Green Hope basketball player with cancer the star of Garner’s playoff win over the Falcons
Daveon Dunn played so impressively, Garner’s point guard was able to take a seat early while driving the Trojans to an 88-55 win over Green Hope.
Dunn’s six points and 11 assists in Thursday night’s N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A East Regional included passes slick enough for a college stage.
But the senior saved his biggest “assist” for a basket scored by Green Hope’s Tyler Trexler, who is fighting bone cancer.
With both benches emptied in the fourth quarter, Green Hope coach Al Ellis inserted Trexler into the contest. Trexler, a 6-foot-4 senior, missed his first shot on a reverse layup that rolled in and out, but in the final minute he got another chance down low. This time he converted.
As Trexler retreated on defense, the fans in the crowd that were aware of his condition cheered. That included Dunn, who stood up from the bench and waved a towel with a big smile. When the final seconds ticked off, Trexler happened to be near the Garner bench. Dunn gave him a hug.
“The support from everyone (at Green Hope) has been great, and it was cool to hear it from the other team, too,” Trexler said. “I was surprised when (Dunn) did that.”
Trexler was expected to be one of the Falcons’ top players this season, having played for the school throughout his four years. He was one of the leading players on the JV team as a sophomore and contributed valuable minutes on the varsity as a junior.
But during the summer while working out with the team he felt a pain in his back that was slowing him down. A trip to the doctor revealed Ewing sarcoma.
“The doctors said if he hadn’t been so active, the cancer may not have been discovered,” Ellis said. “He’s a tough kid. He was in Philadelphia for treatment in January, but he wanted to be with the team at the end of the season. He chose to fight it this way, so we’re doing it with him.”
Ellis was able to play Trexler on Senior Night, and the lopsided playoff score allowed Ellis to play Trexler again.
With Garner’s win, the top-seeded Trojans improved to 22-5 after having had a bye in the first round. Green Hope, which opened the playoffs with a win over Sanderson, finished at 18-10.
Garner’s big lead began with Dunn spreading passes on a team that selflessly shares the ball. The Trojans’ first five field goals were scored by five different players: Christopher Nobles off the center tip, Christian Little on a fast break, A.J. Daniels off a fast break, Asa White on a basket and Dunn with a basket.
In all, 12 Garner players scored with five in double figures. Noble with 14 and White with 12 were starters. Off the bench, Ben Hines scored 11, Jordan Rowe 10 and Griffin Hines 10.
“We’ve got a lot of senior leadership, and we’ve really stressed this season if one guy scores we all score,” second-year Garner coach Kent Bloms said. “They did a great job of passing the ball and finding the open guy. We came out strong. That’s how we challenged the team.”
For Green Hope, Reese Evans scored 15 points and Tre Morgan 10.
Although the Falcons were quickly behind 13-2, they fought back to 23-15 after the first quarter and 29-20 midway through the second period. But then Garner finished the second period with a 13-2 run for a 42-23 at intermission, putting the game out of reach for good.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Green Hope basketball player with cancer the star of Garner’s playoff win over the Falcons."
