The Wolverine season got off to a fast start last night, as Regent played host to the Eastland Hurricanes, winning the JV and Varsity Boys contests. Regent got off to a fast start last night, taking 2 of 3 contests. The Eastland girls, playing in the second of three games, represented Eastland's sole win of the night.
The Varsity Boys contest took all 32 minutes to decide. After falling behind 46-42 with 56 seconds remaining in the game, the Wolverine press created a flurry of turnovers to help eliminate the deficit. John Couch earned a trip to the charity stripe and sank both free throws to narrow the margin to 46-44. On the ensuing possession, Couch also stole the ball and earned an additional trip to the foul line, where he made one of two, for a 46-45 score. On the next possession, Abbott Jones and John Couch pressured the Eastland guards into a second straight turnover, leading to a Michael Slack layup with 11 seconds left and a 47-46 lead, igniting a raucous crowd gathered to watch the Wolverine's home opener.
Eastland wasted no time after Slack's layup. Without calling a timeout, the Hurricane's hurried the ball down court and had a chance to take the lead back. Alex Luna, however, missed a layup and fouled Kyle Brown on the rebound with 2.3 seconds left, all but sealing the game. It wasn't over until Eastland's inbounds pass was deflected up in the air with 1 second remaining, allowing time to expire and give the Wolverines Varsity Boys an opening night win.
Earlier in the night, the Regent Varsity Girls had been unable to keep Eastland's returning center Caitlyn Kyle (15 points) under control, losing their first game under new coach Lindsay Jones, 37-19. The Junior Varsity Boys won the first game of the night. In a game of contrasting styles, the Wolverine's hectic style caused enough Hurricane turnovers to overpower the more controlled attack of Eastland, 36-29.
Next week the Wolverines will be visiting cross-town rivals Heritage Prep for the second game against a former conference foe to open this new year. All three teams will play Heritage Prep on Tuesday, starting with JV at 4:30.
Other notes: Michael Slack led all scorers with 18 points. Peter Aurelian led the JV Boys in scoring with 14. Caitlyn Kyle led Varsity Girls scoring (15), with Cherish Bellamy leading the Wolverines with 9 points.
