Brushfork – It was a good night for the Williams family.
Tommy Williams won a television at halftime while his son Jack won a ballgame.
Jack Williams poured in a game-high 34 points for the Tigers of Shady Spring, guiding them to a 62-56 victory over Bluefield in the Lil’ Tony Webster Memorial Basketball Classic Saturday evening at the Brushfork Armory.
The slim margin of victory highlighted how difficult winning in the Brushwork Armory has been for defending Class AAA state champion Shady Spring.
Current head coach Ronnie Olson had only done it once in his nine seasons at the helm before Saturday’s contest and his team was often its own worst enemy, seemingly headed for the fate its suffered within those confines many times over the years.
They committed nine turnovers in the opening quarter, allowed Bluefield to score 24 points in the third quarter after yielding just 25 through the first half and were out-rebounded 31-22.
But they turned up the heat when they needed to close the game, crawling out of a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to close the game on a 16-3 run.
“I felt like we’d let the tempo and the way the game was called kind of dictate to how we were calling our stuff,” Olson said. “We got quick fouls early and I kind of called the pressure off because I didn’t wanna be in a situation where they were gonna be shooting for those because they said they were gonna tighten the game up. And they were hitting 3 and still scored. I just said we’re just gonna get after it during the last quarter. 
We’re just gonna play our type of basketball, we can’t let people or refs or anybody dictate the style of play.
“I thought the officials, they didn’t do a bad job. They just cleaned it up because it was kind of a rough the first half and they did it on both ends of the floor. Then we started making some tough shots. 
I think we’re playing a little selfish right now. We’ve addressed it but good teams win in the end, so the positive is you’re able to win in a tough place. I told him this game would be tough, and they played like it. I mean, if they played like that, they have a chance to make noise. (Bluefield) is still a top tier program. Good teams win games like this on the road and that shows a lot. We’re gonna play in tougher environments than this.”
Williams, an Evans Award candidate, netted at least six points in each quarter. He did so shooting 45 percent (9 of 20) from the floor, canning 11 of his 12 free throw attempts.
“We wanna play team basketball, but you got a guy like Jackie and I told the guys, we play through Jackie,” Olson said. “
He’s point and we run a lot of things to him and he’s gonna take some bad shots tonight but he took some great shots that he made and had some tough makes too and that’s what big time ball players do. Jackie, he has that freedom. I thought he could have kicked it more, and he realized that too. I thought he played a little selfish at times but he also made some tough shots that a lot of guys can’t make, so you’ve gotta be able to give and take with guys like that. He gives a ton of effort, he’s a great teammate. He really pulled it out for us tonight.”
Williams wasn’t the only star shining throughout the evening. Bluefield junior Jase Smith put on a show with a team-high 21 points, nine of which he scored in the second quarter.
After swiping seven steals in the opening frame, the Beavers took a 12-10 advantage into the second quarter courtesy of a Smith layup. Williams answered with a 3 early in the second quarter but Smith repeatedly had an answer. A pair of treys sandwiching a Jeff King layup gave Bluefield a 20-15 lead halfway through the second quarter with Williams and Smith matching each other with another pair of 3s.
Trailing 25-18 before the break, the Tigers rallied to tie the game at 25 with a layup from Jalon Bailey and a 3 from Gabe Short.
The starring acts of Williams and Smith remained hot in the third quarter, combing for 23 of the 45 points scored in the frame.
“We’re gonna go as far as Jase takes us,” Bluefield head coach Tony Webster said. “We all know that but Jase found some guys open and they’ve got to knock down shots. He’s not a selfish player and he plays hard but we know everything goes through Jase.”
Leading 49-46 after three, the Beavers hoped to put the game away early by attacking Shady in the post, utilizing the size advantage of Greyson Parris. Two straight buckets from the 6-foot-6 center put the Beavers ahead 53-46 with just over six minutes to play.
Then the Beavers went ice cold.
They made just one field goal the rest of the way, a Jeff King layup, finishing the fourth quarter with a 3 of 15 showing from the floor. They missed all 10 of the 3s they attempted in the frame after going 9 of 13 from deep through the first three quarters.
“I think their defense played really well,” Webster said. “They’re gonna speed you up and I think we’re so so immature right now, we’re kind of young and we’re still trying to figure out what type of team we are. If you had a veteran team they would have kicked that back out and then slow it down a little bit or set something up. But playing with some sophomores and some juniors that don’t have any varsity experience, they don’t understand what we’re trying to do yet, but I I still think that our effort was pretty good today. 
That’s the only thing I can actually ask from my kids – play hard, give me all your effort and see what happens. In the fourth quarter, we laid an egg. I think we shot five 3s in a row when instead, we should have gotten the paint. I thought (Greyson) was starting to take control. This is something that we can learn from. 
I’m really good with the effort.”
Williams and Jalon Bailey steered the ship home for the Tigers, scoring 13 of the 16 points over the closing run. A pair of free throws from both effectively sealed the deal in the final minute.
“We won against a good team,” Olson said. “I mean it’s a good win. I talked to you earlier and I was nervous. Any time you come into this building, they’re a prideful program. 
Tony does a good job. I could probably say they outworked us today.”
SS: 10 15 21 16 – 62
B: 12 13 24 7 – 56
Shady Spring
Jack Williams 34, Eli Sexton 1, Rob Lynch 2, Jalon Bailey 13, Gabe Short 6, Braedy Johnston 6
Bluefield
Davion Hickman 3, Amari Helm 7, Jeff King 4, JAck Hurt 5, Ricky Dunford 3, Jase Smith 21, Greyson Parris 10
