By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BRUSHFORK -- The three basketeers were all for one — the team — and it paid off Thursday.
Donta Hopkins (23), “Mookie” Collier (18) and Jeremy Thompson (17) combined for 68 points as Bluefield evened the season series with Graham, taking an 80-66 triumph over the G-Men.
Trailing 41-40 with 3:55 left in the third stanza, the Beavers (6-3) rattled off a 27-10 run in the next seven minute to seal the deal against Graham (7-2) in the cross-town rivalry.
Bluefield may travel to Westside tonight (Friday) for a make-up game after Tuesday’s cancellation. Westside was still working to secure officials for the game and the Beavers will not know until sometime this morning if the contest will be played Friday or on Saturday.
The G-Men grabbed an early 11-9 advantage, taking the lead on Chandler Cooper’s 25-foot buzzer-beating trey. Dyon Wright had a pair of quick BHS buckets but the hustling Graham squad held firm in the first stanza.
Graham’s Roman Workman, who finished with a team-high 21 points, was held scoreless in the opening minutes but got four quick points midway through the second period as the G-Men opened their largest lead, 18-11, with 5:45 left in the first half.
Bluefield’s run-and-gun guard trio went to work, however, and it was Collier’s soft floater in the lane that pushed Beaver in front, 19-18, as the Beavers’ quintet powered its way to a 35-27 halftime advantage. Bluefield was in such a zone that with less than a second left in the half, Devin Goins drew a foul away from the basket and swished in a pair of foul shots.
Reminding all that anything can happen in a rivalry game, Workman and Nick Morgan, who finished with four three-point goals, ignited a 14-5 burst. The G-Men came roaring back and grabbed a one-point edge with less than four minutes left in the third period.
That was when the Bluefield express offense took over, outscoring Graham 16-8 over the next four minutes behind Hopkins’ hot hand.
In the last quarter, Collier made a series of defensive maneuvers that aided the offense and kept Bluefield in command. Graham’s Cooper, who poured in 16 for the G-Men, made four buckets and a pair of freebies to help keep Graham close.
Thompson, with three treys for Bluefield, gave credit to the squad for the win.
“We had a couple of really good practices,” he said. “That carried over into the game. The coaches prepared us well for this one and we executed what they told us to do.”
Graham’s coach Glynn Carlock said simply, “We said coming in that we could not let Thompson and Collier have big nights at the same time. As it turned out, all three of their guards including Hopkins, had big evenings.
“They (Bluefield) dictated the tempo with penetration, slashes to the basket, and good all-around play. It was obvious the Beavers had more energy tonight and really wanted this win. We will move on and work hard in conference play.”
For Bluefield, coach Buster Large had no regrets.
“We had a great team effort,” said the BHS boss. “In the first game, we didn’t play that well against their zone but we put in a couple of plays and figured out what to do when the floor was spread out.
“We got behind but I thought our timeout in the second quarter allowed us to regroup and from that point on, we were a better team. We were better against the pressure, had some big time defensive plays, and it was good to have Jaray (Williams) back out there and doing a good job for us.”
Bluefield assistant Tony Webster noted, “A couple of good days of practice paid off. I told the boys this game was for the community and I’m proud of the kids for stepping up tonight.”
Morgan popped in 18 points for the G-Men. Wright (9) and Goins (8) were solid for Bluefield. Graham finished 11-of-21 at the free throw line and Bluefield hit 19-for-30 at the stripe.
Bluefield won the junior varsity game.
Graham travels tonight to Grayson County (Independence) for a quad match with the junior varsity girls opening at 4:30, followed by j.v. boys, varsity girls and varsity boys.

At Brushfork Armory
GRAHAM (7-2)
Chandler Cooper 16, Nick Morgan 18, Roman Workman 21, Thomas Clarke 3, Cameron Allen 6, Tanner Miller 2.
BLUEFIELD (6-3)
Donta Hopkins 23, Jaray Williams 5, Jeremy Thompson 17, Mookie Collier 18, Devin Goins 8, Dyon Wright 9.
Graham..........................11 16 12 17 — 66
Bluefield.........................9 28 21 24 — 80
Three-point goals - G, 9 (Morgan -4, Workman -3, Cooper -1, Allen -1). B, 7 ( Thompson -3, Hopkins -2, Williams -1, Collier -1).
Fouled out -- none.