BRUSHFORK – With under 20 seconds left, Oak Hill’s Ethan Vargo-Thomas hesitated on a 3-point shot from the left wing that he ultimately missed.
Fortunately for the Red Devils he was undaunted..
Vargo-Thomas nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing with two seconds left, lifting the visiting Red Devils over host Bluefield 52-51 Tuesday night at the Brushfork Armory.
Ethan Vargo-Thomas with a 3 to give OH a 52-51 lead with two seconds left #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/nlNcN35RSA
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) December 15, 2021
“On that first 3 I should’ve drove the basket,” Vargo-Thomas said. “Everybody asked me why I shot the 3 and I had to make up for it. I got an open look so I knew I had to make up for it. We knew they were going to pressure us so we just had to get the ball in, get it to the middle and get it to somebody open for the 3.”
It appeared late Brushfork would have its way with a visiting team once again.
With under two minutes left, Bluefield’s Caleb Fuller mounted a personal 7-2 run, converting on a three-point play and stealing a pass he converted into an uncontested layup for a 50-49 advantage.
“We couldn’t believe we put ourselves in that situation,” Oak Hill coach Benitez Jackson said. “We didn’t have to. We made some bad decisions there at the end and we’re just glad we had the chance to make up for it. Ethan, who we feel like is a gamer, we want him to be aggressive like that and he hit a big shot in the end.”
It was a fitting ending for a game in which neither team led by more than seven points.
Even when one team started to separate the other countered with its own run.
Trailing 15-11 after the first quarter, the Beavers outscored the visitors 13-2 over the first three minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-17 lead.
A time out by Jackson was the perfect remedy as the Red Devils countered with their own 10-2 run to close the half, taking a 27-26 advantage into the intermission. Sammy Crist’s 10 points kept the Red Devils afloat at the break.
“We turned the ball over,” Jackson said. “I think we had 18 or 19 turnovers and when you do that against these guys they’re going to get layups. That’s what they want you to do and we were playing right into their hand. I thought some of the shots we took were a little too quick. We thought if we could break their press we’d get some layup opportunities.”
The third quarter was more of the same with the Beavers hanging onto a slim one-point lead but the final frame was the difference for Oak Hill.
The Red Devils’ leading scorer, Jacob Perdue, found his stroke, going 4-for-4 from the field to score 11 of his 20 points in the quarter. A pair of back-to-back triples for Perdue helped the Red Devils to a 45-41 advantage prior to Fuller’s personal run.
It was a welcome change for the visitors, who canned four of their seven long balls in the quarter, including Vargo-Thomas’ game winner.
“Jacob missed some shots in the first half he usually doesn’t miss,” Jackson said. “We knew if he kept getting open looks he’d make shots. That’s what he does. We’ve got all the confidence in the world that the shots he was missing in the first and second quarter, he would make at some point if he kept getting those same looks. We feel like he’s one of the bets shooters we’ve ever had here.”
On the other side the hosts shot well in the paint, led by Jae’on Flack’s 17 points, but struggled from outside the arc. The Beavers made just three of their 19 3-point attempts, two of which came courtesy of Flack.
“It was a good game,” Bluefield coach Buster Large said. “They deserved to win. We had our chances and that’s the way it happens. Sometimes you win a few and sometimes you lose a few.”
Flack’s 17 points led the Beavers in the loss while Fuller was the only other Beaver to score in double figures with 14 points on 6 of 15 shooting.
Perdue led all scorers with 20 points while Vargo-Thomas (13) and Crist (10) also scored in double figures for Oak Hill.
The Red Devils improve to 2-1 and will travel to Hurricane on Friday. Bluefield drops to 1-1 and will play in Princeton’s tournament that same day.
OH: 15 12 9 16 – 52
B: 11 15 11 14 – 51
Oak Hill (2-1)
Jacob Perdue 20, Omar Lewis 2, Samuel Crist 10, Cade Maynor 3, Ethan Vargo-Thomas 13, Jerimiah Jackson 4
Bluefield (1-1)
Steven Addair 6, Jae’on Flack 17, Chance Johnson 4, Caleb Fuller 14, RJ Hairston 8, Jamel Floyd 2
3-point goals – OH: 7 (Perdue 4, Crist 1, Maynor 1, Vargo-Thomas 1); B: 3 (Flack 2, Fuller 1).