Patriots just manage to win over Chargers

Published 1:01 pm Tuesday, January 28, 2020

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Denbigh Baptist falls to IWA, 70-26

By James J. Lidington

Isle of Wight Academy

PORTSMOUTH

Noah Feel was 7-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as Portsmouth Christian squeaked by Isle of Wight Academy 55-48 here on Jan. 16.

Fesl, who finished with 13 points, was one of three Patriots to score in double figures. Tim Montgomery had 19 to lead all scorers; Antony Chenault had 11.

IWA (8-7, 3-3 in the Metro Athletic Conference) was paced by Jabari Thomas’ 18 points; William Fricke had 13.

The two teams were tied at 7 after a quarter, but PCS rattled off 10 consecutive points to take a 15-8 lead with 3:52 to go before halftime. But IWA responded with 12 of the next 15 points to take a 20-18 lead into intermission, including 8 points by Jabari Thomas.

The squads also exchanged scoring binges in the third period, finding themselves tied at 31 at the beginning of the final period before an animated crowd on the Patriots’ home court. The Chargers tied PCS as late as 5:39 remaining, with three foul shots by William Fricke.

But Portsmouth scored 10 of the game’s next 12 points to take a 48-40 lead with 2:30 remaining.

Fricke’s three-pointer with 46.7 seconds remaining cut the PCS lead to 52-48, setting the stage for Fesl’s foul shooting spree.

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The Chargers faced Denbigh Baptist Christian on Jan. 14, notching a 70-26 win over the Minutemen in Jester Gym.

Grant Worthy had 11 points for the Chargers; Thomas had 10.

Russ Wells surged into the lead in scoring with 216 points, a 14.4-points-per-game clip so far this season. Thomas was second with 209, 13.9 per game. Fricke was third with 105, 13.1 per game, followed by Worthy with 171 and 11.4 per game.

The Chargers returned to the court on Tuesday, when they travel to Atlantic Shores to take on Seahawks, the first-place team in the Metro. They renew acquaintances with Brunswick in Lawrenceville Wednesday, before hosting Broadwater in Jester Gym on Friday.

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The Lady Chargers (7-4, 4-0 Metro) won three of four contests last week, falling to Richmond Christian Monday on the road, but bouncing back to defeat Denbigh Baptist, Southampton Academy and PCS. IWA’s Lily Williams and Lily Jones remained among the conference’s Top 10 scorers. Williams is averaging 9.9 points per game; Jones, 7.

The Lady Chargers also traveled to Shores and Brunswick this past week.