec. 1.

Flowers said his team has been playing great basketball as of late, and added that he wants the momentum to continue in the rematch versus the Patriots.

"First time we played them, we came out and played really well against them," Flowers said. "I know it's going to be a different Parrott team we played (on the road), but hopefully we're a different Wayne Country Day team...I'm excited about it. It's going to be a good game."