On Friday, the Newport Wildcats's game was all tied up 23-23 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They wrapped up 2023 with a 64-46 win over Jennings County. Given Newport's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 12th in Kentucky, while Jennings County is ranked 175th in Indiana), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Newport found their leader in underclassman Tay Kinney, who went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points and 3 assists. The game was Kinney's 12th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jabari Covington, who scored ten points along with five assists and three steals.
Jennings County's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Carter Kent, who scored 16 points along with seven assists. Kent scored a full 34.8% of Jennings County's points, the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cash Millspaugh, who scored 18 points.
Jennings County struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only an offensive rebound. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Newport's win bumped their record up to 9-3. As for Jennings County, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Coincidentally, both teams will both be playing New Palestine the next time they take the court. Jennings County will head out to face New Palestine at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, while Newport will head out to face them at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
