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Graham Denies Wave Chance to Clinch Tie for SWD Championship

by Mike Stiltner
Sports Reporter

        Graham denied Grundy a chance to clinch a tie for the Southwest District regular season title with a thrilling 52-51 win over the Golden Wave Friday night at Graham Middle School.
         The G-Men took the lead for good, 52-51, on a basket by Robert Henry with 1:12 remaining. Grundy missed a three-point attempt with six seconds remaining, and lost the rebound out of bounds.
          Grundy also dropped a non-district contest last week, 65-62, to J.I. Burton Wednesday at Norton.
           Henry led all players Friday at Graham with 20 points, with 11 coming in the second half.
          Grundy had three double figure scorers, led by Theo Justus with 15 points. Jimmy Ashby and Cody Billiter each added 12 points for the Golden Wave.
           The Wave lost more than just the game and a chance to win the SWD outright. Grundy star Stephan Baker suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first play of the game.
          “He was just trying to plant and make a move and his knee buckled,” Grundy coach Greg Rife said. “It’s a terrible thing, he’s such a good kid. Billiter and
(Bobby) Peck came in and played well after Baker got hurt. Jimmy did a good job on their big man (Ronnie) Workman, but we couldn’t stop (Henry). We still had a chance to win the ballgame. We had the ball and a one-point lead and took a floater and missed it. We had it in our hand and we gave it to them.”
           Billiter scored eight of his 12 points during first half action for the Golden Wave. Despite the loss of Baker, Grundy continued to battle the G-Men to a 12-12 first quarter tie but was outscored 16-10 in the second period and trailed 28-22 at the half.
            Justus and Ashby combined for 13 of Grundy’s 17 points in the third period. Overall, Justus scored 10 points in the second half and Ashby added 10 of his 12 points after the intermission.
            Workman led Graham with 13 points and Eric Hoosier chipped in 11 to help the G-Men stay in control of the contest.
            With 7:12 remaining in the final period Grundy got its first lead of the second half when Justus canned two free throws for a 43-42 advantage, only to see it slip away a minute later after a basket by Henry.

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.

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
        Twin Valley lost its number one ranking in the state, but not its top spot in the BDD.
        The Panthers claimed the Black Diamond District regular season title with a 60-51 win over the Tigers Tuesday night at A.P. Baldwin Gymnasium in Honaker.
        A 12-0 second-quarter run staked the Panthers to a 24-12 lead and the teams traded small runs the rest of the night. Honaker cut into the deficit, the final time with an 8-0 spurt to get within 55-49 on a 3-pointer by Justin Honaker with 3:20 remaining.
         Twin Valley (19-2, 7-0) managed to hold on with defense, limiting Honaker (11-11, 5-3) to two points the rest of the way.
         “We picked our defense up a little bit at the end,” said Kent Goodman, one of four double figure scorers with 15 points for the Panthers. “We knew we had to or we were going to lose.”
           It was that kind of night for Twin Valley, which inexplicably lost its number one ranking in the AP Group A poll, despite a 19-game winning streak. The Panthers never led by more than 14 points.
          “Honaker looked the team with something to play for,” Twin Valley Coach Brian Moore said. “They out-hustled us on both ends of the floor.”
          K.T. Vandyke matched Goodman’s three three-pointers and 15 points, Logan Shortridge added 14 and Matthew Baldwin had a double-double for Twin Valley.
           Justin Newberry and Justin Honaker scored 12 and Matthew Shortridge added 11 points for the Tigers, which trailed just 32-25 at halftime.
          “We kept our composure pretty well when (Twin Valley) made a run,” Honaker Coach Waylon Hart said.
            “We battled them, we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

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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