Sandies Let One Slip Away

Grapeland Falls to Big Sandy, 59-56

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – While the youth movement for the Grapeland Sandies shows great promise both now and in the future, it also comes with its drawbacks.

Such was the case on Tuesday night, Jan. 23 when the Sandies stumbled against the Big Sandy Wildcats and lost by a score of 59-56.

Make no mistake, Big Sandy is a very good team and ranked in the top 20 of the latest TABC poll. Grapeland, however, is also ranked and should have won the Tuesday night game.

The Sandies blew a 10-point halftime lead in the first two minutes of the third quarter, built the lead back to nine by the start of the fourth and then watched as the Wildcats slowly chipped away the deficit to win on a three-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game.

The Sandies had one last chance to try and tie the game but a miscommunication on the inbounds pass allowed the Wildcats to run out the clock and move into sole possession of first place in District 20-AA.

The Sandies opened the game somewhat tentatively but managed to take a three point lead after the first eight minutes of play. Deco Bryant dropped in four, BJ Howard hit a three, Josh Ackley and Rick Frauenberger added two apiece while Keizion Ashford made one of two from the line to make the score 12-9 after one.

The Wildcats were led by Isaiah Thompson with seven points and Britton Dickens with two.

Grapeland pushed their lead to 10 by the end of the first half and appeared ready to run away with the game. Javion Joseph scored six in the quarter, while Howard had five, Keriaun Davis had four and Frauenberger chipped in two.

Thompson and Samuel Richard kept the Wildcats within striking distance with three a

piece while Dickens and Cole Foster both added two to make the halftime score 29-19.

When play resumed in the second half, Big Sandy wasted no time in erasing the 10 point deficit as they tied the game at 29 – with just over six minutes left in the third – and then took a brief 31-29 lead.

The Sandies, however, tied the game at 31 on a pair of Tyrin Wiley free throws. After Wiley tied the game, the Sandies pulled away to close the quarter ahead by a score of 45-36.

The opening minutes of the fourth quarter looked like a repeat of the third. The Wildcats slowly chipped away at the Grapeland lead and tied the game at 50 with 3:43 left to play.

The Sandies moved ahead 54-50 with two minutes remaining only to see Big Sandy rattle off six straight points and take a two point lead with 1:13 left in the game.

Frauenberger converted two free throws at the 46 second mark to tie the contest at 56.

As the Wildcats worked the clock for a final shot, they put the ball in the hands of Thompson who had torched the Sandies all night long. Joseph was guarding Thompson but when the clock hit the five second mark, Joseph dropped back and Frauenberger flew out towards Thompson to try and block his last-second shot.

Thompson’s attempt was on the mark, gave Big Sandy a 59-56 lead and left Grapeland only 2.3 seconds to try and tie the game once again. This time, however, the Sandies were unable to dodge the bullet and fell by three to the Wildcats.

Big Sandy was led in scoring by Isaiah Thompson with a game-high 32 points. Britton Dickens had eight, Cole Foster added seven, Richard Samuel went for six and George Foster had two for the Wildcats.

The Sandies were led in scoring by BJ Howard with 17 points. Rick Frauenberger dropped in 11, both Deco Bryant and Tyrin Wiley added seven while Javion Joseph scored six.

Other Grapeland scorers were: Brayden Cheatham with four; Josh Ackley with three; and Keizion Ashford with one.

The loss knocks the Sandies into second place in District 20-AA. Grapeland was back in action on Friday, Jan. 26 against the Groveton Indians, but as of press time, the score was unavailable.

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