Gamecocks beat county foe Kinston

For the first time since 2016 the New Brockton Gamecocks basketball team (1-3) opened the basketball season with a win as the Gamecocks beat Coffee County foe Kinston Bulldogs 62-53 on the road on Nov. 30.

New Brockton trailed Kinston 14-7 at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Bulldogs 14-9 in the second quarter to cut the Kinston lead to 23-21 at halftime. New Brockton outscored Kinston 18-15 in the third quarter and led 39-38 going into the final period of play. The Gamecocks took control of the game in the fourth quarter and managed to outscore Kinston 23-15 in the final period.

New Brockton was led in the win by Matt Smith with 15 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocks, while Karyus McNabb added 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Yassiah Rousseau added seven points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Baylon Foster scored eight points and earned three steals.

The Gamecocks followed that up with a 58-48 loss to Northside Methodist on Dec. 2. New Brockton led 13-12 after the first quarter but the Knights began to gain control in the second quarter. Northside outscored New Brockton 13-7 in the second quarter and 21-14 in the fourth quarter to go into the final period leading 46-34. New Brockton outscored Northside 14-12 in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to wipe away the Knight lead.

Smith again led Northside with 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while Rousseau scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. McNabb and Anthony Silar scored seven points each. McNabb also had eight rebounds and three blocks.

The Gamecocks dropped a close one to Elba on the road on Dec. 3 by a score of 58-42. New Brockton led 15-14 after one quarter but Elba outscored the Gamecocks 11-9 in the second quarter to take a 26-23 lead at halftime. Elba completely dominated the third quarter, outscoring New Brockton 17-5, and also outscored the Gamecocks 16-13 in the final period to pick up the win.

New Brockton struggled to score from the field, converting just 29 percent of its shots, and were outrebounded 46-34.

Smith had a big night scoring 19 points and earning four steals, while Foster chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds.

The Gamecocks also fell to Zion Chapel 47-28 on Dec. 7. Smith led New Brockton with 11 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Foster added 11 points.

The Lady Gamecocks also fell to Northside Methodist on Dec. 2 46-18. Reese Eddins led New Brockton with six points and both Samantha Siniard and Aniya Barkley scored five points each.

The Lady Gamecocks also fell to New Brockton 25-18 on Dec. 7. The Lady Gamecocks led 12-9 at halftime, but the Lady Rebels dominated the second half outscoring New Brockton 16-6 in the half. New Brockton was led by Siniard with five points, while Anya Barkley grabbed 19 rebounds.

New Brockton travels to Samson on Dec. 10.