Newton North Vs Newton South Garden City Classic Game Report

Newton South and Newton North have been competing in the Christmas week Garden City Classic tournament for a long time, with Newton North winning most in recent history decisively. I thought this was South's best chance in years to take down North, as nearly their whole varsity team returned. This years' game was extra special for many, since it was Newton South coach Corey Lowe's first time playing against his mentor. Paul Connoly has been coaching Newton North's varsity basketball team for 23 years, and always has his team ready to play. Following North's 64-28 victory in the tournament last season, many believed this year was South's chance to be crowned ‘kings of the city.' With many of last year's players now graduated, North started off the game with a backcourt made up of a Freshman and a Sophomore. Last year South had 5 Freshmen on the roster for the game against North, and 3 of those now Sophomores were featured in the starting lineup. Newton South was missing star senior point guard Amari Tran due to an ankle injury, and I definitely believe would have left his fingerprints all over this one. Senior guard Dillon Taylor got things started right off the tip for North with an easy drive to the basket for a layup. The game remained close, with North leading 11-8 heading into the end of the 1st quarter. I have not seen Newton South's field house this packed in years, as the second set of bleachers was opened towards the end of the quarter to accommodate the growing crowd. The scoring kicked up slightly in the following period, and Newton South headed into the locker room for halftime with a 25-24 lead. The Tigers' discipline showed in the second half when they were able to get steals off of a well orchestrated full court press. South headed into the final period with a 35-30 lead, and after a last minute game-tying shot from Tigers' guard Dillon Taylor, the game headed into overtime. Sophomore big man [player_tooltip player_id='2568348' first='Tyson' last='Robinson'] from South got the scoring started for the period with a drive to the bucket, and possessions later Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1532644' first='Nicky' last='Spinelli'] hit a big three pointer for North to put them slightly ahead. Tyson was also big as a rim protector for the Lions. Down by 3 with under a minute to play, Coach Lowe called a timeout to draw up a play for his team, and they missed a tough contested shot at the end. The Tigers won with a final score of 53-50. Notable players who stood out in the game. 6 foot senior guard Dillon Taylor's leadership was present all night long, as he led Newton North's offense and defense. Taylor was able to set his teammates up with baskets throughout the game and was also able to get his own shot. With under a minute left in regulation, Dillon knocked down a huge pull back three to tie the game at 46 as it headed into overtime. Taylor was awarded a well deserved tournament all star award. Definitely the player every opponent needs to make sure they talk about in their scouting report, 6 foot 4 Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1532631' first='Teagan' last='Swint'] is a lethal scorer. He is Able to get to the basket for tough layups, hit contested fadeaway mid ranges, and pull-up 3's. teams need to make sure they know where he is on the court at all times. Tegan started off the season for Newton North with a 36 point game, and while his shot wasn't falling in this game, he still had an impact on the game. Teagan is one of the top players in the MIAA. Going into the game, Newton South was aware they would have their hands full with North's [player_tooltip player_id='1532631' first='Teagan' last='Swint']. While he was able to get some buckets, over the course of the night junior Peter Eliopoulos and senior Paxton Boyd made sure to always keep him within distance. They worked all game long denying him from catching the ball, forcing him into bad shots if he did catch the ball, and even forcing some turnovers. Eliopoulous ended the tournament being awarded a tournament all star.