Sandies Move into Regional Quarters
Grapeland 55 Crawford 42
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
BUFFALO – The Grapeland Sandies traveled to Buffalo last Friday evening for an Area Round matchup against the Crawford Pirates, with the winner advancing to the Regional Quarterfinals.
Grapeland came into the game ranked #21 with a record of 27-10 and had slipped by the Cayuga Wildcats in Bi-District by a score of 63-58.
Crawford, on the other hand, had made a deep run in the football playoffs and got a late start on basketball season. They had an overall record of 9-6, were unranked and had defeated the Mart Panthers 61-48 in the opening round.
Once the game began, however, it looked like the two teams had reversed roles as the Pirates were beating the Sandies to the loose balls and executed more effectively. But, as the game wore on, Grapeland’s playoff experience began to shine through.
The Sandies’ defense began to give the Pirates trouble on offense which allowed Grapeland to take control of the game and pull away for the 55-42 win.
In the first quarter, the Pirates jumped out to a 7-2 lead but a three-pointer from Johnny Lamb and a two from Cadarian Wiley tied the score at seven with 2:09 left in the period. Omarian Wiley made a short jumper with 10 seconds remaining but a three-pointer from Crawford’s Huston Hall gave the Pirates a 13-12 lead after one.
Cadarian Wiley had six points and Omarian Wiley had four in the opening stanza while Lamb knocked down a three to account for the Grapeland points in the period.
Hall had a pair of treys for Crawford while Luke Torbert dropped in five. Trey Dobie added four to round out the Pirates’ first quarter scoring.
As the second quarter got underway, Crawford pushed their lead out to 18-13 but five straight from Riley Murchison knotted the game at 18. A three-pointer from Cole Goolsby at the 4:18 mark of the second put the Sandies up 21-18 and helped Grapeland take a 25-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
O. Wiley and LeLe Smith rounded out the Sandies’ first half scoring with two each.
Dobie put in four for Crawford in the second quarter while Ben Baker had a three-pointer to close out the first half scoring for the Pirates.
Following the break, the pace slowed down. After the two teams exchanged baskets, a three by Crawford’s Baker tied the game at 27.
Grapeland regained the lead on their next possession but a three by Hall gave the Pirates a 30-29 lead midway through the third quarter. Smith gave the lead back to the Sandies while back-to-back baskets from Murchison and O. Wiley put Grapeland ahead 35-30 at the end of the third period of play.
The fourth quarter saw Grapeland begin to pull away. Lamb opened the period with a shot from downtown to put Grapeland up by eight. A two from Zan Anderson put the Sandies up by nine while a Smith put back opened up a double-digit lead as Grapeland held on to win by a final of 55-42.
On the game, the Pirates were led in scoring by Ben Baker with a game-high 14 points. Trey Dobie was also in double-figures with 10. Huston Hall had nine, Luke Torbert added seven and Kade Smith had a basket to close out the Crawford scoring.
Grapeland was led by four players in double figures. Riley Murchison had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Johnny Lamb also poured in 12 on the game. Omarian Wiley had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards while Cadarian Wiley netted 10 points and yanked down eight rebounds.
Other scorers for the Sandies were LeLe Smith with six, Cole Goolsby with three and Zan Anderson with two.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
