After pulling even early in the second half, New Kenington went cold down the stretch, as it fell at home to DuBois 80-64 on Tuesday. The game marked not only New Ken's home opener, but also the beginning of the team's Penn State University Athletic Conference slate. With the setback, New Ken fell to 0-1 in the conference, and 2-4 overall. DuBois, conversely, improved to 1-0 and 3-2.
Both squads shot well from the floor in the opening half, as DuBois connected on 45 percent of its shots, while New Ken shot just shy of 42 percent. Senior Dorian Broadwater (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) paced the home team's attack, as he registered 20 points in the first 20 minutes of play. DuBois, however, held a 47-41 edge at the intermission.
In the second half, New Ken started off strong, and pulled even at 55-55 on a jumper by sophomore guard Juwan Willis (Swissvale, Pa./Woodland Hills) five minutes into the frame. Less than a minute later, DuBois regained the lead on a pair of free throws, and the visitors never looked back, as they used a 25-9 run to finish the contest.
While the defense tightened on both sides in the second half, New Ken shot just 22.2 percent from the floor after the break, and missed all eight of its attempts from behind the arc. Consequently, New Ken could muster just 23 points in the stanza.
Overall, New Ken shot 31.9 percent from the field, and converted just 13 of 26 foul shot attempts. DuBois was not much better from the charity stripe, connecting on 16 of 27, but shot 40 percent from the field. The visitors also held a significant advantage on the boards, outrebounding New Ken 51 to 32.
Despite a relatively quiet second half, Broadwater led all scorers with 27 points, to go with four rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes. Willis, who played all 40 minutes, added 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Although no other players for New Ken reached double figures in scoring, junior Antonio Hill (West Mifflin Pa., West Mifflin) registered a team-best eight rebounds, while Wilson Rojas collected six.
Tristan Pierce paced DuBois with 16 points, and he also grabbed seven rebounds. Hezekiah Hopkins produced a double-double off the bench, with 13 points and 12 rebounds, as well as three blocks. Dylan Huey also reached double figures in scoring, with 11.
New Kensington returns to action on Friday, Dec. 1, when the Lions travel to face Penn State Wilkes-Barre at 8 p.m.
