Tabor suffered a tough 56-66 loss to BB&N at home on Saturday with Aiden Smith and Sage Baptiste scoring 16 points each. This was the Seawolves third game in four days, so some fatigue was apparent.
The first score of the game was a fast break Trevor Payne dunk off a steal but was quickly responded to by a Knights three. Both teams had some turnover problems to start. Trevor Payne had a huge block which led to a nice reverse layup from his brother, Robert Payne. Aiden Smith’s first points also came from a deep three with a nice assist from Zander Schapiro. BB&N eventually went on a run and took a consistent lead. Ant DiGiantommaso had an extremely athletic, Ja Morant-type block which lit up the crowd. BB&N ultimately was able to finish at the rim very well, while Tabor also got into some foul trouble later into the first half. Even with a Smith three and Gavin Brown steal before half, the Seawolves were down 31-23.
Coming out of half time, both teams exchanged threes. Tabor started chipping away at the scoreboard, and Conor Greaney had a tough reverse layup. Then, in transition, Smith threw up a very nice lob for Sage Baptiste to throw down over some poor defender in the paint, which not only put the crowd on their feet, but also cut the deficit to only 4 points. Momentum seemingly kept building for Tabor with two blocks, one from Trevor in the paint and one from Smith on what would be a corner three, and then a five-second violation from the Knights. Unfortunately, BB&N pulled away with some key possessions on both sides of the ball, despite some scoring efforts from Tabor. Sage also scored all his 16 points in the second. Despite the second half effort from Tabor, BB&N won 66-56.
The Knights move to 9-13 and will play St. Paul’s School at home on Wednesday. Tabor, on the other hand, drops to 12-7, with playoff chances looking slimmer. They are scheduled to play at St. Georges on Monday, but weather may change things. If they do play, it will be their fourth game in six days. AJ Sheppard’s absence seems to be notably hurting the team.
