BECKLEY- Bringing home an early season trophy can always boost a team’s morale and in the case of the Greenbrier East Spartans, they get to add one to their case.
East defeated Cabell Midland 68-64 in the finals of the New River CTC Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 6 to win the High School Boys’ Division.
Gabe Patton came alive in the fourth quarter when the Spartans outscored the Knights 26-18 and finished with a team-high 18 points.
“It feels great taking home the division trophy. It shows people we are not just here to have a good time,” Patton said after the win.
“People have been doubting us since day one,” he continued.
And it looks like the doubt is exiting the building.
The game was a tight, hard-fought battle throughout the first three quarters. Early, it appeared East would have trouble containing Knights sharp-shooter Ethan Blackburn as he scored 10 points in the opening period, but even with all his baskets, East trailed only 16-14 after one.
At the break, the Spartans trailed 30-29, and then trailed by four, 46-42 after three quarters.
But then the fourth happened and it was mostly all East.
The Spartans (4-5) got momentum there early when Patton grabbed a loose ball and threw a full court pass ahead to Reed McCraw for an easy two points. Blackburn then scored for the Knights, but Patton answered a with spinning drive for a layup that made the score 48-46, Knights, with 6:52 to play.
With 3:30 left, the Spartans took a 57-56 lead on Peyton DeHaven’s free throws. DeHaven finished a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe for the game and was the unsung hero of the evening. On the ensuing inbounds pass, DeHaven deflected the ball right into the hands of Brody Hamric who laid it in for two, and just like that, East had built a 59-56 lead with 3:18 to go. It went to 61-56 on Patton’s driving layup and the lead even got to 64-56 just a couple possessions later.
However, after a couple crucial turnovers, the Knights (3-5) were able to get back into the game and cut the deficit to 64-62 with just 13 seconds left. DeHaven then sank two free throws to extend the lead back to four. When Cabell Midland cut it back to 66-64 with three seconds remaining, DeHaven calmly sank two freebies to ice the game and preserve the Spartans fourth win of the young season.
“Our team has come a long way since our first game,” Patton said.
“We are finally getting how everyone’s play style is and the energy and confidence level is at a max right now,” he added.
Patton, who injured his foot just a couple games ago, led his team in scoring followed by DeHaven’s 12. Hamric got 10 points for East.
Blackburn led Cabell Midland’s scoring efforts with a game-high 29.
“My foot will be 100 percent going forward. I was a little hesitant to play against Cabell Midland, but the position I’m in, I had to play for the team,” Patton concluded.
The Spartans will return to the home confines of Spartan Gym and host the Oak Hill Red Devils this Tuesday night, Jan. 9. East beat Oak Hill a couple of weeks ago.
Scoring by Quarter:
1 2 3 4 Tot
CM 16 14 16 18 64
GE 14 15 13 26 68
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