Gallery by Tina Laney
Greater Beckley Christian 43, Eastern Greenbrier 35
Greater Beckley Christian Middle School opened the 2023 New River CTC Invitational with a 43-35 win over Eastern Greenbrier.
The Crusaders will now play the winner of Mullens and Independence Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Knights will play the loser of that contest Friday morning at 11 a.m.
Trailing 13-12 after a long ball from Luke White gave Eastern Greenbrier a 13-12 at the end of one quarter, Greater Beckley outscored the Knights 16-7 in the second quarter to never trail again.
Eastern moved within two points late in the third quarter before steals from Jabari Spencer and Eli Sexton gave the Crusaders a 34-28 advantage after three quarters of play.
Back-to-back scores inside from Michael Morris to open the final six minutes moved the lead to 10 points and Greater Beckley held on down the stretch.
Sexton led the Crusaders with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Morris had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Dravin Ambler paced Eastern Greenbrier with 15 points and White added nine.