Sandies Run Past Indians, 80-41
Lamb’s 31-Point Outburst Leads the Way
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies closed out the first half of competition in District 20-2A on Friday night as they hosted the Groveton Indians.
The #17 ranked Sandies came into the game with an overall record of 19-9 and a 5-0 mark in league play. The Indians, meanwhile, had a district mark of 2-3 and were hoping to claw their way into the final playoff spot.
The game was never in doubt as the Sandies rode the hot hand of Johnny Lamb to an 80-41 drubbing of Groveton. Lamb poured in 31 points despite playing limited minutes in the final frame as Grapeland finished the first half of district play undefeated.
Lamb lit the fuse for the Sandies in the first quarter as knocked down a trio of three-pointers as part of his 11 points in the period. Omarian Wiley netted six, LeLe Smith had four and Jax Vickers made one of two from the charity stripe to help Grapeland take a 22-6 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
Groveton’s defense seemed befuddled on how to stop Lamb and that affected their offensive output. The only points they managed came on twos from Daiton Chandler, Jarrett Loftin and Wyatt Snead.
As the game moved into the second quarter, Lamb continued to sizzle from behind the arc as he dropped in two more long-range shots as part of his nine points in the period. Nate Ivey also found his range from downtown as he drained a pair of three-balls. Zan Anderson and Cadarian Wiley chipped in two apiece while Smith, O. Wiley and Landon Jackson all had one apiece to help the Sandies take a 44-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Snead paced the Indians in the second quarter with six while Johnny Fuscio found the scoring column with four. Loftin added a pair of free throws and Ian Utz chipped in one to close out the first half scoring for Groveton.
Following the break, the Sandies continued to knock down shots from the perimeter. Lamb continued his torrid pace as he hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers of the game, to go along with a basket from inside. Cole Goolsby got in on the act as he nailed a pair of three-pointers of his own. O. Wiley netted four points, Kionte Willis hit a three-ball and Anderson chipped in a bucket to help Grapeland take a 67-32 lead after three periods were in the books.
The Indians’ third quarter points came from Snead with six and Chandler with three. Fuscio and Loftin split the other four Groveton points in the period.
Up by 35, Grapeland throttled down in the final period. Ivey and Jackson both had five while Lamb drained his eighth three-pointer of the game to help propel the Sandies to an 80-41 win.
On the game, the Indians were led by Wyatt Snead with 15 points, while three other Groveton players – Jackson Cathey, Johnny Fuscio and Jarrett Loftin – all had six apiece. Daiton Chandler dropped in five, Carson Antley had two and Ian Utz closed out the Indians’ scoring with one.
Johnny Lamb led the Sandies with a game-high 31 points to go along with two assists and three steals. Nate Ivey was also in double-figures with 11 while Omarian Wiley had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Cole Goolsby and Landon Jackson both netted six, while Jackson snagged seven boards as well. LeLe Smith had five, Zan Anderson and Kionte Willis both had three and Cadarian Wiley chipped in two. C. Wiley, however, had a double-double as he pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. Jax Vickers chipped in one and also pulled down 10 boards in the game.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
