Newton County High School used intense team defense and selfless quality passing to pin down the Pintville Gargoyles quickly on Saturday night.
The scouting report on Pintville was not in their favor entering the night. They'd lost to both Mayan and Saltville convincingly, both teams that Newton had handled easily. Yet the Steelworkers took nothing for granted, pitching a shutout in the first period 10-0. They were customarily stingy on the defensive boards, but surprisingly dominant in offensive rebounding as well, hoisting 26 shots in the first two quarters on a variety of short-range chip shots and put backs.
Pintville missed all of their three pointers, and were shaky enough with the ball that NCHS extended its ball pressure further out into the passing lanes than usual.
The team's improvement over the first half of the season was seen plentifully. Guard Bert Watcher led the ledger in points for the first time, typifying a well-spread scoring attack. Likewise his teammates took advantage of defensive overplay and found each other on back cuts to the hoop for easy layups. The ball was worked around patiently rather than hoisting quick shots. Defensive players kept their feet grounded rather than reaching or jumping for cheap fouls.
The discipline on both ends of the court resulted in a steadily increasing lead - to 15 points at the half, 20 by the third quarter and 23 by the end.
The sophomore squad heads into a two week winter break with a 7-1 record playing its best ball of the season.
"We've got a tough January ahead of us," the coach said afterward. "We need to make sure we get in our cardio and shooting to stay sharp."
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