By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — Tony Hood wasn’t ready to call it a season, and Richlands paid the price.
The talented senior point guard scored 30 points for Graham, virtually taking over the game in leading the G-Men to the Southern Empire Conference (39) championship game with a 74-58 win over Richlands on Friday night at Tazewell Middle School.
“We were worried about them because if anybody can absolutely beat us in this conference it is Richlands,” Hood said. “They have played us close throughout these two years and we just had to come out and put it all out on the line, we didn’t want to go home.”
Graham (21-2) will seek its second straight SEC crown tonight against Grundy (16-10), with both teams also qualifying for the Region 2A West tournament slated to be played next week.
“We are very excited, to two-peat for the conference championship,” said Hood, who had 14 points before the break, 16 after, and also had four rebounds and two steals. “That is the next game up so we are going to go all out, we have to watch film on it tonight and prepare for it tomorrow and hopefully come out tomorrow and get a win.”
Richlands (10-15) actually took an early 12-1 lead, with the G-Men feeling the effects of having not played for two weeks before of weather issues.
“We hadn’t played in exactly two weeks from today and we came out a little slow, but we just came through as a team and just fought for it,” Hood said. “Me and Colby (Hill), we already made up our minds we’re not going home this early so we just fought,”
Richlands head coach Jody Fuller actually expected a quick start by his Blues, but also knew the G-Men would claw back.
“I thought we may jump them tonight and I was worried that when that happened, I knew they would come hard and that was my question, whether we could match their intensity when they had been cut,” Fuller said. “I don’t feel from the point where they started to come back, I don’t feel like we matched the their intensity the rest of the night, but they played with a lot of energy, that is what I was worried about.”
Hood and Thomas Clarke hit 3s late in the first quarter to trim that 12-1 margin to 12-7, and Blues still led 19-15 before Hill canned a 3, and Nick Morgan put the G-Men up for good at 20-19 with a pair of free throws.
It was Hood who sparked Graham, scoring 10 second quarter points by continually taking the ball to the hoop and either scoring or dishing off an open shot.
“Tony has the ability to take the game over,” Fuller said. “He did it last year in the conference championship game because he is athletic and he can do that.”
It was more of the same after the break.
“Coaches said attack and I attacked,” said Hood, who was stricken with strep throat and the flu more than a week ago when the game was originally slated to be played. “That is what he has me at the point guard for so that is what I was supposed to do.”
“Had we had to play this game when it was scheduled to play it would probably have really hurt us, I don’t think we could have had those 30 points because it was bad,” added Carlock. “He has fought through an illness, he has been able to come back, he was a leader tonight on the floor, defensively and also offensively.
“He had 30 points, four rebounds and two steals to go with it, that is a pretty good night coming off of an illness. I am proud of his effort tonight.”
A 19-4 run from a 16-7 deficit pushed the G-Men up 26-20 at halftime, and it was all Graham from there, outscoring the Blue Tornado 48-38 in the second half, building the lead to as much as 21 in the final period.
Hill added 16 points and four rebounds for Graham, while Morgan and Clarke had 10 points apiece. Morgan also had three assists and three boards.
Perhaps Carlock would enjoy a late meal after the game.
“When you haven’t been in the gym since Feb. 13 and we have probably had a total of five practices since then, as a coach it is probably the most worrisome situation that you will ever be in,” Carlock said. “I haven’t eaten anything today other than a bowl of Rice Krispies and a thing of toast, and they gave me a Gatorade chew before the game just to try to get some electrolytes in me because I have been so worried about this.
“The reason why I am worried is you are looking at a good ball club across from us...”
Richlands, which will return its entire starting five next season, was led by Luke Phillips with 17 points, 14 from Cody Fuller, and 12 from Scottie Ball, but Jody Fuller wasn’t ready to look ahead just yet.
“I am excited about the future, but a little down tonight,” said Fuller, whose Blues were still within 12 going to the final period, but that margin ballooned to 21 on a drive to the basket and dunk by Hill. “We have a lot of work to do between now and then and we have got a lot of improving to do.”
Graham will look for its second straight SEC title tonight, with a win meaning the G-Men will host a Region 2A quarterfinal game next week, with the semifinals and finals slated for Tazewell and Richlands.
“I am proud of the total team effort, we were a little sluggish early, we had a full bench, we brought up some guys from our JV team and our bench was into it in the second half,” Carlock said. “We called them out at halftime and they got into it. This is a total team effort, this is not something that is five people on the floor, it is 15, plus your staff.
“We are looking forward to having the opportunity to play in a championship environment tomorrow night, get some rest tonight, get a workout in tomorrow morning, watch some film and get ready for the Golden Wave.”

at Tazewell Middle School
RICHLANDS (10-15)
Luke Phillips 6 4-4 17, Cody Fuller 4 4-5 14, Ethan Ratliff 0 0-0 0, Scottie Ball 4 4-6 12, Landon Lowe 3 3-5 9, Grant Herndon 3 0-0 6, Will Moir 0 0-0 0, Austin Atkinson 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Smith 0 0-0 0, Brennan Richardson 0 0-0 0, Caleb Altizer 0 0-0 0, Luke Herndon 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 15-20 58.
GRAHAM (21-2)
Tony Hood 10 8-11 30, Roman Workman 2 0-0 4, Thomas Clarke 4 0-0 10, Colby Hill 6 3-4 16, Tanner Miller 0 0-0 0, Nick Morgan 3 2-2 10, Garrett Dalton 2 0-0 4, Taymon Cooke 0 0-0 0, Chris Jones 0 0-0 0, Israel Harris 0 0-0 0, Jacob Simpson 0 0-0 0, Nick Shoemaker 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 13-17 74.
Richlands.......................12 8 18 20 — 58
Graham.............................7 19 24 24 — 74
3-point goals: RL 3 (Fuller 2, Phillips 1); GR 7 (Hood 2, Morgan 2, Clarke 2, Hill 1). Total fouls: RL 18; GR 12. Fouled out: Lowe. Technicals: none.