New Town Edged Out by Western Tech

Western Tech head coach Nolan Roe said his experienced team prides itself on a fast-paced and physical brand of basketball.

Wednesday night at , a youthful group of Titans nearly matched them step for step.

Without stud junior , who’s missed the past five games due to injury, New Town was led by the freshman trio of  Sydney Hines, Keyaira Wilson and Destiny Taylor-Betts who combined for 35 of New Town’s 42 points.

However, the Titans couldn’t equal Western Tech’s prowess in the paint, as the Wolverines, fueled by 21 points and 13 boards from forward Jayde Duncan, dominated the glass and lived at the foul line en route to a 45-42 win.

Tied at 41 with less than 30 seconds to play, the Titans (10-3) had a chance take the lead when Wilson drove the lane, drew hard contact and toppled to the floor, but wasn’t awarded a foul.  

Duncan put Western Tech (12-3) back in front by two with a pair of free throws and Autumn Tapley extended the lead to 45-41 on the following possession with two freebies of her own.

“The name of the game was free throws,” said Roe, whose squad converted on just 12 of their 30 attempts from the charity stripe in the second half. “When it came down to it, we made four in a row.”

Still, New Town refused to back down as with three seconds left Hines sunk a free throw to pull within three and after missing her second attempt intentionally the Titans regained possession by forcing a jump ball. However, the Titans threw away the inbounds pass and any hopes of a miraculous last-second comeback.

“We could have [won the game] if we boxed out,” said Hines who tallied a team-high 22 points. “The problem was we kept fouling and they hit their free throws in the end.”  

New Town, which trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, snatched the lead briefly behind a 9-2 run to open the third quarter. However, the Wolverines took control right back by outscoring the Titans 12-6 for the remaining five minutes in the frame.

In addition to Duncan, Western Tech received a boost from Sydney Clopton (nine points) and Tyshay Montgomery (seven points, nine rebounds). But, the Titans slowed down the Wolverines transition style offense by employing a variety of defenses.

“We just tried to mix it up,” New Town coach Gena Young said. “Going from the press to the box-and-one to a 2-3 zone, we changed it up to pressure their guards.”

Although only the Titans varied their defenses, both squads forced a multitude of turnovers. The teams combined for over 25 steals, with New Town’s Hines leading the way with four of her own.

BOX SCORE

Western Tech 45, New Town 42

WT 10 10 14 11 ---- 45

NT  5   9  15 13 ---- 42

WT – J. Duncan 21, S. Clopton 9, T. Montgomery 7, A. Tapley 5, A. Adeh 2, D. Coles.

NT – S. Hines 22, K. Wilson 7, D. Taylor-Betts 6, J. Cole 4, K. Driver 3.