Three games against Raleigh County teams this year have ended in last second losses for Greenbrier East.
Saturday night inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, the Spartans took that possibility out of the equation against Woodrow Wilson.
Keeping its longtime rival at arms length all night, Greenbrier East took the lead after the first eight minutes and pulled away for a 60-44 win.
“The kids played great tonight. I know Woodrow is down a little bit, but we don’t ever look at records. Those guys can beat anybody on any night,” Greenbrier East head coach Jared Patton said. “That is what I preached to the kids coming into tonight’s game. I told them we had to manage the clock on everything we did offensively.”
The Spartans took the early 6-2 lead before five straight points from freshman Brayden Hawthorne and a basket from Elijah Redfern put Beckley up 9-6.
Unfortunately from the home team’s perspective, that was the lone bright spot of the night.
A Gabe Patton score was followed by two free throws from Goose Gabbert before Adam Seams hit a triple to beat the first quarter horn.
Greenbrier East never trailed again the rest of the night.
“We knew it was going to be pretty tough tonight. East is playing some pretty good basketball. I have been watching them,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd said. “Like I said after our first game with them, they can play with anybody. They just came in here and out-toughed us. It was like they wanted it more than what we did.”
The lead for the Spartans reached 11 points twice in the second quarter and stood at 31-23 at halftime.
“If we can be patient with our ball movement, typically things open up for us whether it is a kick-out 3 or a dump down,” Patton said. “This whole season we haven’t been very patient. We have really been working on that the last two weeks, just to get a good look. We have the green light on everybody on the team. If they are open, I expect them to shoot it provided it is a good shot.”
Redfern opened the second half with a score for the Flying Eagles. However, East answered with an 8-0 spurt to apply even more pressure on the struggling Beckley offense.
“We couldn’t make any shots tonight. We don’t move for the ball and pass. We pound and pound,” Kidd said. “It seemed like everything was a struggle. East was passing, moving and cutting for open shots. We weren’t doing that and we only seemed to get the hard shots.”
Seams scored to ignite the run and Aaron Griffith scored the next four straight. A runner from Seams finished it off for a 39-25 lead.
Four points from Maddex McMillen helped Beckley cut the lead back to single digits, but when Seams drilled a deep three to beat the horn, East was back up by 11 points.
The lead for the Spartans remained in double digits the remainder of the game.
“Adam is our catalyst. He is our floor leader and he does a really good job every night. He understands what the coaches and I go over with the team,” Patton said.
Ten different players scored for East on the night led by 20 from Seams, 12 from Gabbert and 11 from Griffith.
“We haven’t had the same rotation or the same starters in very many games. The starters are chosen in practice,” Patton said. “If you come in, work hard in practice and bust your butt, you will take minutes from the next guy. We don’t give anybody a chance to let off. If you become comfortable because you started last game, chances are you won’t start the next game.”
Redfern led the Flying Eagles with 20 points and McMillen scored 10.
“Redfern is tough. I threw multiple guys at him, but it didn’t seem to matter. He is a great player and fun to watch,” Patton said.
Both teams are back in action Tuesday. Greenbrier East hosts Shady Spring, while Woodrow Wilson visits Bluefield.
Prior to the game, their was a ceremony to honor former Woodrow Wilson standout Dwayne Richardson who was killed just before the state tournament last year.
Richardson’s family was presented with a large plaque that will hang inside the Convention Center along with the other Beckley greats.
GE: 13 18 15 14 – 60
WW: 9 14 12 9 – 44
Greenbrier East
Zach Patton 2, Adam Seams 20, Monquelle Davis 2, Goose Gabbert 12, Aaron Griffith 11, Gabe Patton 3, Kole Withrow 3, Kaiden Huffman 2, Jude Libby 2, Bryson Brammer 3. Total: 18 20-26 60.
Woodrow Wilson
Maddex McMillen 10, Elijah Redfern 20, Brayden Hawthorne 8, Zan Hill 2, Caleb Gravely 2, Jaylon Walton 2. Totals: 17 8-11 44.
3-pointers – GE: 4 (Seams 2, Gabbert, Brammer); WW: 2 (Hawthorne 2).
