Basketball Team Prevails Against Plant City

At the door of the gym, the hosts were giving out fact sheets on the nights entertainment entitled the "Plant City Raiders vs. Newsome Lions".  For the first half, it appeared that Plant City was a bit confused about who they were playing as Newsome rolled to a lopsided 29-14 lead.  The Raiders were unable to crack double figures in either period, scoring 9 in the first and only five in the second.

In the locker room at the half, the Raiders evidently sorted it out.  Although Newsome stretched their lead out to 19 in the first minute of the third quarter, Plant City moved their intensity to a completely different level throughout the second half.  After a couple of quick baskets by Hodges, Coach Dale Chambers called a time out and delivered a highly motivational sermon to his team.  The Raiders repented of their ways and became a different team the rest of the game, scoring more in each of the third and fourth quarters than they did in the entire first half.  The intensity of seniors Josh Thiebe and Kenny Adams, along with sophomore Chris Smith was a sight to behold as they led their team back from the brink of embarassment into the light of respectability.  From there they continued to attack the ball relentlessly until with just under three minutes left in the contest, the Raiders had pulled to within 5 points. 

As the remaining time dwindled away, Coach Chambers repeatedly made defensive substitutions for Thiebe and others in order to foul and try force the Wolves to cough up the ball.  When the opportunity arose, Newsome responded with distinction at the line.  In the fourth quarter the team made 14 out of 16 free throws.  Sophomore Jamel Gist led the way, earning 6 shots and making all 6.  Freshman Dylan Bridges contributed 4 of 4 charity shots, while senior Andy Suslavich cashed in on both of his 2 attempts.  For the game, The Wolves were 16 of 19, or 84% from the line.

The Wolves also enjoyed an excellent 61% shooting night from the field.  They were led in scoring by Samal Shepherd, who was 10-15 from the field and 2-3 at the line for 23 points, and Jake Hodges who scored 14 on 7-8 from the field. Senior Charley Murphy was also outstanding, scoring 6 points while going a perfect 2 for 2 from the field.  The end result of the nights activity was a 61-51 victory that earns this team the title of the winningest basketball team in Newsome history with 17 wins, surpassing last years record of 16.  The Wolves will attempt to extend that record when they return to action for their final regular season game of the season Thursday at East Bay.

Last changed: Feb 14 2009 at 9:32 AM

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