Moravian Prep 58 – Kinston 53
If North Carolina is the #HoopState, then Kinston can claim rights to the #HoopCity. No city has the history and tradition of Kinston! Year in and year out, Kinston competes for the NCHSAA 2A state championship and this year's team is no exception. They feature one of the state's best juniors in 6'7 Dontrez Styles. Moravian Prep National team is coached by Antonio Lowe and has one of the better teams nationally. They feature 6'9 five Star NC State commit Josh Hall and 6'0 four Star NC State commit Shakeel Moore.
Moravian Prep enters the John Wall Holiday Invitational with a perfect 14-0 record with impressive wins over Combine Academy, Arizona Compass (AZ), Dream City (AZ), Aspire Academy, and Orangeville Prep (CN). They played and won four games in three days which was the 'icing on the cake' in their brutal schedule that featured games at the Bojangles and Battle at the Rock. On the other hand, Kinston enters the game with a 7-0 record and coach Perry Tyndall is no stranger to big-time games.
When Moravian Prep is tuned in defensively, it is very difficult for the opposing teams to score. That can be said about Kinston with the lone exception, 6'7 junior Dontrez Styles, who chipped in 17 of Kinston's 24 first half points. For Moravian Prep, it was a more balanced attack as Hall chipped in 10 points while Moore and 6'4 junior Darius Davis had seven and eight points respectively. In addition, Moravian Prep held Kinston to a dismal 25% shooting, going 7-of-27 from the floor and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line for the first half.
In the second half, Kinston simply toughed it out and gave one of the grittier performances we have seen against Moravian Prep. With 45.9 seconds remaining, Kinston pulled it within three (56-53), but a pair of free throws by Moore sealed the win. For Moravian Prep, Hall led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Davis and Moore combined for 21 points as well in the win.
Game MVP: 6'7 Junior Dontrez Styles (Kinston)
It's not often we give the game MVP to the player of the losing team, but the performance by Dontrez Styles against Moravian Prep was one for the ages. We're talking about a physically gifted athlete with a matching skill set. Styles finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, dished out two assists, blocked one shot and even had one steal. He went 10-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the 3-point line and 9-11 from the free-throw line and single-handedly gave Kinston a legitimate chance of winning.