Grapeland Escapes Lovelady with 46-36 Win
Second Quarter Surge Keys Victory
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY – The Grapeland Sandies were fresh off of their district clinching win over the Centerville Tigers on Saturday when they hit the road to Lovelady on Tuesday evening.
The game against the Lions could have been considered a trap game as it was the perfect time for an upset. The two longtime rivals always play a competitive game and with the contest being held in Lovelady, the Sandies 51-game district winning streak was definitely in danger of being snapped.
As a matter of fact, the two teams played dead even except for the second quarter when Grapeland used a 10-point surge to pull away from Lovelady and then held on in the second half to escape with a 46-36 victory.
After the tip, both teams were ice-cold from the floor. The Sandies only managed seven points on three from Omarian Wiley and twos from Johnny Lamb and LeLe Smith.
The Lions didn’t fare any better as they only managed six, Slade Murray points and trailed 7-6 after the first eight minutes of play.
The second quarter saw Grapeland get their offense on track. Lamb dropped in five while O. Wiley netted four. Four other Sandies – Smith, Zan Anderson, Riley Murchison and Cadarian Wiley – all had two apiece as the Sandies opened up a 24-13 lead at the break.
Murray continued to pace the Lions in the second period as he added four to his total. Keivon Skinner had two while Skylar Pipkin made one of two from the free throw line to close out Lovelady’s first half scoring.
Following the intermission, the two teams almost played to a complete stalemate. Grapeland saw Murchison start to find his rhythm as he netted five in the third quarter. Lamb hit his second three of the game but that was all the Sandies could muster as they led 32-22 after three quarters were in the books.
Lovelady actually managed to trim a point off of their halftime deficit and only trailed by 10 heading into the final eight minutes of play. Jayton Crawford found the scoring column with a three-pointer while Pipkin, Skinner and Shaun Easterling all had two.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Lions whittled the Sandies’ lead down to six but they couldn’t sustain the momentum. O. Wiley began to assert himself on the inside as he powered in seven points. Lamb, Smith and C. Wiley all scored two apiece while Murchison made one of two from the line to help secure the 46-36 Grapeland victory.
On the game, Lovelady was led in scoring by Slade Murray with 14 points. Keivon Skinner dropped in eight, Jayton Crawford connected on a pair of threes and Shaun Easterling had five. Skylar Pipkin chipped in three to close out the Lions’ point production.
The Sandies were led in scoring by Omarian Wiley who tied Lovelady’s Slade Murray for the game-high with 14 points. Wiley was also a beast on the boards as he yanked down a game-high 19 rebounds. Johnny Lamb was also in double figures with 12 points to go along with four rebounds.
Riley Murchison dropped in eight, had three rebounds and dished out six assists. LeLe Smith netted six, had seven boards and dished out four dimes.
Rounding out the scoring, Cadarian Wiley had four and Zan Anderson dropped in two.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]
