Cavs show more intensity
Posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 3:39 pm
By Scott Richards
The Caroline High School Cavalier basketball team picked up the intensity in week two of the young season.
After a week in which they opened by losing their first two contests, they split a pair of games.
Senior Joe Bouldin scored 24 points to lead Caroline to a 69-62 win at King William on Tuesday. Senior Jaron Moore’s 31 points led all scorers as visiting Essex defeated Caroline 68-67 on Thursday; Essex had run the court and beaten Caroline by 11 points in their match-up a week earlier.
Against King William, Caroline used a consistent offense to dismantle KW’s zone defense and controlled the boards. Senior Chris Thomas added 12 points and junior Bevontae Morris 10 as seven Caroline players scored.
Bouldin and Breland Allen each pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Cavaliers, who out-rebounded King William 44-20. The Cavaliers shot 63 percent from the foul line.
Holding a 49-45 lead after three quarters, Caroline went on a 16-4 run to pull away, but King William answered with a 13-0 run to make it close.
“We practiced hard,” said Caroline Coach Antoine Johnson, in preparation for the King William game. “This team knows what it has to do and what it has to improve upon.”
Against Essex, Caroline played its best game so far. The team’s outside shooting was effective, and the Cavaliers also worked their inside game, using crisp, accurate passes that drew out the defense and allowed Caroline to work under the basket.
Senior Kamen Mickens added 13 points for the Cavaliers, and Morris, 11. Moore, who also had a game-high nine rebounds, connected on three 3-point shots and was 7-9 at the foul line while Morris added a pair of treys and Bolded had one.
It was a hard-fought contest as Caroline and Essex swapped the lead numerous times. There was a big difference at the foul line; The Trojans were 23-of-29 (79 percent) from the charity stripe while the Cavaliers were only 13-of-29 (44 percent).
Reggie Johnson scored 18 points, including going 7-of-7 at the foul line, to lead the Trojans.
He was pleased with Caroline’s effort throughout the entire game, said Johnson.
This week Caroline, now 1-3 overall, was scheduled to host King William on Monday. The Cavaliers open Battlefield District play by visiting Courtland on Tuesday and hosting Spotsylvania on Friday.
Next week the Cavaliers visit James Monroe on Tuesday before the holiday break.
Caroline will participate in a tournament at Henrico High School Dec. 27-29.
