Kinston earns sweep at Greenville Rose
By Bryan Hanks
GREENVILLE — One would have to be hard-pressed to find something negative about the beatings Kinston’s varsity basketball teams put on Greenville Rose Wednesday night.
The Vikings girls routed the host Rampants, 59-17, and were followed by the boys, who defeated Rose, 77-52.
In the girls’ contest, all 12 girls who dressed for Kinston (3-0) scored in the romp. Anzaria Cobb led the way with 12 points, while Michyla Dove and Alena Rivers added eight points each.
The Vikings defense was particularly effective, holding Rose without a field goal for the entire first quarter and two minutes into the second quarter. Kinston forced 26 Rose turnovers while holding the Rampants to 5-of-35 shooting (14.3 percent) shooting.
Kinston coach Chris Bradshaw admitted his team is humming right along early this season.
“I think the girls are really locked in defensively,” he said. “To hold a team to only one point in the first quarter, that tells me this team has really bought in to defending the basketball at a high rate.”
The Kinston boys improved to 2-1 in the 2018-19 season behind a balanced scoring effort that saw four Vikings – Cardia Koonce (13 points), Isaac Parson (12), Dontrez Styles (11) and Chance Minott (11) finish in double-figure scoring, with Clarence Burton right outside the honor with eight points. Twelve of the 14 boys who suited up for Kinston scored.
The only negative was Kinston’s putrid free throw shooting; the Vikings connected on 6-of-21 (28.6 percent), well below their field goal shooting for the game (34-of-62, 54.8 percent). The Vikings even shot better from behind the 3-point arc (4-of-11, 36.4 percent) than they did at the free throw line.
“We’ve got to knock down those free throws,” said Kinston coach Perry Tyndall, whose team has only connected on 45.5 percent (30-of-66) of its free throws through the first three games of the season. “It’s frustrating because I know we are going to have games that are going to come down to free throws.”
Kinston’s boys will next play in the inaugural Good Guys vs. Cancer showcase in Kill Devil Hills on Saturday. The Vikings will play against host First Flight, one of the state’s premier 3-point shooting squads.
Rose’s boys (0-3) were paced by Montez Griffin’s 12 points. The Rampants return to action Friday when they entertain Bertie at the Rose Garden.
GIRLS: Kinston 59, Rose 17
K 18 11 14 16 -- 59
R 1 4 5 7 -- 17
K: Anzaria Cobb 12, Dove 8, Rivers 8, Baker 6, Andrews 6, Lee 4, T. Jones 4, Hargett 3, S. Jones 3, Sutton 2, Kittrell 2, Powell 1. R: Sands 5, K. Brown 3, Cooper 3, A. Brown 3, Fisher 2, Bacon 1.
BOYS: Kinston 77, Rose 52
K 15 13 30 19 -- 77
R 13 8 14 17 -- 52
K: Cardia Koonce 13, Isaac Parson 12, Dontrez Styles 11, Chance Minott 11, Burton 8, Evans 5, Wooten 4, Dixon 4, Holmes 3, Roberts 2, Williams 2, Davis 2. R: Montez Griffin 12, Aaron Murphy 11, Jaquavian Latham 10, J. Griffin 9, Hamilton 4, James 4, Waller 2.
