757Teamz boys basketball report: Peninsula Catholic hopes tough early schedule leads to TCIS success
Peninsula Catholic boys basketball coach Trevor Dorsey doesn’t believe in scheduling easy games against weaker opponents.
“A lot of those area teams seem to stack wins against teams who aren’t real strong,” he said. “I just don’t believe that helps you at all for the postseason.”
Last season Dorsey took his team to play in several tournaments, including the Jerry Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
This season the Knights have played teams from Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and New Jersey.
Despite an 0-4 start, the Knights have bounced back to win six of their last eight games, including a huge win over Linden High of New Jersey at the LowCountry Roundball Classic in Charleston, South Carolina. Linden came into the game unbeaten and was ranked No. 9 by NJ.com.
Dorsey is confident these tough games will prepare his team for Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools competition.
“I probably overschedule a little bit. We weren’t healthy at the start and had some new faces,” Dorsey said. “This competition will no doubt prepare us for TCIS play. After what we’ve faced so far, we shouldn’t flinch going into conference. Our goal is to be playing our best basketball going into February.”
The Knights have been led by EJ Joyner (15 points per game, 3.5 assists per game, 2.4 steals per game), Jaylen Wynn (12.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Malcolm Velmar (11.3 ppg), Devin Gaines (10.9 ppg), Brayden Mann (8.6 ppg, 4 rpg) and Alonso Easterling (7 rpg).
___
Big games this week
Top-ranked Woodside will host No. 4 Hampton in a Peninsula District showdown Thursday. This is a rematch of a season opener won 52-39 by the Wolverines, who have outscored opponents by an average of nearly 30 points per game. The Crabbers have won nine in a row since that season-opening loss.
Lake Taylor looks to stay unbeaten when the second-ranked Titans host Churchland on Wednesday. The Titans, who have beaten Landstown and Maury, are 8-0. The Truckers (9-2) are looking for a signature win.
___
Last week’s top performances
Kecoughtan’s Tyler Suber scored 35 points to lead the Warriors over Denbigh.
Churchland’s Sincere Jones had a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Phoebus.
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
