Thursday, February 23,  2006

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by Craig Worrell
Contributing Sports Reporter
        Friday’s tip-in was Null. Saturday’s was void.
        Having knocked off season champion Carroll County on Kris Null’s tip-in at the buzzer Friday, Richlands was unable to duplicate the feat a day later as Grundy survived a late threat to win the Southwest District boys’ tournament championship, 44-43 Saturday at Carroll County High School.
       Taking possession after two missed Golden Wave foul shots with 1:15 to play, Richlands (8-12) sat on the ball for a full minute, calling timeout with 14.7 seconds to play.
       Following another timeout a second later, Richlands inbounded and got a clean but errant 3-point look from Ben Mulkey at the top of the key. The rebound fell to Null, who dished to big Brandon Robinson cutting to the bucket. Robinson’s lay-in fell through, but came an instant after the buzzer sounded.
      “It was a tough call to make,” said Richlands Coach Jimmy McGee. “I wouldn’t want to make it because whoever loses goes home. You don’t get to play
tomorrow. Sometimes you get those calls and sometimes you don’t.”
        Richlands saw both ends of the spectrum in less than 24 hours.
        “We felt a lot better today,” McGee said. “The Carroll County staff looked at the video from [Friday] night and their coach told me and the official who made the call that the shot definitely was good. The kids deserved that win without a cloud hanging over it.”
        Richlands sagged back in a 2-3 zone the entire afternoon and forced the smaller Golden Wave to live and die from 19 feet, nine inches away. Of Grundy’s first 20 shots from the floor, 16 were 3-point attempts and only two of the four from inside the arc came from the Wave’s set offense.
         “They shut us down early,” Grundy Coach Greg Rife said. “It was not our pace. When they’re playing you like that you either hit the long ball or you don’t, because we just can’t match up with them inside. Fortunately we hit and missed just enough to keep the score close.”
        After missing seven straight threes, Grundy (16-9) connected on five of its next 13, but still trailed 21-19 at the half.
          Jimmy Ashby’s putback and  Aaron Church’s three-point play gave Grundy its first lead, 31-30, at 2:18 of the third period.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.
 

Regular Season Champ Lady Wave Wins SWD Tournament Title With 58-50 Win Over Tazewell

by Mike Stiltner
Sports Reporter
         Samantha Rice led the way as Grundy added the SWD tournament trophy to its regular season crown with a 58-50 triumph over Tazewell Thursday night at Riverview Elementary-Middle School.
         Rice dominated in the paint with a game-high 18 points, 15 in first half action when the Lady Wave built a 38-21 lead. Rice scored nine points in the first quarter and six points in the second period on 6-6 free throw shooting.
         “Sam played well in the first half by getting opportunities and knocking down shots.” Grundy Coach Bill Christian said. “The first half of this game is probably the best we’ve played all season.
         “We played sluggish in the semifinal game against Graham (Tuesday night) and came out and opened it up tonight.”
          Rice added nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. She was joined in double figures in scoring by Ashley Cook with 14 points and Elizabeth Lindsay, who added 10 points.
         With leading scorer Brooke Shepherd out with a foot injury and starters Kaitlyn Riley and Allison Fletcher battling foul trouble, Kasey Bowman played valuable minutes for the Lady Wave.
           Bowman chipped in six points and had a good defensive game. Cook, who forced overtime with Graham Tuesday with a three-pointer at the buzzer, came up strong in the second half, getting nine of her 14 points, mostly at the charity stripe.
         “Ashley’s a quiet person on the court, but she can make some noise in clutch situations with a big shot or with free throws.” Christian said.
          Tazewell shot a miserable 20 for 60 from the field.
        The Lady Wave held Whitney Muncey to nine points and foul-plagued Zachlynn Blackburn to four points.
         The Lady Bulldogs got 12 points from Samantha Shepard and 11 from Whitney Davis. Tazewell got within seven points late in the contest.
         Grundy was scheduled to host Magna Vista last night (Wednesday) in the Region IV semifinals.
 

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

         No one in Grundy wants to hear songs like “On the Road Again” anytime soon, but nobody associated with the Golden Wave is exactly singing the blues, either.
         Playing its fifth road game in a week, Grundy notched its fourth big win, the latest a 48-46 Region IV quarterfinal victory over Lee Tuesday night in Ben Hur.
         Lee (15-9) missed four shots in the final 12 seconds, including a three-point try just before the buzzer.
         Jimmy Ashby’s second stickback in the final two minutes turned out to be the game-winner, a bank shot that accounted for the final margin with 26 seconds remaining.
        Grundy (17-9) tied the score at 46-46 on a three-pointer by Theo Justus with 1:37 remaining.
         Justus finished with 19 points, including two fourth quarter treys as the Wave overcame a 41-34 deficit.
         “We just had to get calmed down after they made their run,” Justus said. “We hit some big shots and Jimmy Ashby came up big with his two rebounds and putbacks.”
          Ashby, despite missing the second quarter with foul trouble, finished with a double-double, with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards.
          Aaron Church and Bobby Peck each hit big shots in the second half and combined for 13 points for Grundy.
          Peck had three steals, while Justus had five assists and three steals.
          Bobby Stafford scored 21 points and Gary Stafford added 11 points for Lee, which trailed most of the way until a 10-0 run that included the first seven points of the fourth quarter.
           “They were a little quicker than I thought they would be,” Grundy Coach Greg Rife said. “Our press didn’t work very well and we didn’t match up very well in our man, but, except for that little stretch there early in the fourth quarter, we had a good defensive effort.”
           The win sends Grundy into the Region IV semifinals tonight (Thursday) at Piedmont District champion Bassett. It’s yet another long road trip, but Grundy should be used to that by now.
 

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.
 

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