Sports
Africentric Hands Trimble Postseason Loss
By: Alex Harrison
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In 2015, Africentric defeated undefeated Trimble in the Division IV regional semifinals. In 2016, Trimble had all the opportunities to return the favor, but couldn’t.
The Tomcats had seven turnovers in the final 2:10. The Nubians scored 13 points from turnovers in the fourth quarter, leading to a 63-57 victory. The Tomcats only scored two points after taking a three-point lead and the season ended because of it.
The Tomcats had a Jekyll and Hyde look being able to score and shooting well, but turning over the ball and not capitalizing on early Africentric poor play.
Trimble led after the first quarter 16-14, but immediately in the second quarter the Nubians started their takeover. The quarter began with Lorenze Gorden-Haynes stealing Justice Jenkins’ inbound pass and throwing down a dunk to tie the game.
The teams continued to trade leads but Africentric went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter ahead 32-28.
The Nubians ran the third quarter until Trimble started to gain momentum. Justice Jenkins nailed a 3-pointer to put the Tomcats ahead 37-36.
However, the momentum the Tomcats were riding ended immediately. The teams traded turnovers and Gorden-Haynes threw down another dunk for the lead which the Nubians held for the rest of the quarter.
Another push came for Trimble late in the fourth and it seemed Trimble would be able to escape with a win. A Jenkins layup tied the game at 52. The Tomcats went up three after Kameron Curry made his first free throw and Bryce Guthrie rebounded and put back the second attempt.
Africentric was led to the regional finals by Gorden-Haynes with 22 points and Houston Smith with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Nubians will take on Wellington on Friday for the chance to go to the state tournament.
The duo of Justice Jenkins and Bryce Guthrie ended their Trimble careers by being leaders for one more game. Jenkins had 18 points and six rebounds and Guthrie ended with 12 points and 12 rebounds.