Kinston 58 Holly Springs 47

'The second game on Championship Monday at the 48th Annual John Wall Holiday Invitational was the 7th place game of the TJ Warren Bracket between Kinston and Holly Springs.''Kinston came into the contest with an unfamiliar two game losing streak and are currently 7-2 for the season. On the other hand, Holly Springs comes into the game with a 5-7 record. No team probably had a tougher schedule at the John Wall Holiday Invitational than Kinston. They lost to Moravian Prep 58-53 and then to Combine Academy by the score of 61-48, two of the toughest teams in North Carolina.

First Half 

Picking up full court, Kinston can and will apply tremendous pressure on the ball. Their defense is their identity as they forced 14 Holly Springs' turnover.  Kinston shot 10-24 from the floor while Holly Springs only managed 6-15 from the floor, nine less shot attempts. Leading the way in the half was the terrific guard play of Kinston's Isaac Parson who finished with 10 points, collected three rebounds and also had three steals. Kinston maintained an eight-point lead throughout the majority of half and led 25-17 going into the second half.

Second Half 

Kinston stepped up defensive pressure utilizing a 1-2-2 half court press as they pushed their second half lead up to 18 before coach Perry Tyndall emptied his bench with approximately four minutes remaining in the game. 

Summary

As we stated earlier, defense is Kinston's identity as they forced 26 turnovers and got an unbelievable 17 steals for the game. Kinston went 24-29 from the floor, 5-15 from the 3-point line, and 5-8 from the free throw line. On the other hand, Holly Spring went 14-35 from the floor, 4-13 from the 3-point line, and 15-20 from the free throw line. Leading the way for Kinston was 6'7 junior Dontrez Styles with 18. He went 7-12 from the floor, 2-5 from the 3-point line, and 2-3 from the free throw line. In addition, he had six rebounds, one assists, two blocks and four steals, while 6'0 senior point guard Isaac Parson finished with 12 points, dished out four assists and had three steals. For Holly Springs, they were led by 6'4 junior Gary Williams Jr. with 14 while 6'0 sophomore Jordan Kearney chipped in 12 points.