Greensboro Day vs Providence Day: Recap
Story for Prep Hoops NC by Zain Motani
CHARLOTTE, NC – In the highly anticipated matchup of two of the top five private school teams in the state, Greensboro Day Bengals and Providence Day Chargers played a nail biter that came down to the game’s final possession which the Bengals won by the score of 53-51.
The game started off with a nice gesture as Providence Day head coach Brian Fields addressed the crowd and publicly congratulated Greensboro Day head coach Freddy Johnson for winning his 1000th career game on Saturday.
Greensboro Day, which was playing without star freshman reserve Carson McCorkle, got off to a hot start and led 14-6 midway through the first quarter after a John Newman dunk. However, Newman, a Clemson signee, picked up his second foul shortly after that basket and was forced to sit out the remainder of the half. Providence Day methodically got back in the game behind Trey Wertz’s second three pointer of the period and a tough Devon Dotson layup in traffic. The Bengals led 14-13 at the end of the first period.
The second quarter was low scoring as Newman sat on the bench with Johnson not wanting Newman picking up his third foul. An Isaac Suffren layup midway through the period gave the Chargers their first lead at 20-19 and Providence Day went into the locker room at halftime up 25-24.
Dotson showcased why he is a top 35 recruit nationally and one of the best players in the open floor with two coast to coast layups early in the third quarter – demonstrating impeccable body control to elude the defenders in his path and the defender attempting to take a charge. Back to back threes by Wertz and Suffren followed by a vintage Dotson eurostep gave Providence Day its largest lead at six points with 2:47 left in the third.
The intensity started to get palpable near the end of the quarter when Newman went down after being poked in the eye and there were some controlled extracurricular activities which turned into a technical foul on Provide Day. An Austin Inge catch and shoot fadeaway off a teammate’s missed shot at the buzzer tied the game at 41 as the teams headed into the fourth.
The game remained close and Greensboro Day held a four point lead with two minutes left. A Dotson three pointer with 1:30 left cut the Bengal lead down to one. PDS had two chances in the final 35 seconds to regain the lead, but a turnover and a missed Charger three pointer at the buzzer gave the Bengals the win.
Tuesday night’s game was an excellent showcase that remained within five points throughout. Both teams executed at the highest level and demonstrated incredible ball movement and poise throughout the game and showcased why they are both contenders for the NCISAA 3A state titles. Greensboro Day, which is ranked as the 13th best team in the nation by MaxPreps, was led by junior big man Mike Fowler with 12 points. With Newman and McCorkle out, Will Dillard, a Georgia Southern signee, controlled the pace for the Bengals on offense and alternated guarding the 6’5 Wertz and 6’2 Dotson all evening. Wertz, a Santa Clara signee, finished with 14 points and Dotson, a Kansas signee, finished with 18 points.
Greensboro Day, which improved to 9-0, will play Charlotte Country Day at home on Friday night and Providence Day will head to China to play a select group of Chinese teams from December 2-10.