The New Garden Friends Bears won two of three games this week at The USA National Prep Championships at North Myrtle Beach South Carolina.
The Bears lost on Thursday (3/7) to the National Team from Mt Zion (Durham) 56-52. Then on Friday (3/8) the Bears rallied from a nine point half time deficit to defeat Veritas (Arden, N.C.) 71-58.
Finally on Saturday (3/9) it was a rematch from the very emotional loss at New Hope Christian on Feb. 25 when the Bears led most of the way only to lose 71-63. This time it was all New Garden. The Bears jumped out to a 25-11 first quarter lead and carried that to a 51-28 half time advantage. New Hope made a run at the Bears in the third quarter, but the Bears would not wilt and regained control with a big fourth quarter to win going away 89-69.
For the Bears, Kanayo Obi-Rapu led the way with 25 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. The Junior scored 62 points over the three days to lead the Bears offense.
The Bears had five seniors who played their last game in a New Garden Uniform. Cameron Williams, Mason Wyrick, Noah Poulos , Juan Urena and Kyle Warner ended their careers on a high note.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final New Garden Friends 25 26 10 28 89 New Hope Christian 11 17 18 23 69
New Garden Friends
Kanayo Obi-Rapu – 25 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds
Cameron Williams – 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals
Mason Wyrick – 14 points (4 of 6 threes), 5 rebounds
Ikenna Smart – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Isaiah Manderson – 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks
Juan Urena – 4 points
Noah Poulos – 3 points
Kyle Warner – 3 points
Kingsley Nzekwe – 2 points
New Hope Christian
Ryan Johnson – 21 points
Carlos Rankin – 12 points
Nolen Gerald – 12 points
DeShawn Williams – 10 points
Kai Shaw – 4 points
Malick Dime – 4 points
Milan Dostic – 4 points
Tobias Edwards – 2 points
Submitted by David Secor