By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Sunday is meant to be a day of rest. It will be for a pair of teams that combined to play nine games in a six-day span.
It was Graham that came out on top to finish 4-0 over the last five days, with Roman Workman’s 22 points leading the G-Men to a 78-51 win over an even more weary Bland County on Saturday night at Graham Middle School.
Graham (18-2) was able to jump out to a 44-16 lead at the break, led by a pressing defense that forced 13 first half turnovers, with Workman scoring 18 points, nearly all from real close range, in the opening half.
“We have had a long week, it has been a lot of games, but the big news is we have had a lot of contributions from everybody and not had to really rely on playing just a few players,” Graham head coach Glynn Carlock Jr. said. “Everybody has contributed all week and that has been real nice and we have been able to get a lot of work in.”
Bland County (11-9) actually completed its regular season, playing five games in six days, and six games in eight days. The Bears, who have just eight players, finished 2-4 during that span.
“We have been tired, playing six games in eight days is tough on anybody, especially these 17 and 18-year-olds, and I know Graham is in the same boat,” Bland County head coach Rich Hankins said. “The difference between the two teams is they are a whole lot deeper than what we are.
“He has got an outstanding ball team, he really does. I wish him nothing but the best when the postseason starts and I hope they make a deep, deep run.”
Graham, which won all four contests by an average of 35 points a game, has had a tendency to jump out to big leads, and this was no different. Keyed by a pressing defense, the G-Men took a 12-0 lead before the Bears finally got on the board.
Workman had 10 first quarter points, while Hood had eight, with Graham taking a 24-10 lead into the next period. A 12-0 run, keyed by eight more points by Workman and seven from Colby Hill extended the lead to 28 at the break.
The big margin allowed Hill to take part in halftime ceremonies, and was crowned Mr. GHS. Tennis standout Nicole Gabe was chosen as Mrs. GHS.
“It is good to get a good win like this in a home game on Mr. and Mrs. GHS Night and a big crowd,” Carlock said. “I am proud of our guys effort this week, we had three 20-point quarters tonight.
“Really to be honest with you, Roman has played well all week, and so has Colby and Tony and the rest of the supporting case. Thomas Clarke, these guys have done what they are supposed to do.”
Jonah Miller led the Bears with 16 points, including 11 in the third period, but the G-Men were never threatened by Bland County, which is 3-8 since starting the season at 8-1.
“The competition, the well-seasoned programs like Galax and Fort Chiswell and Graham, we just didn’t have the depth all season to match up with them,” Hankins said. “I am proud of our kids, they fought night in and night out and they have got lot memories to take with them.”
Hood added 13 points and five steals, while Workman had five steals and three assists. Freshman Garrett Dalton added 10 points of the bench.
“It was a good night, everybody contributed and we are going to take a needed day off on Sunday,” Carlock said.
Graham has three games next week, beginning with Giles on Monday, followed by a twinbill with Galax. That will be followed the next week by the beginning of Southern Empire Conference (39) tournament play.
“We have got a tough week to finish with next week...,” Carlock said. “We are going to be tested and it is good to play those games the last week of the regular season to see where we are going into the conference tournament because you know you are going to get a good effort by all of them.”
Meanwhile, Bland County will be off until Feb. 16 when the Bears expect to host Narrows in the opening round of the Western Gate Conference (45) tournament, with the winner facing defending 1A state runner-up Radford, which won the state title in 2013.
“We have had two very good basketball games with (Narrows), we split during the regular season, it is really going to be a battle,” Hankins said. “
“Radford is sitting waiting in the wings for the winner of that game so it’s a near impossible task for us, it really is.”
That doesn’t mean the avid Bland County fan base, which was well represented on Saturday night, won’t be there to cheer on their Bears.
“We are really blessed to have good people in our county that will follow us,” Hankins said. “I think attendance overall has been a little bit down, but I expect them to come out in full force when we play Narrows at home.”
Chandler Cooper scored 12 points to lead the Graham junior varsity to a 36-20 victory over the Bears. Bland County was paced by Dyon Bush and Talon Boniface with six points each.

at Graham Middle School
BLAND COUNTY (11-9)
Tyler Faulkner 2 0-0 4, Mason Christian 6 0-0 13, Kalub Lambert 1 0-0 3, Jonah Miller 7 0-2 16, Zach Gwyn 1 0-0 3, Zane Cunningham 2 0-0 5, Austin Emerson 1 1-2 3, Lathan Delp 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 1-4 51.
GRAHAM (18-2)
Tony Hood 6 0-0 13, Roman Workman 9 4-6 22, Thomas Clarke 3 0-0 7, Colby Hill 2 2-2 7, Tanner Miller 3 0-0 6, Garrett Dalton 4 2-3 10, Nick Morgan 1 0-0 2, Chris Jones 1 0-0 3, Taymon Cooke 1 0-0 2, Israel Harris 3 0-0 6, Jacob Simpson 0 0-0 0, Nick Shoemaker 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 7-11 78.
Bland County...............10 6 19 16 — 51
Graham.........................24 20 23 11 — 78
3-point goals: BC 8 (Miller 2, Christian 1, Lambert 1, Cunningham 1, Gwyn 1); GR 4 (Hood 1, Jones 1, Hill 1, Clarke 1). Total fouls: BC 7; GR 7. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none. JV—GR 36-20.