WILSON - On Saturday night, the Greenfield Knights took down the Wilson Prep Tigers 79-66 in a rematch battle of the two big Wilson, NC programs.

Two days earlier, Greenfield won the first matchup with Wilson Prep by a score of 62-61.

Wilson Prep is a member of the NCHSAA and they started their season this week. Unfortunately Wilson Prep’s conference had the majority of teams opt out of the basketball season; therefore, it has been a struggle for the Tigers to find and schedule games. The two games against Greenfield were the first two games of the season for WIlson Prep.

Saturday’s game jumped off to an intense start as the Wilson Prep fans were excited for their first home game of the season. Greenfield came in ready to play with great energy on both sides of the ball from 2023 guard Tychaun Clay and the Knights led 22-14 after the first quarter.

Wilson Prep’s athletic forwards Nasiar Blackston (2021) and Devyn Bullock (2021) made explosive plays throughout the game. Behind Blackston and point guard Christen Battle, Wilson Prep cut the lead to 9 midway through the 2nd quarter. The Knights led 47-36 at half.

Led by forward duo Aaron Murphy and Hampton Evans, Greenfield extended the lead to 20 points in the 3rd quarter. Greenfield’s head coach Rob Salter said “I told our guys we needed to cut down the turnovers and make free throws. We did. I'm proud of these boys. We played with maturity and confidence.” A well balanced attack and smart team defense propelled the Knights to a commanding win bringing Greenfield to 10-3 and Wilson Prep to 0-2

The head coaching battle between these two teams is one of the most unique matchups in the state. Wilson Prep head coach Anthony Atkinson attended Greenfield and played under Greenfield head coach Rob Salter. Coach Salter won his first state championship in 2001 and 2002 with Atkinson leading the team. Coach Atkinson played college basketball at Barton College where he led his team to a national championship and then went on to play professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters. He is now giving back to his hometown.

Final Game Stats

Greenfield

Aaron Murphy - 23 points 5 rebounds

Hampton Evans - 19 points 10 rebounds

TyChaun Clay - 19 points 5 rebounds 5 steals

Wilson Prep

Nasiar Blackston - 22 points 4 rebounds

Devyn Bullock - 12 points 9 rebounds

Christen Battle - 12 points 3 assists