Sandies Slay Dragons in Regional Semifinals

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

JEWETT – After passing a tough test against the LaPoynor Flyers in the Regional Quarterfinals, the Sandies stormed into the Regional Tournament looking to show the basketball world they had been overlooked throughout the year.

While the Sandies were flying high as they headed into the weekend tournament in Jewett, one thing they didn’t count on was the pre-game adversity they would face.

Point guard Parker Wilson was benched for the first quarter for a disciplinary matter while starting guard Rodney Davis did not make the trip because of personal reasons.

Nick Saban once said, “One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.”

And bounce back they did! The Sandies came out of the locker room, shot lights out from the field and never looked back as they smoked the Dragons by a final score of 86-68 to advance to the Regional Finals on Saturday.

Grapeland didn’t seem to miss a shot as the team rallied together. Kamari Smith played like a man possessed as he pulled down rebound after rebound while scoring eight on a pair of 3-pointers and a put back two. Rick Frauenberger banged his way inside for four and then stepped outside to knock down a three. Tyrin Wiley joined the feeding frenzy and threw in a pair of 3-pointers for six in the period. Tink McQuirter also got in on the act with four points to help Grapeland build a 25-20 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

With two Grapeland starters not on the floor, the Dragons were not quite sure what hit them.  It didn’t take long for them to realize the Sandies came to play. By then, however, Shelbyville was staring up at a 10 point deficit.

The Dragons began to whittle away at the Grapeland lead as Jordan Boykins drained four 3-pointers for 12 points in the quarter. Cole Ferguson added four while both Trez Barnes and Jakovian Buckley had two to cut the score to a manageable 25-20 by the end of one.

Wilson came off the bench for Grapeland to start the second quarter and made an immediate impact as he drained a three to open the period. He also added another trey in the second for six points. McQuirter seemed to find his rhythm as well as he dropped eight on the Dragons. Wiley continued to shine as the game approached the mid-point as he netted four while Smith knocked down his third 3-pointer of the half. Riley Chipman also broke into the scoring column with a two to close out the half with Grapeland ahead by a score of 48-37.

The Shelbyville second quarter points came from Ferguson with six, Barnes with four, Boykins with three and both Kirktric Allen and Trae Polley with two.

After the break, the Dragons still looked stunned at the way the Sandies dismantled them in the first half. To their credit, they didn’t pull in their horns and creep back to their cave near the Louisiana border but rather they kept fighting and actually got the lead down to one before the Sandies managed to pull away again.

Polley had nine in the third, while Ferguson had six and Boykins hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game.

Wilson led the Sandies after the two teams returned to the court and played as if he was making up for lost time. He poured in 12 points on a trio of 3-pointers, a two and a free throw but saved his best for last.

As the third quarter drew to a close, Wilson brought the ball up the floor court. Just as he crossed the half-court line, he launched a shot that found nothing but net as the horn sounded to move Grapeland ahead by 12.

Frauenberger added three while both McQuirter and Wiley added two to make the score 67-55 with eight minutes remaining in the contest.

As the fourth quarter got underway, the Sandies ratcheted up their defense and held the Dragons to 13 points. Boykins netted eight while Ferguson had four and Buckley had one.

It was too little, too late as the Sandies were not about to relinquish their lead. Wilson converted six of ten from the charity stripe, while Chipman and McQuirter each had four, Smith drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the game and
Frauenberger powered in another two as Grapeland knocked the Dragons out of the playoffs with their 86-68 victory.

For the game, Shelbyville was led by Jordan Boykins with a game high 26 points. He was joined on the stat sheet by Cole Ferguson with 20, Trae Polley with 11, Trez Barnes with six, Jakovian Buckley with three and Kirktric Allen with two.

The Sandies were led by Parker Wilson with 24 points and Tink McQuirter with 18. Kamari Smith dropped in 14 while both Rick Frauenberger and Tyrin Wiley went for 12. Riley Chipman rounded out the Grapeland point production with six.

After the game, Grapeland Head Coach Cannon Earp commented on his team’s performance and how the entire squad stepped up.

“Tyrin came to me at the first of the year and he knew I already had five senior starters. He said, ‘Coach I don’t mean this in a bad way but I’m going to work hard enough this year so by the end of the season I take one of the senior’s spots.’ Obviously these were some extenuating circumstances, but tonight he started and he played like he belonged there. He had the opportunity and he took advantage of it,” the coach said.

Earp also praised the play of Kamari Smith. “He has a little bit of a naturally shy personality. He’s not a bully. For as long as I’ve known him, I’ve said, ‘Kamari, you’re 6’0” tall (now 6’2”). You’re a refrigerator. You’re huge. You’re strong. Play like it!’  He’s finally started to realize that and he’s been clutch for us. Every day after practice, he and Tink are in the gym, half messing around and half practicing. Tink tells him all the time when Kamari gets him in the paint, he can’t do anything. I think he is starting to realize that.”

In regard to not bringing Parker Wilson into the game until the second quarter, Earp said it seemed to throw off the Shelbyville game plan.

“They got into a diamond and one look and we had to adjust, but on our first possession of the second quarter, Parker came out and hit a three from the top of the key. They were already a little bit on their heels from the first quarter and we wound up making 10 threes in the half.”

During one stretch in the third, Shelbyville managed to cut the lead to one and Earp commented it was the senior leadership on the team that allowed the Sandies to re-group, re-focus withstand the charge.

“They were fine. We have senior leaders everywhere. They lead so much sometimes I have to tell them, ‘Hey be quiet! I have to talk now!’” Earp said with a laugh.

“They’re vocal kids and they were encouraging each other. No one had their heads down. It’s nice to have senior leadership like that,” he added.

One of the game’s key moments came at the end of the third quarter. With time running down, Wilson launched a shot from half-court and as the horn blared, the ball splashed the twine for three and seemed to extinguish the Dragons’ fire.

“That was like a body blow which seemed to knock them out. It put us up by 12 and anytime you can go into the fourth quarter up by double digits and feel like you have opponent on the ropes, it’s a nice thing,” he said.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].