BECKLEY- On a night when not everything was going according to plan, the Greenbrier East Spartans came together late, created a strategy, and found a way to make it an ending they would remember.
Greenbrier East traveled to Beckley to face the Class AAAA 8th ranked Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles, a rivalry that dates back many years, and scratched and clawed their way to a come-from-behind 58-56 victory at the Beckley-Raleigh County Armory Convention Center.
After falling behind by seven points in the third quarter, the contest stayed neck-and-neck the rest of the way and finished on East’s Nathan Dixon pull up jumper that bounced in with four seconds left that sent the large Spartan fanbase that made the trip into a frenzy and their ride back to Greenbrier County a lot easier.
The shot would ultimately be the game winner.
“The coaches drew up a great play, and I wasn’t sure I was going to get the ball,” Dixon said after the game.
“But it ended up in my hands, and I knocked it down,” he added.
East (1-1) got off to a quick start in the first quarter when Dixon sank a 3 then got loose for a breakaway dunk on the next possession. Following a 3-pointer from Woodrow’s Lucas Raney, after Brody Hamric picked up his second foul near the end of the first, Dixon sank two free throws to end it and gave the Spartans a 13-10 lead after one.
Kingston Clark came alive for the Eagles in the second quarter when Beckley found themselves down five points early in the period. Clark received a nice pass from AJ Thomas for a bucket, then Clark stole the inbounds pass and scored again. Another Raney 3 tied the game at 22-all midway through the second. A three-point play from the Spartans’ Braylen Godfrey put East up by one, but a Preston Clary basket gave Woodrow a 28-27 lead at halftime.
Beckley (0-1) started the second half on a 10-4 run that forced Greenbrier East into a timeout. A few minutes later, East answered with a mini 6-0 run on free throws from Hamric, a driving layup from Dixon, and a jumper from Brodrik Gunter who checked in and gave the team a spark. Still, at the end of three, the Spartans trailed just 46-43.
A Beckley basket from Clary gave Beckley a 50-47 lead with a little over four minutes left, but Gunter came back down and answered with a trifecta that tied it at 50-50. A couple possessions later, Gunter found a wide-open Godfrey for a 52-50 advantage for the Spartans, and it was their first lead since the first half.
With Greenbrier East ahead 54-53 with 1:10 to go, Clark was called for a crucial offensive foul that gave the ball back to East much to the chagrin of the Woodrow fans. The Spartans took advantage when Cai Jones put a missed shot up and in off an offensive rebound and just like that, the Spartans led 56-53.
Clary drained a 3 from the top of the key the next time down to knot the score at 56-all, but the Beckley premature celebration did not last long as that is when Dixon’s heroics shook the building.
“Anyone on the team could have hit that shot, it just happened to be me,” the humble Dixon said.
“Our coaches were calming us down and we stayed together as a team. We knew this was our game and we just had to go win it,” the senior concluded.
Dixon finished with a game-high 23 points. Godfrey finished with 11 and Hamric added 8 (all in second half)
For the Eagles, Clark scored 14 points, Raney had 12 and Gage Burdette contributed 10.
Barring a makeup game or added game, the Spartans will be off until December 30 when they will play at Bridgeport and then they will play Lewis County on New Year’s Eve.
