HICO – With seven seconds left in the game, Greenbrier West was in the driver’s seat of a wild, back-and-forth affair with Midland Trail. Only moments before, senior forward Tanner Hagy had banked in a straightaway three pointer to give the Cavaliers a 64-62 advantage. Patriot head coach Curtis Miller called time out to set his team’s strategy. Jaden Gladwell, a 2022 transfer from neighboring Meadow Bridge, came off a screen from the left wing to loft a game-winning three from beyond the arc as time expired. Gladwell’s trey gave the Class AAA #9 Patriots a 65-64 win over the Cavaliers.
The game was hotly contested throughout the night. The first four and half minutes saw five ties between the two schools. Gladwell poured in seven points for the homestanding Patriots. Hagy led the Cavaliers with five first quarter points while Colten Dunbar added four. Cavalier reserves played an import role throughout the game, and Levi Ramsey and Damian Dixon each knocked down a bucket for Greenbrier West. Midland Trail led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter.
After the Patriots built their lead to 6 points midway through the second, the Cavaliers stormed back into the lead behind 10 points from senior guard Braydon McClung. In addition to McClung’s scoring output, he collected his third personal foul with about two minutes left in the half. West head coach Jared Robertson had confidence in his senior captain, though, and McClung remained in the game until the halftime break. Patriot forward Eli Campbell kept Midland Trail close on 2-6 shooting from three-point range, but the Cavaliers outscored the patriots 20-12 for a 36-31 halftime lead.
In a game of shifting momentum swings, Midland Trail stormed back in front of a raucous home crowd behind eight points from senior Thad Brown. Isac Agee and Damian Dixon scored the only two field goals of the quarter for Greenbrier West, and Hagy knocked down a pair of free throws. The Patriots regained the lead, 49-43, at the end of three quarters. McClung’s foul troubles magnified for the Cavaliers when he picked up his fourth personal foul midway through the third quarter. Coach Robertson brought McClung to the bench with just under a minute to play in the quarter to rest his senior and provide some protection for the lineup heading into the decisive fourth quarter.
Three pointers provided the fireworks in the final frame. After going the entire third quarter without a three-pointer, Midland Trail got a pair of triples from Gladwell and Campbell that helped Trail hold Greenbrier West off momentarily. Hagy The Cavaliers got buckets from Dunbar and Agee as well as a stick back from Chris Davis to keep things close. The two teams tied things up twice more in the fourth quarter. McClung, playing through four fouls, poured in seven points as part of his game-high 21 points. The final flurry was set up by a controversial drive in the lane from McClung. With Greenbrier West trailing by one, McClung started down the ride side of the lane, stopped to pivot, and underhanded the ball to Hagy who was positioned beyond the three-point line. The home crowd exploded when they felt like McClung should have been called for a travel. Instead, the visiting crowd added to the boom when Hagy’s three ricocheted off the glass and through the hoop for a go-ahead basket.
Midland Trail burned a timeout to set their final play with only seven seconds remaining. Out of the break, Campbell handled the ball while being fronted by Agee. Once Agee forced the ball out of Campbell’s hands, Gladwell was able to launch the miracle shot for Midland Trail from well beyond the three-point line as time expired. The shot set off a wild celebration as both players and fans stormed the court to join the Patriot players.
Greenbrier West drops to 4-4 with the loss with a home game against Montcalm on tap for Thursday night. Midland Trail improves to 8-2 on the season and goes on the road to Independence Friday night.
Tanner Hagy was Rock 95’s McDonald’s of Rainelle Player of the Game. Hagy scored 20 points and knocked down four three-pointers in the process.
