PRINCETON (WVDN) – As we inch closer to the holiday break, the Greenbrier East Spartans got an early Christmas present in the form of a road victory after defeating the Princeton Tigers 74-69 in Mercer County on Tuesday night, Dec. 20.
The win is important for sectional and conference implications later in the season.
Devon Edwards opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and Chris Joyce hit two free throws for a 5-0 Tiger lead right out of the gate.
It was back-and-forth the rest of the quarter, with Goose Gabbert giving East the lead with a 3 and Princeton taking it right back with a Nick Fleming jumper.
At the end of one, the game was tied at 12-all.
Bryson Brammer and Jude Libby had big impacts in the second quarter for East. Brammer knocked down a trey and Libby scored two tough buckets on the inside. Brammer then hit another from downtown that gave the Spartans (4-1) their biggest lead of the night at 22-15 with around six minutes left in the half.
Later in the second, Adam Seams made a beautiful pass to Gabbert for 2, and Kaiden Huffman ended the half with an old fashioned 3-point play and a 31-24 lead at the break.
A Gabbert 3-pointer gave East a 40-35 lead early in the third, but Edwards answered a couple possessions later to cut the Spartan lead to just two points. Seams hit an acrobatic shot at the third quarter buzzer that put East up 48-42 headed to the fourth.
Patton knocked in a 3 for a 51-42 East lead, and then the Gabbert free throw clinic commenced.
He went to the line 10 times in the fourth quarter and converted all 10 shots and finished 13 of 13 front the game. Seams also went five of six from the stripe to seal the deal for East.
Gabbert finished with 25 points. Seams had 18, and Brammer added 12.
Princeton drops to 5-1 on the season.
Stats courtesy of 103.1, WRON.
