HUDSON, NC (By Colt Jensen of CCC&TI – January 18, 2018)…In their fourth game in eight days, the Caldwell Tech Cobras defeated conference foe Denmark Tech 79-74. The Cobras are now 2-0 in Region X conference play, 14-4 overall, and undefeated in games played since the New Year.
In Caldwell’s second conference game, things got off to a slow offensive start for both teams, but the Cobras solid team play and strong defense gave the Cobras an eight-point advantage at the halftime buzzer.
In the second half, fatigue began to become a factor for the Cobras, and their defense began to surrender points at an alarming rate. Denmark Tech was able to score nearly twice the points they scored in the first half, and only a strong scoring finish allowed Caldwell to escape with the win.
Despite struggling throughout the second half, it was the Cobras resiliency and team oriented style of play ultimately helped them to earn the hard-fought victory.
“Our team simply came in focused today, because we knew this would be a tough conference game on the road.” guard Jaylon Wray said. “We knew we would have to play as a team and not let individual performances get in the way of the team game plan.”
Jaylon Wray’s impressive stat line of 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals also was very helpful in propelling Caldwell Tech to the win. Wray led fellow guards Chase Byrd, who had 18 points, and Trevor Willis, who scored 14 points, in double digit scoring for the Cobras.
However, a win and some impressive individual performances did not necessarily equate to a satisfactory team performance.
“It definitely wasn’t a pretty one, but we will take it.” head coach Matt Anderson said. “I don’t think I had our guys prepared to play today, and we just never seemed to get a rhythm. We talked a lot about the importance of it being a conference game, but we just didn’t have the energy or focus we needed.”
Even with a somewhat disappointing outing, the Caldwell Cobras have now won four straight games, and now have a chance to earn a big conference win this Saturday.
“Going into Saturday, we just want to get our guys some rest and continue to try to improve in several different areas.” coach Anderson said, “The team we play this Saturday, USC Salkehatchie, is a really good team, so we will have our work cut out for us.”
Caldwell Tech will play USC Salkehatchie this Saturday at 3pm on the Caldwell campus.