CHARCMO – It had been 23 years since Greenbrier East stepped foot in John C. Estep Gymnasium. Based on Friday’s result, the Cavaliers might not invite the Spartans back for another 23 years. Greenbrier East ran roughshod over their neighbors from the west to the tune of an 85-36 victory.
East scored early and often in running away from the Cavaliers in the first quarter. The Spartans almost knocked down as many shots as Greenbrier West attempted in the first quarter. The Cavaliers shot a chilly 2-8 from the floor, getting a bucket apiece from Colton Dunbar and Asher Barclay. Spartan junior Nathan Dixon got off seven shots by himself, drilling two three-pointers and nailing a field goal for eight first quarter points. Brody Hamric and Braylen Godfrey added a pair of baskets each as East cruised out to a 23-4 first quarter lead.
The Spartan weren’t done. Hamric and Samuel Hawver each scored four points from the floor and senior Reed McGraw was perfect from the foul line, going 4-4, and East got scoring from four other players on their way to a 18-3 second quarter. Greenbrier West’s stagnant offense could only muster a basket from reserve Jesse Walkup and a Shane Plogger free throw. Greenbrier East led comfortably, 41-7, at the break.
The Cavaliers finally showed signs of life coming out of halftime. Sophomore Isaac Crane knocked down a pair of three-pointers to go along with five points from Barclay and four more from Dunbar. Plogger added three points as West had its best and most competitive quarter of the game. The Spartans held a slight edge, though, outscoring West 19-18. Nathan Dixon added five more points to his total and McGraw tallied four more. Four additional Spartans added two points each as Greenbrier East took at 60-25 lead after three quarters.
Greenbrier East got nine points from Dylan Wykle in the fourth quarter on 3-3 shooting from behind the arc. Donavin Penn added a three as well. Hamric added five points for the Spartans who placed four players in double figures. McGraw and Gabriel Neal each added four points for Greenbrier East. West found the rim a little chilly on their end. Vandall collected four points, and Randy Keener added a traditional three-point play. Walkup added the only other Cavalier field goal as Greenbrier West was outscored 25-11 in the final frame.
Greenbrier West (2-6) has dropped four games in a row for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The Cavaliers host Meadow Bridge on Monday at 7:30. Greenbrier East (6-3) takes its Class AAA #9 ranking on the road to Lewis County on Saturday at 1 P.M.
GE – 23 18 19 25 – 85
GW – 4 3 18 11 – 36
Scoring – (GE) Hamric 15, Dixon 15, McGraw 14, Wykle 11, Godfrey 8, Penn 7, Hawver 7, Neal 4, Lambert 2, Burns 2. (GW) Barclay 7, I. Crane 6, Dunbar 6, Plogger 5, Vandall 4, Walkup 4, Keener 3, McDaniel 1.
