Gallery by Ashley Honaker
Brushfork – For 30 minutes James Monroe senior Collin Fox struggled on the offensive end shooting 1 of 8 from the field with eight turnovers during that span.
But when it mattered most he found his stroke and carried his team to the finish line.
With his Mavericks trailing 48-47 and 1:15 left in a matchup with Class AA co-No. 1 Bluefield, Fox nailed a 3-pointer, the first of eight consecutive points for the senior, lifting Class A No. 1 James Monroe to a 55-50 victory Friday evening at the Brushfork Armory.
The shot carried even more significance with all-stater and Evans Award candidate Eli Allen relegated to the bench for the final 2:04 of the contest after picking up his fifth foul.
Fortunately for Fox it was familiar territory as Allen fouled out in a December contest against Alleghany, Va. and Fox delivered a game-tying shot in that matchup, one the Mavericks eventually won in overtime.
“I was definitely down because of the turnovers but when Eli went out I knew somebody was going to have to step up and hit a shot,” Fox said. “Josh (Burks) had been hitting so both (defenders) stepped up on him and he swung it to me and it was pretty much wide open but definitely a big shot … Alleghany warmed me up to it. I was nervous then but I’m not much for getting nervous but it’s definitely tough.”
The late lead marked the last time the Beavers had the advantage in a game where they played mostly from behind with both team’s stars shining.
The Mavericks established a quick advantage over a sluggish Beaver squad with Allen and Burks canning a pair of 3s on consecutive possessions while forcing three early turnovers. A timeout righted the ship with a 7-0 Bluefield run that included five points from Caleb Fuller giving the hosts life.
A layup from Owen Jackson and another trey from Allen gave the Mavs a 13-9 lead after a quarter with Allen dominating to the tune of eight points.
The second belonged to the Beavers.
Using its pressure defense, Bluefield forced nine second-quarter turnovers, winning the frame 16-12 to knot the contest at 25 heading into the intermission. The onslaught largely came on the back of forward R.J. Hairston who scored 12 of his 20 points in the second quarter connecting on five of his six field goal attempts.
The rest of the way he was largely held in check, attempting just five shots in the second half, scoring six points.
“I’ll tell you exactly what we did,” James Monroe head coach Matt Sauvage laughed. “I told them ‘When (Hairston) touches the ball, there better be somebody standing there waiting on him.’ You can’t handle him by yourself. He’s too good of a player and our guys know that and they were just being slow to the ball. I guess they didn’t understand how fast we wanted them to get there and then finally in the second half they bought into it and got it out of his hands a little bit quicker. When the double came over he was catching the ball a little further out and that’s always going to benefit us when we do that.”
The Mavericks righted the ship out of the break, ripping a 7-0 run and eventually taking a 43-32 lead after consecutive treys from Burks and Allen. Hairston answered with his own 3 but a pair of Allen free throws to open the fourth frame staked the visitors to a 45-35 advantage.
It slowly evaporated.
Hairston scored his final points when he capped a 3-point play and a pair of layups from Sencere Fields – one part of a 3-point play – and a 3 from Fuller put the Beavers up 46-45, topping an 11-0 run. Allen snapped the skid with his own layup but a pair of Will Looney free throws and Allen’s fifth foul put the game in doubt for the visitors.
Fox responded with his heroic 3 and nailed five of his six free throw attempts in the final minute to cement the victory.
“Collin, he knew he was playing bad on offense,” Sauvage said. “On defense he was still doing his thing and we needed it. R.J., good gosh, what a load down low. He’s good. I was impressed with him. (Fox) was still helping us on the defensive end which was awesome but offensively he knew he was struggling. I actually told coach he needs a couple to fall. When Eli went out Collin and I made contact and I was like ‘Alright dude, it’s now or never’ and thankfully it was now!”
Bluefield head coach Buster Large didn’t take the Mavericks lightly despite Allen’s absence in the final two minutes. A two-time state champion with title game victories by 20 and 25 points in 2013 and ’14, respectively, he had high praise for the defending Class A state champions.
“They’re too complete of a good team,” Large said. “We had our chances there. They’re one of there best teams I’ve ever coached against in my life. They’re well-coached with great athletes and they have a great chance of winning it all again in single-A. Coach Sauvage, I have a great respect for him. But in return our kids battled and battled and came back twice from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter and even took a lead and had a chance there. We missed that free throw and they went down and buried the 3 and that was the turning point.”
Allen led all scorers with 22 points while Hairston led the Beavers with 20. Fox was the only other player to reach double figures with 11.
Bluefield (6-3) having lost three of its last four, hopes right the ship Saturday when it hosts Mingo Central. James Monroe (13-2) will travel to Montcalm on Tuesday.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
JM: 13 12 18 18 – 55
B: 9 16 10 15 – 50
James Monroe
Josh Burks 9, Cooper Ridgeway 2, Eli Allen 22, Collin Fox 11, Juan Hopkins 2, Owen Jackson 9
Bluefield
Kam’Ron Gore 6, Sencere Fields 5, Will Looney 8, Caleb Fuller 8, Glen Keene 3, RJ Hairston 20
3-point goals – JM: 10 (Burks 3, Allen 4, Fox 2, Jackson 1); B: 2 (Fuller, Hairston)