Ream Delivers as Grafton Boys Capture First-Ever District Title

By Will Armbruster Thursday, February 02, 2012

Grafton’s boys basketball team clinched its first-ever Bay Rivers District boys basketball title Wednesday night by defeating arch-rival Tabb 62-59 on their home court. How they pulled it off, though, was perhaps most impressive.

The Clippers' top two scorers, Elijah Moore and Kevin Barnes, who combined for 37 points in the first meeting between the two schools back in December, had one of their poorest offensive outings of season, combining for just 10 points on 4 made field goals.

Credit Tabb’s defense – particularly forward Shaq Rodney (23 points), who forced Moore into a 1-10 shooting night and was physical enough on the offensive end to cause Moore to foul out midway through the fourth quarter –  but the Clippers’ supporting cast was simply too good.

Tabb coach Doug Doug Baggett would be the first to tell you.

“I thought defensively we played a heck of a ball game,” Baggett said. “We shut down Elijah [Moore], we shut Kevin [Barnes] down…that’s hard to do. But it’s harder to stop three great players.

“Our guys believe in our defense, and they know if they make their free throws tonight maybe things go our way.”

With Moore and Barnes out of sync offensively, Blake Ream stepped up with a game-high 24 points for Grafton. None were bigger than his go-ahead three-pointer with 30 seconds left in regulation and the Clippers (17-3, 15-1 Bay Rivers) trailing by two, 59-57.

“Obviously Blake was huge tonight,” said Grafton coach Jeremy Jordan, who in just his second season guided the Clippers' program to its first district championship in the school's nearly 15-year existence. “He’s one of those guys who likes to take the big shot. He’s been staying after practice working on his game, and tonight he stepped up the way a senior captain does.”

Tyler McMillan also had one of his strongest outings of the season. The junior point guard scored 13 points on a season-high 10 shots - a statistic Jordan happily noted after the game - in addition to pulling down 14 (six offensive) rebounds.

"Tyler has been at his best during the second half of the season and is really getting better each game," Jordan  said.

Grafton's trio of Moore, Barnes and Ream were replaced in the starting lineup by Joey Miller, Ryan Ward and Lane Deaver for what Jordan caled “a team matter that has been resolved and will be kept in-house.”

Ream came off the bench to score 13 points in the first half while Moore and Barnes struggled to find their stroke. Shaq Rodney scored 12 in the first half for Tabb and Ryan Sawyer chipped in with 11 off the bench as the Tigers led 33-29 at halftime.

Ream hadn’t cooled down a bit out of the break. He and McMillan scored 11 of Grafton’s 16 points in the third period as the Clippers went back ahead 45-43 heading into the final quarter.

Rodney seemed poised to put the Tigers on his back as he scored the first six of Tabb’s points in the quarter to put them back on top 50-49.

With 3:15 left to play and Grafton ahead 54-53, Rodney, who was 9-10 from the free-throw stripe during the final eight minutes, knocked down a pair from the line after drawing a foul on Moore, his fifth of the game, which sent him to the bench early.

Joey Miller, who entered the game for Moore, made an immediate impact.

With Grafton trailing by three, 57-54, and 1:35 left to play, Miller came up with a steal at half court and finished off the layup, plus a foul, to tie things 57-all.

After Rodney and Kaleb Mitchell each hit one of two from the line to give Tabb a two-point lead (59-57) with under a minute to play, Ream came through with the biggest shot of the season – arguably in program history – that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

As the clock trickled down to 30 seconds, instead of going for the tying basket, Ream, without hesitation, pulled up from a good three feet beyond the arc and buried the eventual game-winner.

McMillan would connect on two more free throws, and as hot as Sawyer has been for Tabb, his last-second attempt was wide right.

“I haven’t helped the team as much as I have wanted to this season as one of the seniors, so I knew I had to come up big in this one,” Ream said. “When I saw the defender with his hands down looking at the ball, that’s usually my ticket to pull up.”

Ream was one of the few players on Grafton’s current roster who was around two years ago when the Clippers failed to make the district tournament after finishing the regular season 5-13.

That, coupled with the fact it was a rivalry game on their home floor amidst a raucous environment, made the program’s first district title even sweeter.

“This is an unexplainable feeling,” Ream added. “To win a district championship after not even making the tournament two years ago is incredible. Coach Jordan has done a great job building this program up to where it is now.”

Added Jordan, “I have a tremendous amount of respect for (Tabb coach) Doug Baggett and what he’s done for the Bay Rivers over the years, so this is definitely special.

“Now these kids can walk into the gym, find that banner and say, ‘I was a part of that.’”

 

Grafton 62  Tabb 59

Grafton 16  13  16  17 – 62

Tabb 12  21  10  16 – 59

Grafton (17-3, 15-1 BRD)- Ream 24, McMillan 13, Santiago 9, Barnes 8, Miller 6, Moore 2. Totals 24; 13-18 62.

Tabb (12-8, 10-6 BRD)- Rodney 23, Sawyer 13, Schiele 7, Baggett 6, Mitchell 4, Nelson 4, Yancey 2. Totals 17; 21-31 59.