By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph


NARROWS, Va. — One dunk was enough.

Chandler Burton of Narrows High School dunked the basketball to end a personal seven-point run two minutes into Friday night's game with the Bland County Bears. The officials called a technical foul as he gawked in disbelief.

It didn't have a lasting effect, however. Burton exploded for 33 points and 10 rebounds as the Green Wave ran its record to 8-1 with an 81-45 win against the Bears in Patteson Gymnasium.

The dunk did ensure that Narrows would not try for a similar play, no matter how open the scorer was. And they were open often.

“We passed the ball better tonight than we have all year long,” said Narrows coach Chris Gautier. “We shot the ball better than we have all year long. Defensively, I don't think we were where we have been and where we can be.”

“I think we've got to draw all positives from tonight, and try to move forward and improve on those things.”

After the dunk, Bland County used treys from Tyler White and Kalub Lambert to go on a 10-4 run and close out the quarter trailing 15-13. Narrows regained its focus in the second period, shooting 9 for 21 from the field and outscoring the Bears 23-9 to head for the locker room with a 38-22 lead.

Gautier said, “We knew they like to shoot a lot of threes. They have a lot of shooters. We've been treating everybody as a shooter. Our guys just weren't closing out, like we had worked on all week, preparing for these guys.”

“I think we defended those shots and took away those options for them, a little better as the game progressed in the third and fourth quarters.”

In the third stanza, Burton had nine points as the Green Wave posted another 23-point period.

Gautier said about Burton, “It was his best (performance) of the year, by far.”

About halfway through the final quarter, both sides turned to bench players, and Narrows did not seem to miss a beat, rolling to the 36-point final margin of victory.

Bears coach Rich Hankins said, “Our inexperience forces us to play so quickly, offensively, that we'll take a four or six-point deficit, and before you know it, they go on an eight, nine-nothing run. Then it's 14 or 15, and then we try to get it all back at one time.”

“As the season progresses, and we become a little bit more accustomed to what we're doing offensively, I think this team is going to be a little bit more competitive, coming down the stretch.”

“Narrows did a really good job in their half-court trap, which led to some easy baskets for them. Before we knew it, it was completely out of hand. ...”

“But my kids are still fighting, they're still working hard in practice,” Hankins said.

Mason Christian played fiercely for the Bears, working hard on both ends of the floor. He ended with 19 points. White had three treys for nine points.

The Bears, who have now lost four straight, host Grayson County on Tuesday, their first home game since Dec. 17. The Wave travels to Graham on Tuesday.

— Contact Tom Bone at

tbone@bdtonline.com



At Patteson Gymnasium

BLAND COUNTY

Mason Christian 6 5-8 19, Tyler White 3 0-0 9, Kalub Lambert 2 0-2 6, Tyler Faulkner 1 0-0 2, Dylan Walker 1 0-0 2, Travis Reed 1 0-0 2, Cody Morgan 1 0-0 2, Zach Gwyn 0 3-4 3. Totals 15 8-14 45.

NARROWS

Gavin Givens 4 0-0 8, Cody Collins 1 0-0 2, Jackson Blankenship 2 0-0 4, Brandon Spangler 1 2-2 4, Rodney Perdue 3 2-4 8, Kyle Hall 6 2-2 14, Chandler Burtohn 13 3-5 33, Aaron Collins 1 0-0 2, Austin Lively 3 0-0 6. Totals 34 9-13 81.

Bland County................13 9 11 12 — 45

Narrows.......................15 23 23 20 — 81

3-poinht goals -- BC 7 (Christian 2, White 3, Lambert 2). NHS 4 (Burton 4).