A Kobe getting buckets at an elite level? Tell us where you’ve heard that one before. The Hornets sophomore guard Kobe Newton was on fire Wednesday night. He did almost everything to help Fullerton get the win, 81-63.
Newton scored 25 points to lead all scorers on Thanksgiving Eve. From converting all of his “and-one’s,” he was eight out of eight from the line. Making three 3-pointers, and securing six rebounds, Newton stuffed the stat sheet against the Corsairs.
When asked how locked in he was, Newton remained humble. “I was just trying to knock down open shots my teammates were creating for me. I’m not trying to do too much, just let the game come to me.”
Coach Perry Webster was happy with Newton’s performance, but he spoke as if this was not a shocking outcome to him. “We know Kobe can make shots, but the thing he’s doing is being very efficient. He just needs to continue to play that way, and he’ll be successful.”
After an ugly first half that saw the game tied at 36-36, the Hornets turned it on in the second half on both ends of the floor. The Hornets forced Santa Monica to shoot 35% from the field and only 28% from 3-point territory.
The big sequence of the night occurred around the 16:30 mark of the second half. First, freshman guard Sean Newman Jr. lobbed a rim rattling alley-oop to 6’11 sophomore center Sammy Howlin, who had gotten behind his defender. On the next defensive run, Howlin blocked an attempted layup from Corsair’s freshman point guard Barry Wilds Jr. Off that blocked shot, Newman outlet passed to freshman forward Jeremiah Davis, who threw down another high-flying dunk. The energy in the gym was instantly electric.
While the offense was strong, the defense put on by the Hornets that evening was unimpressive. “We’re not defending and rebounding at the rate that we need in order to be successful as the season moves on, and we need to fix it,” said Webster.
The Hornets did not lose many statistical categories, but they were out-rebounded 46-39, which in turn had them lose the second chance points battle 19-10. It seemed that Santa Monica would go in waves of trying to force their way inside and use their height advantage against Fullerton.
Sophomore guard Shaquil Bender added 15 points, Davis chipped in 12 points, and Newman Jr. only managed 2 points in the scorer’s column but was still in complete command of the offense with 9 assists and 0 turnovers.
Sophomore forward Daniel Akitoby had a double-double for the Corsairs with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore center Quinn Collins also added 15 points in the losing effort.
The Hornets (7-0) next match up is back on the road against San Bernardino Valley College (2-2) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
