LEWISBURG (WVDN) – Senior night is always a somber moment, especially this year for the Greenbrier East Spartans, who have eight of them on the basketball team. After senior introductions, which drew roars from the crowd, East used that emotion on the court and dominated Class AA’s No. 1 ranked team, the Bluefield Beavers, 81-54 on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Seniors Adam Seams, Kaiden Huffman, Goose Gabbert, Chris Jacobs, Chris Sinclair, Bryson Brammer, Monquelle Davis and Jude Libby were honored before the game.
Jacobs and Libby got the start as Seams and Brammer decided to come off the bench, and East played well with the new lineup. They jumped out to a 4-0 after a basket by Huffman and two free throws from Gabbert. Later in the quarter, Huffman hit a 3 from the top of the key off a nice pass from Jacobs, who ignited a lot of energy from the big crowd on hand. Caleb Fuller and R.J. Hairston paced Bluefield, however, as the former hit for 10 points in the quarter and the latter played big in the paint, and after one the Beavers led 18-12.
Although senior night was in full force, East’s Gabe Patton made an argument for a junior night, as he came off the bench in the second to spark his team. He scored a layup, then Huffman got a great pass from Seams and scored, and Patton followed with another basket. Patton then grabbed an offensive board and scored again to cut the Bluefield lead to 22-20 just three minutes in.
East took the lead for the first time on Libby’s bucket inside, and Brammer had nailed a triple the play before that. Seams assisted on both baskets, and East led 27-25. Two more Brammer 3s and a Seams bucket at the halftime buzzer gave the Spartans a commanding 43-30 lead at intermission.
The Spartans never slowed down.
Hairston tried his best to keep Bluefield close, but East shut down Fuller for the most part in the second half. East used multiple mini runs, including two 6-0 runs, that buried the Beavers’ hopes. Seams continued to fuel the scoring with his passing, and he also knocked in a few midrange jumpers.
At the end of the game, every single senior scored, as Jacobs got a transition bucket late, and the place went wild. It was as good of a final regular season senior night as one could ask for.
Patton finished with 19 points. Huffman had 15; Brammer scored 12; and Seams got 10.
Fuller led Bluefield with 22 and went over 1,000 career points for his career. Hairston scored 16.
The Spartans (11-10) will host Oak Hill next week in the first round of the Region 3, Section 2 tournament.
