Newberry falls to Keenan in playoffs

NEWBERRY — The Newberry Bulldogs(16-10, 8-0 region 2-AA) magical run came to an end on Friday night as they fell 73-49 at home to Keenan(11-13, 5-3 region 4-AA).

It was packed gym for the second round state playoffs matchup between the Bulldogs and the Raiders. The energy was high before the start of the tip and things got even better when the game got started.

Newberry’s offense got out to a slow start and found themselves down 23-8 at the end of the opening quarter, in a large part to turnovers. The second quarter is where Keenan really started to build their lead and take control of the game. The Raiders opened the quarter on a 12-0 run and held the home team to just 10 points as well.

The visiting Raiders put on a slam dunk contest in the second quarter with their relentless effort at getting to the basket and creating so many fastbreak opportunities with their defense.

The combination of Brian Sumpter and Cedric Schofield was too much for the Bulldogs. They combined for 40 total points (20 each) and scored 24 of their team’s 43 total points in the first half.

Keenan led 43-18 at halftime.

The Bulldogs came out of halftime and threw their best punch. They scored 23 points in the third quarter, which was the most points they scored as a team in one quarter for this game, and was able to trim down the deficit. The charged was led by senior point guard Darius Elkins. He scored 10 of his 15 total points in the third quarter after going scoreless in the first half.

“Well, I play off energy. I felt like I had to lead my team and get them going. I’ll take the blame for that. I started off slow and didn’t get my teammates right. So, after that[slow start] I felt like we weren’t ready,” said Elkins.

The Bulldogs still trailed 60-41 going into the fourth quarter. Then, much of the same problems that hurt Newberry in the first half, came back to do the same in the final period. The turnovers, tough shot attempts and not being able to slow down the fast break opportunities. Newberry would eventually go back down by 20 or more points and that would be all the fight they had left in them.

“Tonight, we learned we got a lot of work to do as a coaching staff and as a team. We are really young and only have on senior, but they saw it was another level of basketball when you get to the second round of the playoffs, especially against a team that has championship pedigree,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Adonis Hill. “We didn’t do it tonight and that is my fault as a head coach. I didn’t get have them prepared and didn’t get them ready. That’s nobody’s fault but mines.”

Despite the season come to a disappointing end after their magical run, the Bulldogs will only lose one player. Elkins has been a four-year starter for the program and will be graduating this spring then continuing his basketball career at Voorhees College next fall.

“It has been good playing here. I’ve had a great bond with all my teammates throughout the years, but I felt like I had the best bond with this team because I was the oldest,” Elkins said. “I felt like they really listened to me. I stayed on them and kept them in line but it payed off because we had a really good season.”

He also added, “I love it and love all my brothers. We had a good season and a good run, but now it’s over. I am still going to make sure they are straight even when I am gone.”

It will be a hard to find another point guard to fill Elkins shoes, but the Bulldogs might not have to look too far. Kenton Caldwell had 12 points against Keenan and was just one of three players to finish with double-digit scoring totals for Newberry. He struggled mildly in this game, but he has the ability to create his own shot and be a playmaker for others. Hill believes so too, but also thinks it just going to have to be more than one person to take a leap next season for them to make it to the playoffs again.

“We got to get stronger. A lot of guys on this team didn’t practice with us this summer because they had other obligations. I understand you got to be committed to football or whatever other sport you are playing at the time. But, we got to get stronger, as you can see in the post area, and we got to get faster,” said Hill.

He also congratulated his team on the successful season. The Bulldogs won 11 straight games before losing to Keenan, swept their rivals (Mid-Carolina) and won the region championship.

“I am proud of them. We hadn’t won a region championship since the last year we won a state championship. Five sophomores and one senior. We had a great year,” said Hill. “I am also so proud of the coaching staff because they do all the work with watching film then going out to coach them up in practice. The kids execute and just a great year all around. No reason for us to hold our heads down.”