Weekly Coaches Show Begins TONIGHT!

For the first time, the Trojan Sports Network will get set to bring you the first of many LIVE Coaches shows from Shuck 'em Shack Oyster Bar located at beside the movie theater at the White Oak Shopping Center!

The show will begin at 7:00 and will last around an hour. This week we will talk Garner baseball, Garner Softball with Moe Barbour and wrap up Garner basketball with Eddie Gray.

You are encouraged to attend the show at Suck 'em Shack and participate in our audience and ask the coaches questions. If you can't attend in person, you can LISTEN LIVE BY CLICKING HERE!

You can also be a part of the show from home by sending in your questions for the Trojan Coaches by sending an email to trojansportsnetwork@gmail.com

Trojans Fall in Overtime to New Hanover

WEB CAST.

Again Friday night came down to a game of runs in the sectional finals as the Trojans traveled to New Hanover on Friday night looking to win their first sectional final since 1998. However, the Trojans couldn't pull it out as they lost 62-59 in overtime.

The game started off with New Hanover starting the game on a little spurt to take a early lead, however the Trojans answered right back as Stephon Drane scored six points in the first quarter, with Garner down two and four seconds left in the opening stanza, the Wildcats make a quick basket, but Garner point guard Emanuel McClain went coast to coast and hit a floater to end the fist stanza and pull the Trojans even at 12-12 as the first quarter came to an end.

After a first quarter plagued with team fouls, New Hanover had committed just two team fouls while Garner committed seven team fouls including the first technical foul of the season on Coach Eddie Gray.

But, despite the foul situation, the Trojans evened the game back up and even pulled ahead as Gavin Wilson scored eight second quarter points to give the Trojans a 26-23 lead at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Garner as the Trojans were able to work the ball inside and get the New Hanover big guys in foul trouble. Another big key to the third stanza was the Trojans finally found their outside shooting.

After not making a three in the first half, Garner explode for four third quarter three point baskets including three of them by Gavin Wilson and one by Donald Johnson. As a result, Garner had a 47-42 lead after three.

That lead would grow to as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, but New Hanover refused to quit, even when both their star big guys fouled out in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats forced several Garner turnovers as the Trojans became timid with the ball on offense and allowed the Wildcats to tie the game.

With time running out in the fourth, New Hanover had a shot to win the game with a three from the corner, but the shot went begging and we were heading to overtime tied at 54.

Garner seemed to have the edge in the extra session, with both big guys out for New Hanover, however Garner had foul troubles of their own as Stephon Drane and Dominique Reed both had four fouls.

Garner did hit a the first basket in overtime to go up by two, but New Hanover would scored the next four points to take a two point lead. Garner was able to get a blocked shot by Wilson, but on his rebound, Gavin Wilson was called for a technical foul, to give the Wildcats two shots and the ball.

Freddie Jackson hit one of two of the technical shots to give New Hanover a four point lead. Garner made a defensive stand and came down court and got a three pointer to bank home from Donald Johnson.

On the ensuing inbound pass, the Trojans got a steal and had several close shots to take the lead, but the shot by Malcome Sloan went begging, and as Coach Gray beached the officials for a foul, Garner found themselves still down by one and had to foul.

New Hanover made both shots and took a three point lead with just four seconds left. Garner got the ball and the shot my Emanuel McClain went begging and the Trojans lost a thriller 62-59.

Garner (18-9) finishes the season with their second consecutive conference championship and the first sectional final appearance since James Mays played for the Blue and Gold.

New Hanover (20-7) will advance to the regionals in Greenville next Friday night.

Congratulations to Coach Gray and the Trojans for an outstanding season!

Scoring:
GARNER: G. Wilson 21, D. Johnson 16, S. Drane 10, D. Reed 7, E. McClain 5, D. Dorsey 1.
New Hanover: F. Jackson 21, C. Daley 14, D. Thames 12, M. Gibbs 7, D. Rodgers 5, J. Lewis 2.

Trojans Roll to Round 3

WEB CAST.

Garner was back at home on Friday night looking to get to a point that last year's squad couldn't, round three of the state playoffs, and after a slow start, the Trojans found themselves in the sectional finals with a 75-51 win over Scotland County.

Both teams started off slow, but after the first three minutes of the game, Garner had opened it up a little big and grew the lead to five points after the first quarter 18-13. Gavin Wilson came out hot in the first quarter as he had 10 first quarter points en route to a game high 20 points.

Scotland County couldn't get anything going on offense as the Trojans shut down their play maker, Mo Covington. After Covington hit a three to start the game, he was held scoreless. He was coming off a 22 point performance on Monday night.

Garner continued to take advantage of their height advantage as they took a 39-22 lead to the locker room. Scotland County (15-12) second year head coach, Mike Ritchie, must have lit a spark in his team at halftime as his team came out and made a little run to start the third quarter.

However, Garner quickly found their step as they went on a 15-5 run to pretty much put the game out of reach as Stephon Drane took control in the third quarter with 7 points in the third stanza, and after three, Garner had a 58-36 lead.

The Fighting Scots never quit and continued to try and chip away, but the Trojans just could not miss and ran away from the Scots 75-51 to advance to the sectional finals on Friday night.

Garner (18-8) will travel to New Hanover High School for the sectional finals on Friday night at 7:00. New Hanover was a 68-64 overtime winner over Pine Forest on Wednesday night.

If you can't make the game, the Trojan Sports Network will have the game!

SCORING:
Scotland County: D. Clark 17, I. Robinson 15, L. Browne 6, B. McMillian 6, M. Covington 3, T. Mcrae 2, L. McIntyre 2.
GARNER: G. Wilson 20, D. Johnson 19, S. Drane 13, D. Reed 11, D. Dorsey 6, E. McClain 5

Trojans Survive Round One

WEB CAST.

Many times you hear the saying, "survive and advance" and that's just what Garner did on Monday night in the first round of the State Playoffs as they downed a scrappy Greenville Rose squad 81-63.

In the past couple of games, Garner has come out of the gate on fire, but on Monday night, the Trojans came out flat and as a result, Rose took a 5-0 lead to start the game, but Garner wouldn't die, as yet again, the fantastic trio came around. Gavin Wilson and Stephon Drane put Garner on their back and led the Trojans to a 23-13 lead after one.

However, the Rampants just would not die as they went on a run of their own to cut the Garner lead to single digits over halfway into the second quarter, as the Trojans scored just 12 second quarter points, which allowed Rose to make a comeback and pull to within one at 35-34 going to the locker room.

The third quarter went back and forth as the Rampants built a four point lead in the third, but Garner came storming back as Stephon Drane took over for the Trojans with 10 third quarter points, however, even Drane couldn't put Garner ahead as the two teams were tied at 54 after three.

In the fourth quarter, the Trojans continued to pound Rose, who were playing with just nine players due to injury and Garner got the Rampants into some deep foul trouble. Since Rose was in foul trouble, the Trojans pounded the ball inside to Drane and Dominique Reed, but the Trojans also got some break way's off their full court press and point zone defenses.

With Rose down and time running out, the Rampants decided to foul, and Garner went to the line where in the fourth quarter, they were 14/17 from the line and for the game were 31/35 (88%). The free throws allowed Garner to pad the lead and the Trojans pulled out the 81-63 win.

Garner (17-8) will advance to the second round of the playoffs where they will face the Fighting Scots of Scotland County High School who come in as the number two seed in the Southeastern Conference.

The Scots (15-11) defeated 71st 53-48 on Monday night in their first round game. The Scots will visit Trojan Coliseum for a 7:00 tip off, the game can be heard LIVE on GarnerTrojans.com beginning at 6:30.

***Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans traveled to Ashley High School on Monday night, and came up short vs. the Sreaming Eagles, losing 42-38. Congratulations to Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans for an outstanding season!***

Basketball Playoff Bracket Announced

One night after winning their 6th Conference Tournament Title in school history, Coach Gray and the Garner Trojans learned their fate and who they would match up with in the NCHSAA State 4A playoffs which begin on Monday night.

Garner will be the number one seed from the Greater Neuse River Conference and by virtue of winning the conference, the Trojans will have at least two home games in the playoffs.

The Trojans will be home in the first round to face the Greenville Rose Rampants who come into the playoffs as the number four seed out of the Mideastern Conference, the Rampants are 9-15 on the year.

Garner and Rose will tip off Monday night at 7:00 from Trojan Coliseum and as always, if you can't make the game, you can Listen Live Beginning at 6:30 as the Trojan Sports Network will have the game for you!

The winner of the game will face the winner of the Scotland County/71st match up. You can view the full 4A Boys Bracket by clicking HERE.


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Congratulations also to Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans as they will once again be back in the state playoffs. The Lady Trojans finished as the number five seed out of the GNRC and will have to travel for their first round game on Monday night.

The Lady Trojans will face Wilmington Ashley at 7:00 from Ashley High School on Monday. Ashley finished the season with a 20-3 record and are the number one seed in the Mideastern Conference.

The winner of the game will face the winner of the East Wake/71st game on Wednesday.

Good luck to the Trojans on Monday night!


Cappolla's Pizzeria and Grill

Trojans Bring Home Conference Championship

WEB CAST.


Friday night turned out to be a milestone night all around Garner as the Trojans completed a season that many believed would be a rebuilding year prior to the season, however, when the final buzzer sounded on Friday night, the Trojans had defeated East Wake 85-62 to bring home the first Conference Tournament Championship since 2006.

East Wake (10-16. 6-11) was hoping to spring the upset, because East Wake could only make the state playoffs by winning on Friday, but Garner was not going to let that happen as the Trojans began the game on a 13-1 run and East Wake first year head coach Darin Stinson was forced to call two time outs in the first quarter to try and stop the bleeding, but nothing would cool the Trojans off in the first quarter as they raced out to a 20-5 lead after one.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same as the Trojans big three in Stephon Drane, Donald Johnson and Gavin Wilson got rolling, and really exploited East Wake as Garner used their quickness and size to make life tough for the Warriors and as a result, Garner had a 39-16 lead at halftime.

East Wake tired to make a run in the second half, and did eventually seize the momentum as a pack Trojan Coliseum saw the third quarter sway back and forth, but Stephon Drane put the Trojans on his back and carried his team to the fourth quarter as Drane poured in 11 third quarter points to give Garner a 59-42 lead going to the final stanza.

The fourth quarter was filled with big plays on both sides as each team was able to get the crowd rocking, but in the end, Garner was able to hit the free throws down the stretch as once again it was Donald Johnson hitting from the line as he was 8 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter alone, and for the game he was 10 of 13.

As the final seconds ticked off and the buzzer sounded the Trojan students flooded the floor to swamp the Trojans as Garner celebrated the 6th Conference Tournament Championship of the Eddie Gray era with a 85-62 win.

Garner will be the number one seed in the State Playoffs which will begin MONDAY night at 7:00 against a team yet to be announced. The bracket will be released Saturday and once the opponent it known it will be passed along!

Friday night was also a milestone for the Trojan Sports Network as the premiere high school broadcast network celebrated the 100th broadcast in network history! The Trojan Sports Network broadcast team would like to express thanks to all of the Trojan Nation for their continued support of the Trojan Sports Network!

Scoring:
East Wake: K. Williams 21, A. Ray 13, Antwan Payton 11, Antonio Payton 9, D. Davis 4, Q. Langen 3.
GARNER: S. Drane 23, D. Johnson 22, G. Wilson 18, D. Reed 9, E. McClain 6, M. Powell 4, D. Harris 4.

Trojans Run Their Way into the Conference Finals

WEB CAST.

Garner and West Johnston met for the third time this season on Wednesday night at Garner's Trojan Coliseum and once again it was another back and forth heated contest with neither team giving an inch, however, much like the other contest the two teams have played this year, the game was a game of runs, but in the end, Garner's run would last longer than West Johnston's tired legs as the Trojans came away with a 79-65 win over the Wildcats.

Each team was playing their third game in as many days, however West was unable to rest their starters during the first two games this week due to both games coming down to the wire, but early on, Garner was killing themselves as West Johnston continued to turn the ball over, but Coach Gray's squad was unable to convert points off those turnovers as the Trojans were have a stretch of sloppy play of their own, and after the first quarter, Garner had a 16-9 lead.

In the second quarter, Garner managed a little run to get ahead by eight, but West Johnston came storming back thanks to the play of Mark Parker who scored five second quarter points to pull West to within four at halftime at 32-26.

But, as you looked at the first half score sheet, neither team really had much to write home about as the leading scorer in the first half for West Johnston was Mark Parker with eight and for Garner, Emanuel McClain also had eight for the Trojans.

Both teams came out much different clubs in the second half as finally some of the Trojan regulars found their shot as Stephon Drane and Gavin Wilson led Garner in scoring in the third quarter with 7 and 8 respectively and after three Garner lead by only three as West Johnston hung close, 45-42 Trojans, after three.

In the games final stanza, the Trojans were able to run past the Wildcats with the fresher legs as Garner's Stephon Drane exploded in the fourth with 11 fourth quarter points to finish with a game high 24 as Garner went on a big 15-5 run to put the game away. Garner placed four players in double figures as they came away with the 79-65 win.

With the win, the Trojans (15-8, 14-2) will move on to Friday night's Conference Championship game where they will meet the East Wake Warriors (10-15, 6-10), who upset Knightdale 61-48 in the other semi-final on Wednesday night.

Since Garner is the number one seed in the Tournament, both the Girls and Boys Championship games will be played at Garner. The Girls will play first at 6:00 followed by Garner and East Wake at 7:30.

Scoring:
West Johnston: M. Parker 20, B. Jacobs 16, S. Dance 7, C. Fredrick 7, T. Davis 4, T. Colton 3, A. King 2, J. McNeill 2
GARNER: S. Drane 24, D. Johnson 19, G. Wilson 19, E. McClain 10, J. Moye 4, D. Reed 3.

Balanced Effort Sends Garner to Conference Tournament Semi-finals

WEB CAST.

Garner had no problems taking care of SSS in the opening round of the Greater Neuse River Conference Tournament on Tuesday night as they dominated SSS from the opening tip to defeat the Spartans 80-50 to advance to the second round tomorrow night at home against West Johnston. The Trojans played 13 players tonight and they all scored at least one point.

The Trojans got things going early as off the opening tip, Emmanuel McClain found Donald Johnson on the right wing for a three and Garner was off and running and began the game on a 8-0 run prompting SSS Head Coach, Dwight Carter, to call a timeout.

However, the timeout did little to slow the Trojans down as Johnson continued his hot shooting scoring 8 of Garner's first 11 points. Garner continued pacing along in the first quarter, the following a timeout, the Spartans had six men on the floor resulting in a technical foul which Garner hit 1 of 2 from the line as they raced out to a 23-5 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Dominique Reed, made his presence known as he scored six of his 10 points in the second quarter to give Garner a 41-16 halftime edge.

The Spartans tried to cut into the Garner lead as they held the Trojans to just 16 third quarter points, however, SSS could only muster 13 points and the Trojans had a 57-29 lead after three.

In the games final quarter, the Trojans rested all their starters and got some of the other players some time on the court and it was a seamless transition between the players as Garner continued their rapid pace on offense as they came away with at 30 point win to advance to the second round of the Conference Tournament.

Garner (14-8, 13-2) will be back at home tomorrow night at 7:30 as they take on West Johnston who defeated Southeast Raleigh on Tuesday night, 50-40.

Scoring:
SSS: J. Watson 14, L. Williams 8, D. Thorne 7, S. Turner 6, J. Rawlings 6, W. Spragins 4, G. Green 3, B. Barnes 1.
GARNER: D. Johnson 21, D. Reed 10, G. Wilson 8, J. McClain 8, M. Koscielny 7, S. Drane 6, E. McClain 5, D. Hall 4, N. Wyrick 4, C. Holt 3, D. Harris 2, J. Moye 2, M. Powell 2, D. Dorsey 1.

UPDATED GNRC Men's Bracket: Semi-finals to be played on Wednesday night AT GARNER

6:00 - (6) East Wake vs. (2) Knightdale

7:30 - (4) W. Johnston vs. (1) GARNER

Varsity Girls Fall vs. Knightdale

Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans were on the road Tuesday night in the first round of the GNRC tournament as they took on the Knightdale Knights at Southeast Raleigh High School.

Garner had already defeated Knightdale once this season on the road at Knightdale, however, the Lady Trojans fell short tonight in the opening game of the conference tournament 65-60. However, Garner could still make the playoffs barring a lower seed winning the conference tournament.

Forest Hills Barber Shop
Joey Jackson, Owner
877 Hwy 70 W
Next to Garner TV & Appliance
772-2855

Senior Night Sweep for Garner

WEB CAST.

The night began for Coach Gray and his Trojans prior to the game as all of the senior boys and girls basketball players and cheerleaders were honored, along with the Senior Night presentation, Anette Atkinson (class of 1987) presented Super Senior Stephon Drane with a plaque as he was nominated for the McDonald's All-American game, and the nominated must have fired up the Senior as Drane dropped 16 first half points en route to a new career high 32 points to lead Garner past Harnett Central 86-73 in the final regular season game of the season.

Garner started all for seniors, Darne' Hall, Matt Koscinelly, Stephon Drane and Matt Powell and they played well as they paced the Trojans early in the game, however, Coach Gray brought in the regulars and after the first quarter, Garner had a 22-17 lead as they were led by Stephon Drane with 8 first quarter points and at one time, Drane had scored all of Garner's points.

The Trojans began to pull away in the second quarter as Gavin Wilson came off the bench to find his stroke as he hit three three point shots as he set a new career high with 20 points as the Trojans had a 48 -35 lead at halftime.

Garner would pad their lead in the third quarter, and used a 19 point third quarter effort to extend the lead to 67-52 after three. But, when the fourth quarter started, Harnett Central hit two big three pointer's and all of a sudden, the lead was cut to seven points at 67-60.

Once that happened, Garner went on a run and finally put the game away the big key to the Trojan success down the stretch was the play inside by Drane and Dominique Reed who finished the game with 10 points, and six of them coming in the fourth quarter.

With the 86-73 win, Garner finishes the regular season with a 13-8 overall record and a 12-2 conference mark. Garner is also the number one seed in the GNRC tournament which will begin on Tuesday with two games at Garner.

Beginning at 6:00, West Johnston will play Southeast Raleigh and Garner will play SSS at 7:30. Other games in the boys tournament will be at Knightdale with Clayton playing East Wake at 6:00 and Knightdale playing SSS at 7:30.

Below, you will find the Boys GNRC Tournament Bracket:

Game 1: (1) Garner vs. (8) Smithfield-Selma - 7:30 at Garner
Game 2: (4) West Johnston vs. (5) Southeast Raleigh - 6:00 at Garner
Game 3: (2) Knigthdale vs. (7) Harnett Central - 7:30 at Knightdale
Game 4: (3) Clayton vs. (6) East Wake - 6:00 at Knightdale

Scoring
Harnett Central: B. Taylor 21, A. Chatman 14, E. Baggett 13, T. Wheelin 7, J. Spears 6, B. McMillian 6, C. Hill 5,
GARNER: S. Drane 32, G. Wilson 20, D. Reed 10, D. Johnson 7, J. McClain 6, D. Hall 5, M. Powell 4, E. McClain 2.

Varsity Girls Win Thriller

Garner and Harnett Central started off slow on Monday night as after the first quarter, the score was 8-6 Harnett Central, but following the sluggish start the two teams found their rhythm, but it would be Garner who would have to get on the comeback trail and they did just that as they climbed back into the game in the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest keys to the Trojan comeback was the outside shooting of Jennifer Steinbach who hit three big three pointers down the stretch as Garner came from behind to avenge an earlier season loss to Harnett Central with a 46-42 win.

Garner finishes the season as the fourth seed in the conference and they will play Knightdale on Tuesday night at either Clayton or Southeast Raleigh. Below you will find the Girls GNRC Bracket:

Game 1: (1) Southeast Raleigh vs. (8) West Johnston - 7:30 at Southeast Raleigh Game 2: (4) Garner vs. (5) Knightdale - 6:00 at Southeast Raleigh

Game 3: (2) Clayton vs. (7) Smithfield-Selma - 7:30 at Clayton
Game 4: (3) East Wake vs. (6) Harnett Central - 6:00 at Clayton

JV Boys Win Thriller

After the weekend layoff Garner showed a lot of signs of rust as they weren't sharp and never really put things together.

The Trojans missed a lot of easy, close range shots, but battled against a very good Harnett Central team. Down by two with under 30 seconds to play, Garner forced Harnett Central into a turnover and got the ball back with 8 seconds remaining.

After a time out the Trojan coaching staff drew a play up, Jarie Hicks got a 3 pointer off and banked it in with just .2 seconds left on the clock.

The win seals hte 2nd straight conference championship for the Trojans as they finish the season at 15 - 4 overall and 12 - 2 in the conference.

Harnett Central 9 27 33 47

Garner 15 27 33 48

Cameron Redd 12 pts

Jarie Hicks

Juwan Moye 8 pts

Rashaun Shaw 7 pts

JV Boys Basketball Update

Below are some updated JV Boys Basketball Results, the Boys will play their final game of the season Friday night at Harnett Central at 7:30.

2/4/10
Garner 5 20 34 44
@SSS 12 16 31 41

Richardson 12 pts
Redd 10 pts


2/5/10
@Garner 24 34 47 56
Southeast 12 27 49 67

Sanford 11 pts
Moye 11 pts


2/9/10
@Garner 13 37 54 71
East Wake 3 19 40 65

Moye 20 pts
Hicks, Jarie 13 pts
Sanford 12 pts


Overall 14-4, Conference 11-2 -- Trojans are sitting atop the Conference and can close it out on Friday night at Harnett Central









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Larry Ward, 772-8372

Trojans Sloppy In Loss to Knightdale

WEB CAST.

After their win over East Wake on Tuesday night, the Trojans learned that Knightdale had lost to Clayton, with the loss, Garner was crowned the Conference Champion's for the second straight year, and the 10th time the Trojans have won the conference under Coach Gray.

However, the Trojans didn't have long to celebrate as they were right back in action on Wednesday night as they played host to the Knightdale Knights the team that handed Garner their only conference loss of the season.

But, it would be Knightdale who came out with the intensity as they began the game on a 9-3 run and Garner just could not recover in the first quarter as the Knights marched out to a 18-15 lead as the Trojans, Gavin Wilson, hit a three just before the first quarter buzzer to cut the lead to three.

In the second quarter, Knightdale's lead would grow to double digits before Garner began on the comeback trail and eventually cut the lead to four points as in the first half it was Wilson and Stephon Drane who kept the Trojans in the game, but the Knights would begin to pull away and take a 36-28 lead to the locker room.

Knightdale would dominate the third quarter as Garner didn't have much of an answer, but it was also tough for Garner to get things going with starting point guard, Emmanuel McClain picking up three quick fouls in the first half and was limited in his playing time in the game. As a result, the Knights had a 55-41 lead after three.

The lead for Knightdale would grow to as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter before Garner began to mount a comeback, as they cut the lead to 10, but Knightdale just didn't make any mistakes down the stretch and hit the free throws as Garner was just completely out of rythem as they fell to Knightdale 68-54.

With the loss, Garner is now 12-8 on the season and 11-2 inside the GNRC. The Trojans will host Harnett Central on Friday night for Senior Night. The game will tip at 7:30 and the Senior Night celebration will be between games. Also, you need to be at the game early to catch a special presentation!

Scoring:
Knightdale: S. Geter 16, A. Abdullah 14, A. Smith 14, T. Nicholson 8, A. Pope 4, M. Hinnatt 4, R. Fredrick 4, B. Bolling 2, A. McDowell 2.
GARNER: G. Wilson 19, S. Drane 17, D. Harris 4, D. Johnson 4, D. Reed 2, M. Sloan 2, J. McClain 2, D. Hall 2.

Varsity Girls Fall to Knightdale

After defeating Knightdale just a couple of weeks ago, the Lady Trojans have played really good basketball, but on Wednesday night, Garner reverted back to their old ways as they lost to Knightdale at home 64-43.

Knightdale was able to play very physical with the Lady Trojans and force Garner into several turnovers and bad shots as Garner will look to rebound on Friday night at 6:00 when they host Harnett Central for Senior Night.

Stay after the game as the Lady Trojans will honor their Seniors from the class of 2010.

Trojans Spoil East Wake's Party With Key Win

WEB CAST.

East Wake celebrated senior night on Tuesday night, and played tough with the league leading Trojans, however, Garner would hit the shots down the stretch to come away with at 78-74 win over the Warriors.

Garner began the game on a 9-3 run prompting, first year East Wake Head Coach Darin Stinson to call a timeout, and his team responded as they cut the Garner lead to seven points as the first quarter came to a close with the Trojans leading 18-11.

One of the key components to the Trojans first quarter success was the outside shooting which found it's way back to the Trojans after Garner struggled from distance in the past couple of games, but in the first half, Garner hit three first half shots from the perimeter with Emmanuel McClain hitting two three's and Gavin Wilson nailing the other. As the Trojans finished the first half with a eight point 42-34 lead. However, the Trojans had trouble stopping East Wake forward, Kasunn Williams who lead the Warriors with 20 of his game high 29 points in the first half.

East Wake tried to make a comeback in the third quarter, and started to cut into the Trojan lead, but Garner would maintain their lead until midway through the quarter. East Wake had cut the lead to three points and came down looking to continue to cut into the Trojan lead, but, after a missed shot, East Wake's Jonathan Aparicio was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim and with 3:38 to play in the third quarter, Garner had a chance to change the tempo of the game as Donald Johnson nailed both technical shots and Garner got the ball back as they pushed the lead to 63-55 after three.

In the final quarter, the Warriors refused to die and Garner had to hold off a furious East Wake rally. Late in the final quarter, Stephon Drane was called for his fourth personal foul, but managed to stay in the game to contribute as the Trojans needed some help down the stretch.

East Wake cut the Garner lead to one point at 71-70 with just over a minute to play, but East Wake would get no closer as the Trojans hit their free throws down the stretch to finish 69 % from the line for the game as Garner closed the road part of their conference schedule with a 78-74 win over East Wake.

Garner (12-7, 11-1) will be back at home Wednesday night at 7:30 when they host Knightdale in a first place battle. While East Wake (8-13, 4-8) will travel to West Johnston on Wednesday night.

Scoring:
GARNER: S. Drane 17, E. McClain 17, G. Wilson 13, D. Reed 13, D. Johnson 11, D. Dorsey 5, M. Sloan 2.
E. Wake: K. Williams 29, Q. Langen 14, A. Ray 11, D. Davis 10, Antw. Payton 6, Anto. Payton 3, T. Horton 1.

Varsity Girls Rally to Beat East Wake

Garner trailed East Wake by 13 points in the first quarter, but some how, Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans cut into the lead and going to the locker room for halftime, Garner was right back in the game.

The Lady Trojans hung around in the second half before coming all the way back and the score was tied late in the fourth quarter. That's when the Garner defense came into play as they put full court pressure on East Wake and forced the Warriors to turn the ball over several times down the stretch.

While East Wake was turning the ball over, Garner was playing smart fundamental basketball and hit the shots from the line en route to at 50-44 victory over East Wake.

Garner is back at home tomorrow night at 6:00 as they host Knightdale.

Trojans Survive 'Dog Fight' to Down Bulldogs

WEB CAST.


Friday night was a typical Garner/Southeast Raleigh basketball game as the two foes met at Southeast Raleigh High School, and after the Bulldogs jumped ahead of the Trojans, Garner responded as Gavin Wilson scored 15 of his career high 22 points in the second half to lead the Trojans to a 70-60 come from behind victory over Southeast.

The first quarter looked more like a football game than a basketball contest as the play was fast, furious and physical as just two combined fouls were called in the first quarter but at the end of the first stanza, Southeast held a two point, 13-11 lead.

The Bulldog lead would grow to double digits as the second quarter got underway as Garner struggled to find their stroke from beyond the arc as the Trojans hit just one first half three pointer, however, the key to keeping Garner in the game was the play of super Sophomore, Dominique Reed, who scored 10 of his career 12 points in the first half to lead Garner in first half scoring, but alas the Trojans trailed 33-27 at the break.

At halftime, the pep talk by Garner Head Coach, Eddie Gray was a impassioned speech which carried through the halftime break and the officials had to go to the locker room to get the Trojans.

But, whatever Coach Gray said at the break fired his club up as Garner came out on a 9-1 run to take a one point lead at 36-35. But, the Bulldogs didn't quit as they continued to fight but Garner would find their game as Gavin Wilson and Stephon Drane carried Garner in the second half and after three, Garner had a three point 48-45 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the two teams battled back and forth, but Southeast was plagued by foul trouble and as a result, Garner was shooting free throws for the entire fourth quarter and down the stretch, the Trojans hit more shots than they missed and as a result, Garner came away with a hard fought 70-60 win over Southeast Raleigh (8-11, 4-7).

Garner (11-7, 10-1) will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to East Wake at 7:30.

Scoring:
GARNER: G. Wilson 22, S. Drane 16, E. McClain 13, D. Reed 12, M. Sloan 4, M. Powell 2, D. Johnson 2.
Southeast: J. Newkirk 12, T. Walker 11, T. Griffis 11, T. Hines 10, C. Moore 6, T. Mallette 6, A. Smith 5.

Girls Fall to Bulldogs

Coach Mays and his Lady Trojans came into play on Friday night on a two game winning streak, unfortunately for the Trojans on Friday night they were playing one of the league leaders in Southeast Raleigh.

But, to the credit of the Lady Trojans they didn't back down and hung with the Bulldogs early as they played some hard nosed defense and only trailed by a couple of points at halftime.

In the second half, Southeast was just too much inside for the Lady Trojans as Garner fell to Southeast Raleigh 49-31.

The Lady Trojans will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to East Wake for a 6:00 tip off.

Trojans Get Back on Track With Win Over SSS

WEB CAST.

Garner and Smithfield-Selma have now met twice, both times after a Garner loss. The first time these two teams met were after the Trojans lost to Millbrook in the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational and Garner won that meeting, 67-41. On Thursday, Garner was coming off their first conference loss of the year, a 78-74 loss at Knightdale, and Thursday would have the same result as the previous meeting as Garner Slayed the Spartans 65-48.

SSS tried to slow down the high powered Trojan offensive attack in the first quarter, and for the most part did a good job as they frustrated the Trojans on the offensive end, but Garner took a 18-7 lead after the first quarter.

In the games second quarter, Garner's lead would grow to double digits as Gavin Wilson got hot and poured in 11 points to lead the Trojans in first half scoring en route to his game high 17 points.

The Spartans first half was marred by foul trouble as at halftime, SSS had three players with at least 2 or more fouls which really limited what the Spartans could do in the second half as they trailed by ten a 34-24 at halftime.

However, Garner let SSS creep back into the game until it was just at six point lead at 36-30 midway through the third quarter, but after a Trojan timeout, Garner went on an 11-1 run to really put the game away as the Trojans full court pressure created several turnovers as the Trojans came away with a 65-48 win.

Garner (10-7, 9-1) will be back in action tomorrow night as they travel to arch rival Southeast Raleigh for a 7:30 tip off.

Varsity Girls Get Win over SSS

Both teams started slow on Thursday night as Garner had a 8-6 lead after the first quarter, however, the Lady Trojans overcame their slow start and avenged a early season loss to the Spartans as they picked up a big 49-36 win over SSS on Thursday night.

Coach Mays and the Lady Trojans have now won two in a row and they will try to make it three in a row Friday night when they travel to Southeast Raleigh for a 6:00 tip.

Trojan Rally Falls Short at Knightdale

WEB CAST.

The crowd wasn't as big as it will be when Duke and North Carolina get together later this year, but the intesty level was much the same and on Thursday night at Knightdale High School, the game had just about everything you could ask for, however, the Trojans rally fell short as the Knights came away with at four point, 78-74 win to make the GNRC race wide open.

Garner and Knightdale both raced out of the gate giving Garner play by play announcer, Chris Edwards all he could handle in the first quarter, but after the first stanza, Garner had a 29-24 lead.

After hitting just three shots from beyond the arc on Tuesday night, Garner came out on fire from downtown as they hit six first half three pointers including two from 6-7 Senior, Stephon Drane. The only problem was Knightdale was equally as hot from behind the line as they hit five shots to stay in the game. As the first half came to a close, the officials really let the two teams play and it became very physical which benifited Knightdale as they closed the half on a big run to take a 45-39 lead into the locker room.

The Knightdale lead would grow to as many as 12 points in the third quarter, but to the credit of the Trojans, they never let the game get away as the continued to chip away and the lead and eventually got the lead to singe digits.

Garner had the game down to under five points midway through the quarter, but after a touch foul that was call on Emmanuel McClain, one official whistled him for a technical foul which allowed Tyler Nicholson to go to the line and hit the two technical shots which put Knightdale back up and gave them some momentum as they closed the third quarter on a bit of a run as Garner had missed chances toward the end of the quarter which allowed the Knights to grow their lead to seven points, at 62-55 after three.

But, in the fourth quarter, the Trojans embodied the spirit of their Coach as they never quit even when the Knightdale lead grew to double digits, Garner continued to claw and eventually took the lead when Emmanuel McClain fired in a three from the right wing to give Garner their first lead since the first quarter at 68-66.

However, Knightdale fought right back and over the final four minutes of the game the two teams went back and forth, but in the end, the Knights made their free throws and came away with the 78-74 win over the Trojans.

With the loss, Garner's seven game winning streak has been snapped and the Trojans fall to 9-7 overall and 8-1 in the conference, meanwhile, Knightdale moves to 10-9 overall and just one game back of Garner in the conference race at 7-2.

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night at 7:30 at Garner. But, before the Trojans and Knights renew their vows again this year, Garner will host SSS on Tuesday night also at 7:30.

**The Trojan Sports Network would like to thank Knightdale AD Guy Blough for his cooperation with tonight's web cast***

Scoring:
GARNER: S. Drane 24, D. Johnson 20, E. McClain 15, G. Wilson 9, D. Anderson 3, D. Reed 2.

Knightdale: T. Nicholson 21, A. McDowell 11, A. Smith 10, R. Fredrick 9, K. Brodie 9, A. Pope 4, D. Monroe 3, A. Abullah 2.

Varsity Girls Give Coach Mays a Happy Birthday

Varsity Girls basketball Coach, Hardrick Mays celebrated his birthday day on Thursday and his Lady Trojans gave him a very Happy Birthday with at 55-43 win over Knightdale.

After a slow start in the first quarter by both teams, Garner was the first team to really get things going in the second quarter as they took a double digit lead into the locker room at halftime.

The lead would continue to grow in the second half as the Lady Trojans were able to get out in transition as the fast break really helped Garner as they pulled away in the second half to come away with a 55-43 win over the Knights.

Garner will return home on Tuesday night as they host SSS at 6:00

JV Boys Lose First Conference Game of the Year

One the same night when the Varsity boys dropped their first conference game of the season, the JV Trojans lost their halftime lead as they fell to Knightdale 58-55 to split the season series with the Knights.

The Trojans took a 34-18 halftime lead after playing one of their best halves of basketball so far this year, but, Knightdale came storming back in the second half thanks mainly to the sloppy play of the Trojans.

Garner just couldn't overcome the tough second half as the fell to the Knights 58-55. With the loss, the Trojans fall to 12-3 overall and 9-1 in the conference.

They will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to SSS for a 7:30 tip off.

JV Boys Basketball Update

The JV Boys basketball team is currently on a roll in the GNRC as the Trojans are undefeated inside league play. After downing Harnett Central on Jan. 15 67-52, the JV Trojans put together one of the most improbable wins in recent memory.

Last Friday, the JV Trojans were down by 17 points at home to West Johnston as the third quarter came to a close. Then at the 4 minute mark of the final period, Garner finally decided to turn it on and proceeded to go on a 36 to 6 run to finish with a 76-63 overtime win.

Coach Bloms said after the game "It was the most impressive comeback that I've been a part of, the guys never gave up and despite playing a lackluster 3 and 1/2 quarters were able to dig down and pull out an important conference win. Our bigs, Rashaun Shaw and Cameron Redd really stepped it up and controlled to paint in the 2nd half."

SCORING:
Juwan Moye 20 pts, 5 rebs, 4 stls, 1 blk
Jarie Hicks 10 pts, 3 assts, 2 rebs, 2 stls
Rashaun Shaw 9 pts, 6 rebs
Cameron Redd 9 pts, 11 rebs
Demarcus Sanford 8 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls

Following the comeback win over West Johnston, the Trojans again played a very tough conference game as they traveled to Clayton just two nights ago. This time, Garner didn't have to come from 17 down, but just like the game against the Wildcats, the game went to overtime and again the Trojans came out on top 68-66.

SCORING:
Larry Richardson 20 pts, 3 stls, 2 blks
Jarie Hicks 19 pts
Cameron Redd 12 pts, 12 rebs
Anthony Tucker 7 pts, 7 assts, 5 rebs, 2 stls, 2 blks

The Trojans are now 12-2 on the year with their only losses coming in the early part of the season, and Coach Bloms and his squad lead the conference with a perfect 9-0 Conference record.

The JV Boys are back at home on Thursday night (Jan. 28) as they host Knightdale at 7:30.

Trojans Blast Comets to Stay Perfect in Conference

WEB CAST.

Coming into Conference play, Coach Gray had one goal and that was to be the first team to win all their conference games, and on Tuesday night, the Trojans took another step toward achieving their goal as they blasted Clayton 73-49.

Garner and Clayton played a typical Garner/Clayton first quarter as the Trojans held a 17-13 after one, but in the second quarter, Garner really began to separate themselves thanks to the inside play of Stephon Drane and D'Andre Anderson, and Garner also had a great defensive effort in the first half on Clayton's Adam Parrish.

Parrish scored 17 points and hit five three pointers in the first meeting with Garner, but in the first half of Tuesday's game, Parris had yet to score a point as the Trojans had a 34-23 halftime lead.

Clayton began to come back on Garner in the third quarter, as the Trojans left a lot of points at the free throw line, but they made up for those lost points with style points as Stephon Drane and D'Andre Anderson got loose for some impressive dunks to put the game out of reach as the Trojans opened up a 20 point lead early in the fourth quarter and never looked back as for the second straight year, Garner sweeps the season series with the Comets.

Garner (9-6, 8-0) extends their win streak to seven games, while Clayton (14-5, 6-3) had their eight game winning streak snapped.

***NOTE: The Varsity Game that was originally scheduled for Friday has a good chance of being moved to THURSDAY NIGHT at Knightdale due to a possible winter storm. A final decision will be posted as soon as it becomes known. Stay tuned***

Scoring:
Clayton: A. Parrish 11, J. Getty 11, S. Clayton 7, D. Johnson 6, K. Frasier 6, T. Jones 3, T. Williams 3.
GARNER: S. Drane 21, G. Wilson 14, D. Anderson 13, D. Johnson 10, D. Reed 6, E. McClain 5, J. McClain 4

Varsity Girls Fall to Comets

The Varsity Girls had another tough test on Tuesday night as they faced a Clayton team that was sitting atop the conference along with Southeast Raleigh.

But, for the first quarter, Garner hung with the Comets, however, in the second quarter, Clayton began to pull away and the Lady Trojans just couldn't stay with the Comets quickness as the Comets downed Garner 68-41.

Trojans Survive Wildcat Comeback; Win in OT

WEB CAST.


Coming into play on Friday night, Coach Eddie Gray and his Garner Trojans were looking to extend their current winning streak to six games, but in order to keep that winning streak going, they would have to defeat a West Johnston team that was 6-1 at home this season and had already defeated Knightdale at home in overtime earlier in the season, and after a slow start Garner jumped out to a big lead only to see West Johnston send the game to overtime, but the Trojans survived and hung on to win 70-62.

Garner was coming off a week layoff as they took a break to finish exams and it took a while for the Trojans to get rolling as West Johnston took a 14-12 lead after the first quarter.

But, as the first quarter ended Coach Gray had a stern message for his club and Garner responded on both ends of the floor as Garner scored 16 points in the second quarter while holding West Johnston to just one point in the second quarter to take a 28-15 lead into the locker room.

Garner's lead would continue to grow in the third quarter thanks to a very balanced effort, but as the game wore on, the Trojans' built up a 11 point lead after the third quarter, however, Garner was in some deep foul trouble and that would prove to be very costly late in the game.

West Johnston relied on the outside shot to climb back into the game in the fourth quarter as Mark Parker hit three big shots from beyond the arc and Shaq Dance also contributed with 16 second half points including 5 three pointer's to put the Wildcats right back in the game.

That's when things began to go south for the Trojans as both Emmanuel McClain and Gavin Wilson fouled out in the fourth quarter, and that lead to some offensive confusion late in the game for the Trojans and with Garner leading by two late in the fourth quarter, Ben Jacobs moved his way to the left baseline for a wide open lay up to tie the game at 52 as Garner's desperation heave was no good and the Trojans were playing their first overtime game of the year.

In the extra stanza, Garner dominated from the opening tip, thanks mainly to the play of Donald Johnson who went to the line a total of 21 times in the second half and overtime periods and of those 21, Johnson made 16 of his shots from the charity strip and after scoring just two points in the first half, Johnson scored 22 in the second half and overtime to lead the Trojans.

West Johnston, who was out the services of Jacob McNeill and Sean Johnson, who were both out due to injuries, had no match for the deeper Trojan bench and Garner began to pull away in overtime as they remained perfect in the conference with at 70-62 win over West Johnston.

Garner (8-6; 7-0) now leads the all-time series with West Johnston (8-6; 4-3) 11-2 and the Trojans will now prepare for a very difficult week as they will host Clayton on Tuesday night at 7:30 then travel to Knightdale on Friday also at 7:30.

Knightdale is currently second in the conference while Clayton is third.

Scoring:
GARNER: D. Johnson 24, J. McClain 15, G. Wilson 12, S. Drane 6, D. Anderson 6, M. Sloan 6, E. McClain 1.
W. Johnston: M. Parker 22, S. Dance 16, B. Jacobs 11, T. Davis 7, M. Fogg 6.

Varsity Girls Sweep Season Series With Wildcats

The Lady Trojans have had their ups and downs this year but on Friday night, Garner came out hitting on all cylinders and after scoring just seven points in the first quarter, the Lady Trojans came out on fire in the final three quarters.

Garner's lead grew to 21 points in the latter parts of the third quarter. West Johnston tried to battle back, but Garner was too much on this night as the Lady Trojans swept the season series from the Wildcats with at 51-39 win.

They are back at home on Tuesday night at 6:00 when they host Clayton.

Trojans Avenge Football Loss to Harnett Central With Convincing Win

WEB CAST.

The last time the Garner Trojans visited Harnett Central High School, was the final game of the football regular season, a game that Garner lost 34-9. The Trojans visit on Friday night had a much different outcome than the previous meeting, as Garner defeated Harnett Central 86-58 in a game that the Trojans controlled from the opening tip.

Garner (7-6; 6-0) had a slow start to begin the game as it took almost two minutes for the game's first basket, but after the first bucket went down, the flood gates were opened as the Trojans raced out to a 22-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Harnett Central (2-11; 0-7) had no answer for the Garner press in the second quarter either as the Trojans had their way forcing Harnett Central to turn the ball over 13 times in the first quarter and that lead to several easy fast break buckets for the Trojans and as a result, Garner had a 47-17 halftime lead.

While, Gavin Wilson, was on fire from beyond the arc on Tuesday night, it would be Emmanuel McClain who was on fire from the three point line tonight as he set a career high with 5 three pointers to lead Garner in scoring.

The fourth quarter was spent padding the stats for the Trojans as all in all six different players set career highs in points as the Trojans rolled to the 86-58 win over Harnett Central.

Garner will break for exams next week before returning to action on Friday night when they continue their road trip by traveling to West Johnston for a 7:30 tip-off.

***The Trojan Sports Network would like the thank Harnett Central AD and Head Basketball Coach Will Gage with allowing us to bring you tonight's game.***

Varsity Girls Fall Short at Harnett Central

After a very slow start in the first quarter, the Lady Trojans couldn't quite complete their comeback as they fell to Harnett Central 50-42.

The first quarter ended with Garner leading 8-7, but Harnett Central came back and took the lead at halftime and while they tried to pull away in the second half, Garner would always hang around.

Late in the fourth quarter, Garner was trailing by just four points, but the Lady Trojans just could not find the shot to pull any closer as Harnett Central hit their free throws down the stretch to defeat Garner 50-42.

Garner is back on the road next Friday at West Johnston at 6:00.

Trojans Blast Warriors to Stay On Top of the Conference

WEB CAST.

After their win over Southeast Raleigh on Friday night, Garner found themselves in first place after Knightdale lost their first conference game of the season to West Johnston, however, the Trojans would have to hold serve on their home court against a very scrappy and upstart East Wake Warrior bunch, and after playing a outstanding team game for the majority of the game, Ganrer cruised to a 73-50 win.

The Trojans began the game on a 8-0 run before East Wake got on the board with just over three minutes left in the first quarter with a Tyler Horton free throw. However, Garner had some sloppy moments in the first quarter as East Wake cut the lead to three at 14-11 at the end of one.

After a pep talk by Coach Gray, the Trojans found their shot in the games second stanza as they used a balanced effort to put some distance between themselves and the Warriors, but thanks to back to back three pointers by Quinton Langen East Wake was right back in the game.

That was, until Gavin Wilson got red hot from beyond the arc as he hit four consecutive three point shots en route to a career five three pointers as he lead Garner in scoring at intermission with 14 points, and he would finished the game with 17 (which was also a career high).

In the second half, it was clear that East Wake just could not compete with the Trojans quickness and the Warriors had no match for Stephon Drane inside as he scored 14 of his game high 19 points in the second half as Garner had a comfortable 63-37 lead after three.

Malcome Sloan, played pretty much the entire second half for Garner and put on a great show off the bench as he scored a career high 9 points as the Trojans continued their hot play inside the Conference with at 73-50 win.

With the win, Garner is now 6-6 on the year and 5-0 in the conference while East Wake falls to 5-9 on the season and 2-4 in the Greater Neuse River.

The Trojans are back in action on Friday night when they travel to Harnett Central to take on the Trojans at 7:30

Scoring:
East Wake: Antwan Payton 18, Quinton Langen 15, Tyler Horton 10, Jamal Davis 3, Antonio Payton 2, Ian Hasbrouck 1, Jon Barnes-Smith 1.
GARNER: Stephon Drane 19, Gavin Wilson 17, D'Andre Anderson 11, Malcome Sloan 9, Josh McClain 5, Emmanual McClain 5, Donald Johnson 3, Darne' Hall 2, Dominique Reed 2.

Varsity Girls Comeback Falls Short

Garner trailed East Wake by 11 points at halftime, but the Lady Trojans refused to die as they fought their way back into the game only to fall 47-43.

East Wake hit a long three pointer just as the third quarter expired, Garner would then continue their climb back into the contest and tie the game at 40 midway through the fourth quarter.

However, the Warriors would hit their free throws down the stretch and they downed Garner 47-43. The Lady Trojans are back in action at Harnett Central on Friday night at 6:00.

JV Boys Hold On For Win

In a game that was nip and tuck the entire way, Coach Bloms and his JV Boys held on for a 77-75 win road win over East Wake. With the win, Garner is now 9-2 overall record and 6-0 inside Conference.

The Trojans were led by the following players:

Anthony Tucker: 21 pts, 4 assts, 7 rebs, 3 stls
Juwan Moye: 15 pts, 3 assts, 3 rebs, 3 stls
Larry Richardson: 11 pts, 3 assts
Rashaun Shaw: 6 pts, 13 rebs, 2 stls

The Trojans are back at home on Friday at 7:30 when they host Harnett Central