The Smyrna High boys’ basketball team made its first appearance at the Bob Carpenter Center on March 7 in the quarterfinals of the DIAA state tournament.
Smyrna advanced to the field of eight by knocking off No. 5 seed Hodgson two days earlier, but the No. 12 seeded Eagles couldn’t get past No. 4 seed Concord (17-4) to earn a spot in the state’s final four.
Smyrna kept pace with Concord in the first half of the quarterfinal match up, but the Raiders pulled ahead in the third quarter and went on to win, 55-42.
Early on, the Eagles picked up where they left off against Hodgson – by shooting well from beyond the arc.
Andre Gibbs and Matt Storck each hit threes in the first quarter, which ended with Smyrna ahead 12-11. Nick Motyl also sank a three-pointer early in the second quarter.
Later in the second, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run: Storck swished another three-pointer, Gibbs hit a jump shot, and Bradley Forrest-Jones scored a lay in that gave Smyrna a 22-16 lead.
But that would be the high-water mark for the Eagles.
Concord ended the half on an 8-0 run, including a lay in right at the buzzer, and the Raiders went into the locker room leading 24-22.
In the second half, the Eagles’ shots just weren’t falling like they were earlier.
Concord also hurt the Eagles with offensive rebounding and second-chance points.
Smyrna kept it close, though, until Concord scored the final seven points of the third quarter and led 37-27.
The Eagles showed a spark early in the fourth quarter when Storck made his third three-pointer of the game, trimming the deficit to 39-32, but Concord continued to score and made enough free throws down the stretch to spoil any hopes of a Smyrna comeback.
Smyrna’s leading scorer was Gibbs, who tallied 14 points in the contest. Storck finished with nine points, all via three-pointers. Nick Motyl scored seven points for the Eagles, Derrick Boyd and Forrest-Jones each finished with five, and Chris Oscar added two.
After the game, Smyrna head coach Mike Starkey said he was proud of his team’s effort throughout the season, which culminated in a deep run into the state tournament.
“I can’t say enough good things about the way they battled,” he said. “I’m very proud of them.”
Starkey said the Eagles enjoyed their big win over Hodgson in the second round, but they weren’t thinking of that win as their final victory of the season.
