The exciting men's contest featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes before Atkinson's bucket put the Quakers ahead for good. Following a Greensboro time-out, Atkinson fouled the Pride's Truman Newman (Roxboro, NC/Person) in the backcourt, which sent the senior to the line for two potentially game-tying free throws. Newman missed both shots, Guilford's Genaro Lawhorn (Greensboro, NC/Oak Ridge Military Academy) corralled his game-high 10th rebound of the game, was fouled by Newman and iced the win with two free throws. The junior center led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor.
The lead changed for the eighth and final time in the second half on Sean Newton's (Sidell, LA/Oak Ridge (FL) (Elon)) three-pointer with 1:07 left that gave the Pride a 60-58 edge. Lawhorn tied the game 11 seconds later with a strong basket in the paint, but missed a free throw that would have given Guilford the lead. Following a Newman turnover, Guilford called two time outs before inserting Atkinson into the lineup with 16 seconds left and setting up his winning drive to the basket.
Newton led Greensboro with 13 points off the bench, despite 3-of-12 shooting from the floor. Senior Eddie Montrell (New Orleans, LA/Lawless (NC)) added 10 points, seven boards and two blocks for the Pride. Senior Rodney Blackstock (Greensboro, NC/Centennial Prep (VA) (UNC Greensboro)) finished with eight points and 10 boards on a 3-of-17 shooting night from the floor.
Guilford junior Kevin Smith (Chesterfield, VA/Maine Central Institute (Southwestern CC)) scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards before fouling out. Atkinson, a late addition to the roster making his varsity debut, finished with six points and three rebounds in six second-half minutes.
Greensboro vs Guilford 11/23/04 8:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum At Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum GUILFORD 64, GREENSBORO 60 GREENSBORO (2-1) NEWTON, Sean 3-12 5-7 13; MONTRELL, Eddie 4-9 2-3 10; BLACKSTOCK, Rodney 3-17 1-2 8; WILLIAMS, Daron 2-9 1-2 7; THERIAULT, Francois 2-3 1-2 7; BATTLE, Justin 1-2 3-6 5; HOLLOWAY, Brian 1-3 2-4 4; BRYANT, B.J. 1-3 0-0 2; HARRIS, Shaun 1-2 0-0 2; SOUTHALL, Jonathan 0-2 0-0 0; NEWMAN, Truman 0-1 0-3 0. Totals 18-63 17-31 60. GUILFORD (2-1) LAWHORN, Genaro 12-17 2-3 26; SMITH, Kevin 4-11 2-3 10; BURGE, Thomas 3-4 0-2 6; ATKINSON, Kerry 3-5 0-0 6; SHARPE, Andy 1-6 4-5 6; STRONG, Ben 0-3 5-8 5; STORUS, Kevin 1-6 1-2 3; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 1-4 0-0 2; GRAY, Ashford 0-3 0-0 0; STEPHENSON, Patrick 0-1 0-0 0; TAYLOR, Jamel 0-3 0-0 0; CLIFFORD, Brandon 0-5 0-0 0; SNIPES, Jordan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 14-23 64. Greensboro.................... 31 29 - 60 Guilford...................... 29 35 - 64 3-point goals-Greensboro 7-25 (THERIAULT, Francois 2-3; WILLIAMS, Daron 2-8; NEWTON, Sean 2-6; BLACKSTOCK, Rodney 1-5; BRYANT, B.J. 0-1; SOUTHALL, Jonathan 0-2), Guilford 0-13 (; SMITH, Kevin 0-4; BURGE, Thomas 0-1; SHARPE, Andy 0-1; STORUS, Kevin 0-2; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 0-1; GRAY, Ashford 0-1; CLIFFORD, Brandon 0-2; SNIPES, Jordan 0-1). Fouled out--Greensboro-BRYANT, B.J., Guilford-SMITH, Kevin. Rebounds-Greensboro 48 (BLACKSTOCK, Rodney 10), Guilford 56 (LAWHORN, Genaro 10). Assists-Greensboro 11 (NEWTON, Sean 2; NEWMAN, Truman 2; BLACKSTOCK, Rodney 2), Guilford 14 (GRAY, Ashford 3). Total fouls-Greensboro 25, Guilford 26. A-525