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Grapeland Advances to Class 2A State Finals

Sandies Storm Past Shorthorns, 74-60

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

ALDINE – The next step. Over the last 10 years, the Grapeland Sandies have been looking to take that next step on to the hardwood for a state championship game. Make no mistake, they have walked right up to the edge of the court on numerous occasions only to come up short in the State Semifinals or the Regional Finals.

Before last Friday, the Sandies had been to seven of the last 10 Regional Finals and advanced to the State Semifinals twice. They were bounced from the tournament three times by the eventual state champion. The UIL shut down the state tournament last year or it might have been four as Shelbyville was looking to repeat as champs.

That all changed on Tuesday evening, March 9, as Grapeland took that next step and advanced to the title game following their State Semifinal win over the Schulenburg Shorthorns by a final score of 74-60.

The Sandies came into the game with a record of 28-1 and a #3 ranking in the TABC final regular season poll. The Shorthorns, on the other hand, brought a record of 22-6 to Aldine and were ranked #20 in the final poll.

With a chance to advance to the championship game, the Sandies came out of the locker room with a determined look in their eyes.

BJ Lamb opened the game with a three-pointer and Cadarian Wiley converted a three-point play of his own. The Sandies were in a pressure defense as the contest began and it forced Schulenburg into several turnovers.

After Grapeland ran off 10 straight points, the Horns took a timeout in an attempt to stop the Sandies’ fast start. It, didn’t work, however, as Riley Murchison canned a three – after the TO – to push the lead out to 13-0 with 5:15 left in the first.

Schulenburg’s first points of the game came at the five-minute mark when Bryce Wilson made a pair of free throws. Their first points from the field came with three minutes left in the period on a layup from Kiesean Johnson. Alex Lozano chipped in a basket for the Horns but that was all Schulenburg could muster as they found themselves staring up at a 20-point deficit following the game’s first eight minutes of action.

Wiley was a beast in the paint for the Sandies as he poured in 11 first-quarter points. Murchison and Omarian Wiley added five apiece while Lamb had the previously mentioned three. Closing out the first quarter scoring, Keizion Ashford converted a pair of free throws to help give the Sandies a 26-6 lead after one.

Knowing they were in danger of losing the game before halftime, Schulenburg opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to trim the lead to 26-12. The Shorthorns run came to an abrupt end, however, when Murchison drained a shot from behind the arc.     

The Horns made another run and got the margin down to 13, but a C. Wiley slam brought an end to that threat at the 3:46 mark of the second.

Schulenburg called another time-out, but once again, it was Grapeland who responded. Lamb hit a three while O. Wiley followed with a layup to extend the lead to 43-22.

With a 21-point lead, the Grapeland defense let up a little bit and Schulenburg reeled off seven points to trim the lead down to 45-29 by the end of the first half.

Wilson paced the Horns in the second quarter with 11 points while Kenny King found the scoring column with eight. Lozano and Keanu Anthony closed out the Schulenburg scoring in the period with two apiece.

C. Wiley continued to bedevil the Horns with six points from inside the lane while Murchison made them pay from the outside with a pair of three-balls. Lamb added five and O. Wiley chipped in a bucket as the Sandies took a 16-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Following the break, the Shorthorns came out with a renewed sense of urgency. Schulenburg opened the second half on a 6-0 run and trimmed the lead down to 10, after less-than a minute-and-a-half had run off the clock.

As the Horns began to storm back, it appeared as if the calls the Sandies were getting in the first half were now going the Horns’ way. Schulenburg sliced the lead to 46-39 with 5:20 left in the quarter but just when it seemed the Sandies might let them back in the game, it started to rain threes.

Murchison converted a three-point play, C. Wiley worked inside for two and then Murchison connected on his fourth long-ball of the evening. Lamb hit his third three-pointer of the game and just like that, Grapeland had pushed the lead back to 18.

Murchison, however, wasn’t finished. While he had been fairly quiet in the playoffs thus far, Murchison seized the moment as he nailed two more three-pointers before the period came to a close to put the Sandies up by a score of 63-45.  

The Schulenburg third quarter points came from King and Wilson with six apiece, while both Kenny Schramek and TJ Speed added two each.

With only eight minutes standing between advancing to the title game or going home, the two teams took the court for the final period of play.

Right out of the box, Lamb and C. Wiley picked up their fourth personal fouls. Schulenburg had one more run left in them and cut the lead to 11 points at the 4:17 mark of the fourth.

That was as close as the Horns would get, however, as the Sandies held on for the 74-59 win to advance to the State Championship game on Saturday.

On the game, the Shorthorns were led by Bryce Wilson with 28 points and Kenny King with 14. Alex Lozano dropped in seven while four other Schulenburg players – Keanu Anthony, Kiesean Johnson, Kenny Schramek and TJ Speed – all had two. Jayson Scheafer made one of two from the line to round out the Schulenburg point production.

The Sandies were led by Riley Murchison and Cadarian Wiley with 23 points apiece. Murchison pulled down two rebounds, dished out two assists and had seven steals. Wiley yanked down eight boards, dished out three assists and had six steals.

BJ Lamb poured in 17 points to go along with three boards, four assists and five steals. Omarian Wiley knocked down seven points, had two rebounds, one assist and two steals while Keizion Ashford chipped in four points to go along with five assists and two steals.

After all the congratulatory hugs, Grapeland Head Coach Blake Doughty spoke about the contest.

“This was a great facility and a great opponent. It is exactly what you would want in State Semifinal. Now, we get to go play a #2 versus a #3 matchup for the state championship,” he said.

As to how the Sandies were able to come out of the gate and shut Schulenburg down, the coach commented, “When we talk about the athleticism of the different regions, there is no region in the state more athletic than Region III. For those guys, I think they had a hard time simulating what we do at our speed. It kind of showed early when we were able to jump out on them and it surprised them as to just how athletic we are. I think they adjusted well as the game went on and they got more confident handling our pressure.”

Questioned about what he said to his team when Schulenburg made their second half surge, Doughty said he told his team to stay calm and maintain their poise.

“It’s basketball. It’s a game of runs. Anytime you are playing someone good, they are not going to lay down and die for you. We knew there was one coming but it came quicker than we expected. For us, it was a matter of staying composed and playing our brand of basketball,” he said.

Concerning the performance of Riley Murchison, Doughty commented, “He has struggled a little bit over the course of the playoffs, but there is a reason he’s stayed in the starting lineup. We trust him and he is a very good shooter. We have told him to keep shooting the ball and tonight he showed he can really stroke it when he gets going.”

The Sandies are back in action Saturday, March 13 when they take on the Clarendon Broncos in the Class 2A State Championship Game held at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 am.

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

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