Grapeland Holds Off Frankston, 55-46

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

FRANKSTON – After a hard-fought loss to the Brock Eagles the night before, the Grapeland Sandies were back in action on Thursday as they opened play in Frankston at the Tatum Insurance Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Thursday morning saw the Sandies take on the Ore City Rebels and win decisively by a score of 83-56. The Grapeland squad was led by Riley Murchison with 25 points while Omarian Wiley had a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

After a break in the action, Grapeland returned to the hardwood to face the tournament hosts, the Frankston Indians. It was a rematch from last year’s Bi-District contest, won by the Sandies 90-68.

It’s a new season, however, and the Indians are a much better team, coming in ranked at #22 in Class 2A. Grapeland is still Grapeland when it comes to basketball and despite the loss of three starters from last year’s State Runner-Up team, the Sandies entered the contest ranked #11 in the latest Class 2A TABC poll.

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The Indians made a game of it throughout, but in the end, the Sandies still have too much firepower as they held off a determined Frankston team to win by a final score of 55-46.

As the game got underway, the Sandies looked tired and who would blame them as they were playing their third game in less than 24 hours. As a result, the Indians jumped out to a 7-2 lead.

A pair of threes by Johnny Lamb and LeLe Smith gave Grapeland an 8-7 lead helping them to hold on to a 13-12 lead after the first quarter. Riley Murchison added a three of his own while Zan Anderson and Cadarian Wiley chipped in two apiece.

Frankston’s first quarter points came from Isaiah Allen and Caleb Ramsey with three apiece while Benton Allen, Reese Hicks and Kody Loebig all had two.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair until Grapeland opened up a six-point lead which forced a Frankston timeout. It didn’t work, however, as Omarian Wiley scored back-to-back baskets after the TO. Thirty seconds later, Anderson stole the ball, passed to Murchison who dished to O. Wiley who gave it back to Anderson for an easy two, putting the Sandies up by 10 with 2:19 left in the first half.

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That forced the Indians to call another TO in order to stop the Grapeland momentum. This timeout seemed to work as Frankston was able to cut the lead to 31-24 by the time the horn sounded at the end of the half.

O. Wiley dominated the second quarter as he poured in 11 points in the period. Murchison added five while Anderson chipped in a basket to close out the first half scoring for Grapeland.

The Indians were paced by Ramsey with six while I. Allen had four and Josh Fridinger had two points to account for the Frankston first-half scoring.

Fatigue seemed to become a factor for Grapeland – after the break – as they allowed Frankston to creep back into the game. A three-pointer from Loebig gave the Indians a brief 36-35 lead, but a pair of free throws from Murchison put the Sandies back in front as Grapeland took a 39-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

O. Wiley knocked down six points in the third while Murchison added a pair of free throws for Grapeland.

Ramsey paced the Indians with seven points in the period while Loebig had three. Both Benton Allen and Isaiah Allen had two apiece.

Frankston would not roll over as the final period of play began and took the lead on a three-pointer with 5:29 left in the game. Lamb answered with a three of his own to put the Sandies back up 47-46. As Frankston tried to inbound the ball, however, the Indians were called for a tech.

Murchison made one of two from the line to put Grapeland up by two. On the ensuing possession, the Sandies moved the ball around the perimeter until Cole Goolsby popped open for a three. The three-pointer put Grapeland up by five and seemed to take the wind out the Frankston sails as the Sandies held on to win by a final score of 55-46.

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The Indians were led in scoring by Caleb Ramsey with 21 points while Isaiah Allen had nine. Kody Loebig netted five, Benton Allen had four and Kason Newport had three. Josh Fridinger and Reese Hicks had two apiece to round out the Frankston scoring.   

Omarian Wiley led the way for the Sandies with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Riley Murchison was also in double-figures with 16 points, five boards, six assists and three steals. Other scorers for Grapeland included: Johnny Lamb with six; Zan Anderson with four; Cole Goolsby and LeLe Smith with three apiece and Cadarian Wiley with two.

The Sandies were back in action on Friday morning as they took on the Elkhart Elks in the final game of pool play. It was the second time the two teams had faced each other so far this season and just like their first meeting, the Sandies won handily, 68-42.

Grapeland took on the Bullard Panthers in the opening round of bracket play on Friday evening, but as of press time, the score was unavailable.

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