Photos by Chris Jackson
Oak Hill – Bluefield made the trip to Fayette County Tuesday night looking for a little payback.
Sophomore standout R.J. Hairston made sure that happened when the Beavers battle Oak Hill inside the Lilly Center.
Stemming from a buzzer-beater loss earlier in the year at the Brushfork Armory, Hairtson poured in a game-high 21 points to lead Bluefield to a 46-37 win over the Red Devils.
“We beat a good team tonight after they came to Bluefield and beat us,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “We have gotten better and we have played smarter. We didn’t shoot free throws very well tonight, but R.J. had a big night for us.”
Hairston’s impact was felt immediately as he scored eight points in the first quarter on two hard drives to the basket and a pair of foul-line jumpers.
When the first quarter horn sounded, the Beavers led 14-4 and the 10-point bulge haunted Oak Hill all night.
“Give Bluefield credit because I think they sped us up a little bit in that first quarter and we didn’t do a good job of finishing at the rim. I thought we were playing too fast,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said.
A stickback from Hairston opened quarter two before five points from Caleb Fuller answered four straight from Oak Hill.
The biggest lead of the game came when Steven Addair banked in a 3-ball for a 14 point advantage nearing the half.
Unfortunately for Oak Hill, while its defense was keeping the Red Devils in the game, their offensive woes throughout the night were something they could not overcome.
“We really have to make open shots. That is really what it came down to again,” Jackson said. “I am not sure how many easy layups and open 3’s that we missed. We haven’t shot the ball well all year long. We are getting open looks, we just don’t make them. Our defense was good with us holding them to 47 points. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”
Trailing by eight heading into the final quarter, Oak Hill got the momentum building steal that it needed. On the other end, however, two missed layups stopped the momentum in its tracks.
Adding insult to injury was Hairtson grabbing an offensive rebound on the next Bluefield possession and laying back in for a 35-25 lead.
“We knew he was going to be a problem for us. He is big, strong and athletic. He made a couple jump shots on us, but he did a lot of things just being aggressive,” Jackson said. “We have preached being more physical, but he killed us by being physical on the boards. A couple of times I thought we were soft going to the basketball and didn’t box out hard enough. If you do that against guys like him, he is going to wear you out with his speed and strength.”
The closest the Red Devils could get down the stretch was eight points.
Oak Hill entered the game down seven total players and four that played significant minutes. Jackson was having none of that as an excuse.
“We had enough guys to win the game. We just have to make shots,” Jackson reiterated. “I think it will come around for us and we will start making some shots. Hopefully it’s soon.”
Fuller finished the night with 13 points and Jacob Perdue also score 13 for Oak Hill. Leonard Farrow added eight for the Red Devils.
Both teams are scheduled for rivalry showdowns Friday when Oak Hill hosts Woodrow Wilson and Bluefield travels across the state-line to battle Graham, Va.
“We have worked really hard, but we haven’t played in almost two weeks. A 14-day layoff is too much. We are trying to get back in the groove,” Large said. “Seems like every time you play a game, something happens and we get another cancellation. It has been strange the last two weeks. We play Graham Friday, so hopefully we will get a big turnout.”
B: 14 10 9 13 – 46
OH: 4 11 10 12 – 37
Bluefield 46
Steve Addair 3, Chance Johnson 5. Caleb Fuller 13, Will Looney 3, Sencere Fields 1, R.J. Hairston 21. Totals: 19 4-14 46.
Oak Hill
Jacob Perdue 13, Leonard Farrow 8, Moses Manns 2, Trey Foster 2, Malachi Lewis 4, Ethan Vargo-Thomas 2, Trevor Kelly 6. Totals: 16 3-7 37.
3-pointers – B: 4 (Fuller 3, Addair); OH: 2 (Perdue, Lewis).
