Gallery by Heather Belcher
Greenbrier East head boys basketball coach Jared Patton keeps it simple for his team.
Win every quarter.
Friday night inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at the New River CTC Tournament, simple turned out to be the most effective method.
After watching No. 4 Huntington explode for 26 first quarter points and lead by as many as 18 in the second quarter, the No. 6 ranked Spartans roared back for a wild 74-70 win.
“Down (18) to a good team we could have folded. It would have been a quick night and I would have been disappointed, but we won the second quarter 12-7. We didn’t win by much and didn’t score much, but we won the quarter,” Patton said. “Then it is on to the next quarter. It cuts the game up into four pieces. Sometimes if you think about the end too much then you lose.”
Four early triples by the Highlanders helped build a 15-point lead that stood after the first quarter of action.
“We were down two starters and obviously we are not very big (inside),” senior Goose Gabbert said. “They came out hitting shots and we just didn’t. I think it was simple as that. They did really well on the offensive glass too.”
With 3:11 to play before halftime, Huntington was up 18 and seemed in full control.
“We responded to adversity and we have been doing it all year,” Gabbert said. “Even though we got down, we stayed poised and we battled back.”
After his team had scored just two points in the second quarter, Jude Libby’s 3-point play ignited an 8-0 run to help the Spartans crawl back within 10 at the break.
“We just told them they had battled back to 10 points and we felt like we took Huntington’s best in the first quarter,” Patton said. “I don’t think they missed. We told them to stay the course and win the third quarter.”
The Spartans carried the momentum gained in the second quarter over to the third and outscored the Highlanders 25-19 to inch back within four points.
Adam Seams drilled a triple to open the final eight minutes before Mikey Johnson scored to push the lead back to three points.
Seams answered Johnson’s bucket, but it was Chris Sinclair that caused the East crowd to explode.
“Chris has improved a ton in the off-season getting in the gym and he made a few layups,” Gabbert said. “Dude doesn’t think he can shoot, but his mid-range is actually butter. When he made that, it brought a lot of energy to the team.”
Sinclair’s jumper gave East its first lead of the game and set off a wild flurry of action for the next four minutes.
“Adam and Goose put a lot of weight on themselves. It has to be a relief seeing other guys hitting some big shots. That is what happened tonight,” Patton said. “We don’t give up and we don’t fold. We don’t throw the towel in. We are going to battle until there is nothing left. They played really well tonight.”
A three-point East lead went by the boards after a 5-0 run by Huntington. Kaiden Huffman evened the game before a steal led to a Johnson slam for the Highlanders.
Libby hit the next big bomb for the Spartans when he drilled a corner 3 for a 62-61 lead midway through the quarter.
“Jude Libby is one of the best shooters that we have on the team, but he is our big guy,” Patton said. “He has to give us some rebounds and then he can shoot the 3. He did that tonight. On the release, we knew it was in.”
The lead flipped again on a pair of free-throws from Duane Harris, only to see Seams score for East on the other end.
Libby hit his second pressure packed 3-pointer for a four-point lead, but the Spartans could not hold the lead.
Another slam from Johnson after a steal capped the second 5-0 spurt of the quarter and put Huntington back in front 68-67 with two minutes to play.
However, Greenbrier East sealed it from the line making seven-of-eight free tosses down the stretch.
Huffman made both ends of the one-and-one to give the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish.
“We are down the two guards and Huntington has a really good full-court press. Kaiden had to step up and handle the ball some,” Patton said. “He did a great job with no turnovers. You are a little tense when he has the ball, but he did great.”
“Jude hits some big shots and Kaiden, it’s his 18th birthday, he made those clutch free-throws,” Gabbert said.
Gabbert sealed the deal by making both ends of two one-and-one opportunities.
“Last year we lost a lot of games late, but this year we are staying poised and have been playing together as a unit and closing out games,” Gabbert said.
Seams finished with a triple-double scoring 13 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds a handing out 11 assists.
Gabbert poured in 23 points, while Sinclair and Huffman added 10 apiece and Bryson Brammer scored nine.
“We just got outplayed in the second half. We got complacent and didn’t play as hard as we did in the first half,” Huntington head coach Ty Holmes said. “They made a lot of shots in the second half, but we didn’t push the ball in the second half like we did in the first half.”
Johnson also had 23 and 10 rebounds for Huntington, followed by Harris with 16, Gavin Lochow with 14 and Jaylen Motley scored 11.
Huntington plays Beckley Saturday night in the final game of the New River CTC Tournament at 8:30 p.m. Greenbrier East travels to AAA No. 1 Shady Spring Friday night.
