Bluefield Daily Telegraph

RICHLANDS, Va. — There would be no crying for the Bulldogs on this night. There were plenty of tears from the G-Men.

Devonnte Holland scored six of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including five during Martinsville’s deciding 13-4 run, as the Bulldogs squeaked past Graham 46-45 in the Region 2A West semifinals at a packed Richlands Middle School on Wednesday night.

Martinsville (23-6) will play Dan River tonight in the regional finals at either Bassett or Magna Vista high school, and both teams advanced to the 2A state tournament next week in Richmond.

“We kind of stole that one,” Martinsville head coach Jeff Adkins said. “Graham had us, we had an off night, but they had a lot to do with that because of what they did. They had a great game plan, it was just a great high school game.”

Graham (23-3) had its biggest lead at 41-38 with 5:03 left to play, but the G-Men went cold, scoring just four free throws the rest of the way, while also committing some crucial turnovers down the stretch.

“I just feel like we didn’t do things down the stretch that we needed to do to move on to Richmond,” Graham head coach Glynn Carlock Jr. said.

“We had to burn way too many timeouts to get the ball inbounds, and I felt like throughout the game we missed too many layups and free throws to allow us to extend that lead and that is never safe against them.”

Colby Hill, who led all scorers with 19 points, had put Graham up 41-33 with a 3, but the Bulldogs, who struggled all night from 3-point range, connected for two, from Jay Dandridge and Cam Bradley, who banked a 3 from the top of the key to tie the score at 45-45 with 1:40 left to play.

Bradley had 12 points for the Bulldogs, while Dandridge added 10. Martinsville was 6 for 16 at the free throw line, while Graham was 17 for 22.

“I think we fell in love with (the 3). I was trying to get to drive more and try to get to the rim and try to create a tip-in for Devonnte, but as a shooter, if you are wide open, you have got to knock it down.” said Adkins, a former player at Martinsville, and star player at Maryland on teams with Len Bias.

“I always tell that to kids, and we did hit some late, and we banked one in. ... The rim was tight because we were scared. “

With Graham double-teaming the 6-foot-7 Holland, the Bulldogs settled for 3s, which weren’t dropping most of the night. Martinsville scored 21 points in the final quarter, after scoring just 25 to that point.

“I knew coming into this game it was going to be tough and a lot of adversity, but our guys shut it down,” Holland said. “I was proud of my guys because last year in this game, we was down and we was on the bench crying and we did not give up tonight.”

Graham had a pair of key turnovers late, with Nick Morgan throwing the ball into the bleachers while trying to get the ball inbounds, and Holland followed with a pair of free throws, making one to put the Bulldogs up by the final margin with 50.8 seconds on the clock.

“I tell my players if they will shoot it I will finish it,” said Holland, a Division I prospect, who is receiving interest from numerous schools, including Wichita State and Wake Forest.

“Basketball is everything to me, and I don’t want to see my cousin, Curtis (Pilson, who fouled out), I don’t him to go out like that, I want him to go out with a state championship.”

Graham worked the ball around, finally calling a timeout with 17.8 seconds left, with the large contingent of G-Men fans on their feet. Senior point guard Tony Hood worked the ball inside, passing the ball to Morgan under the goal, but the ball went out of bounds.

Holland was then fouled with 3.9 seconds left, but missed both shots. Hood got the rebound and hustled downcourt, squeezing through a double team and put up a shot at the buzzer, but the ball bounced off the backboard and rim and missed its mark.

“I thought other than hitting a few shots and layups down the stretch and free throws, and a couple of costly turnovers that could have contributed to a bucket here and there,” Carlock said. “You can’t pin it on one thing at that stage, when they tightened the pressure down, we tightened up late.

“I felt like we were ready for anything they showed us, and just a bucket, just a bucket here and there.”

Carlock had a long post-game meeting with a disappointed team that was looking to contend for Graham’s first basketball championship since 1956.

“There is some hurt individuals in this locker room right now, and as a group we are pretty hurt,” Carlock said. “I thought our guys battled, they fought their butts off.

“As a coach and a staff, all we can ask for is that fight and that toughness, and I felt like our kids exhibited that tonight. I wish Martinsville the best of luck, I hope they win it all, they have got a great squad.

“They faced a lot adversity tonight too. They played well at the end when they needed to, but I thought our effort was fantastic ... .”

Martinsville, which has won a Virginia-best 13 state championships, led 18-16 at halftime, despite Graham committing 10 turnovers, and making just three field goals.

Graham, which had no 3s in the first half, got two in a row from Hill and Roman Workman in the third quarter, with the G-Men expanding its lead to 30-25 going to the final period.

That margin grew to 41-33 when the Bulldogs made their final run to end the game, and make another trip to the state tournament.

“The expectation here is to always win it,” Adkins said. “Realistically, we have got a pretty veteran club, and obviously we are down to four teams, and we have as good a chance as anybody.

“I think tonight winning a game like this when it didn’t look good and we had to do it with just grit, it may help us get over the hump this year.”

Graham finished its season with a stellar 22-3 record, and will lose several seniors, including Hill and Hood, who finished with 12 points. Morgan added eight and Workman had six.

“It is a majorly disppointment for us, I am not going to lie,” said Carlock, who was highly pleased with the Graham following, especially the students throughout the season. “You are playing a 13-time state champion and you have got them on the ropes like that.

“We have a prideful bunch of kids, and this locker room is hurt right now.”

At Richlands Middle School

MARTINSVILLE (23-6)

Curtis Pilson 2 0-0 4, Cam Bradley 5 0-2 12, Devonnte Holland 4 5-11 13, Jay Dandridge 4 1-3 10, Zanthus Hairston 3 0-0 7, Ty Ty Carter 0 0-0 0, Aaron Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-16 46.

GRAHAM (23-3)

Tony Hood 4 4-5 12, Roman Workman 2 1-2 6, Thomas Clarke 0 0-0 0, Colby Hill 5 8-10 19, Tanner Miller 0 0-0 0, Nick Morgan 2 4-5 8, Garrett Dalton 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 17-22 45.

Martinsville.....................12 6 7 21 — 46

Graham...........................12 4 14 15 — 45

3-point goals: MV 4 (Bradley 2, Dandridge 1, Hairston 1); GR 2 (Workman 1, Hill 1). Total fouls: MV 17; GR 16. Fouled out: Pilson. Technicals: MV-Demetrius Davis.