Second Half Surge Gives Grapeland 66-56 Win
Sandies Move to 4-0
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies showed something on Tuesday night they haven’t shown in a long time and that was patience. The Sandies found themselves trailing midway through the third quarter when Trinity Tiger Jamarian Hall canned a three-pointer.
In years past, it seems like the Sandies would rush down the hardwood and try to match the three. This year, however, Coach Blake Doughty’s squad brought the ball up court and ran their offense. It may not seem like much, but the quiet confidence and team maturity they showed helped Grapeland wear down Trinity which allowed them to come away with a 66-56 win.
As the contest got underway, the Sandies had trouble finding their rhythm from the outside. The Tigers play a physical-style of basketball and tried to use their muscle to push Grapeland out from the paint. The Sandies were having no part of that, evidenced by the two teams picking up five fouls apiece in the opening eight minutes.
BJ Lamb
After all the pushing and shoving in the first quarter, Grapeland managed to take an early 18-12 lead. BJ Lamb, Lekarian Smith and Cadarian Wiley all dropped in four points in the period while Keizion Ashford, Riley Murchison and Omarian Wiley all netted two each.
The Tigers’ first quarter points came from Jamarian Hall with five, Trey Goodman with three and both Terius Maxie and Jakai Miller-Gates with two.
Trinity showed they came to play as the second quarter began and outscored Grapeland 22-15 to take a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Maxie used his 6’5 frame to work inside for seven points and Miller-Gates threw in five points from the field. Hall added four while Goodman, TJ Jaramillo and Quinn Mack all chipped in two.
Just as Trinity started to pull away, the Sandies got a huge psychological boost on a foul by BJ Lamb. Maxie had what appeared to be an easy dunk, but Lamb flew down the lane and just as Maxie cocked back for the slam, Lamb showed off his hops as he leaped to swat the ball away. Despite being called for the foul, Lamb’s block seemed to send a message to Trinity.
Even though the block got the fans and Grapeland bench on their feet, an injury to Ashford with 1:30 left in the half seemed to suck the air out of the gymnasium. He would later return, but there were several anxious moments for the Sandies and their fans.
Grapeland’s second quarter scoring came from C. Wiley with eight points, BJ Lamb with three and both Ashford and Johnnie Lamb with two apiece as the Sandies trailed by a score of 34-33 at the break.
Following the intermission, Trinity looked to extend their lead and pushed the margin out to five points by the three minute mark of the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Tigers, fouls began to take their toll forcing Trinity to become less aggressive.
Keizion Ashford
This allowed the Sandies to creep back into the game and take the lead when Ashford – who appeared to have shaken off the injury – slipped inside for a layup to give the Sandies a 45-44 lead with 1:34 left in the third.
BJ Lamb drained a big three with 15 seconds left in the quarter and C. Wiley drew a charge to end the quarter with the Sandies up by a count of 50-46.
The final quarter saw the Sandies defense tighten up as they held the Tigers to five points in the first six minutes of the period. Meanwhile, the offense opened up an 11-point lead and held on to win by 10, 66-56.
The Tigers were led in scoring by Jamarian Hall with a game-high 19 points. Terius Maxie dropped in 15 and Jakai Miller-Gates netted 10. Trey Goodman had eight and both TJ Jaramillo, along with Quinn Mack, had two apiece.
The Sandies were led by Cadarian Wiley with a team-high 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. BJ Lamb had 16pts, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Keizion Ashford poured in 14. Riley Murchison had six points while both Lekarian Smith and Omarian Wiley had four apiece. Michael Dancer and Johnny Lamb had two each.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
