FAIRLEA- Greenbrier East fell to 4-8 on the season after a rough 74-60 loss to the Bluefield Beavers on Wednesday night, Jan. 17 at the Spartan Gym in Fairlea.Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the winter weather played a factor in this one.
The Spartans (4-8) jumped out to a commanding 9-0 lead in the first quarter after a basket from Peyton DeHaven, five straight points from Gabe Patton, and a transition layup from Nathan Dixon.
East maintained the lead at 13-4, but from there, the Beavers (6-2) dialed up their full court defense and their run-and-gun-transition offense and they chipped away quickly. The Spartans were forced into a quick timeout after eight straight points from Bluefield as the Beavers were not allowing the Spartans to even get the ball to midcourt without swiping it away. An acrobatic shot from DeHaven made it 19-15, Spartans, with a minute to go in the first, but Brett Samosky, RJ Hairston, and the Beavers pressure defense helped the Beavers take a 22-19 lead after one.
Dixon tied the game at 22-all with a 3 to open the second as the pace started to slow down a little bit. A big block from Hairston jumpstarted the Beavers as they took a 35-30 lead into halftime.
With the Spartans trailing just 38-32 with 5:00 remaining in the third, that deficit grew to 45-36 after a couple big shots from Hairston. Hairston, also the star receiver on the Bluefield football team, showed athleticism all night that caused major issues for East. The Spartans cut the lead to 45-43 late in the third, but the Beavers held a 6-point, 53-47 lead after three.
That lead stayed in that 6-10-point range all fourth quarter. The Beavers knocked in some late free throws to seal the victory and make the score a little larger than it really was.
The Spartans shot 42 percent for the game and had 22 turnovers.
Bluefield was led in scoring by Hairston’s 20 points. Jase Smith and Kamron Gore each had had 18, and Samosky added 10.
Patton led the Spartans with 14 points. Dixon, the player of the game, scored 13, and DeHaven contributed 10 points.
East will shift their attention to a key sectional game this Friday night when they host the Princeton Tigers.
Stats courtesy of Oldies 93.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.