By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Give a call for the halftime speech.
After watching Tazewell make a sudden surge to tie the game at the break, Richlands rallied behind Ben Brown and Eric Harris, fueled by Devon Johnson’s defense, to outscore the Bulldogs 32-14 in the third stanza.
That enabled the Blue Tornado (6-10, 3-4) to capture a 76-67 triumph against Tazewell (9-9, 3-3) in Southwest District action.
“I told the guys that we had an 8-point lead, and we just stood around too much and let Tazewell take about five rebounds and three or four loose balls out of our hands in the last few minutes of the second quarter,” grinned Tornado mentor Jody Fuller.
“I challenged them a little bit. I told them that whoever gets the ball in traffic is going to win. It was up to us and I think they responded in the right way after we came back out of the locker room.”
Brown and Johnson combined 36 points (18 apiece) to lead the attack for the Blues, who threatened to break the game open quickly with a 10-3 lead in the first three minutes, behind Brown’s trey and basket. Blake Hash went downtown for Tazewell to ignite the Bulldogs, who trailed by three points after the opening quarter.
Johnson’s steal and dunk started the second period for Richlands but in the final minutes of the quarter, Tazewell mounted a comeback. Hash hit a bucket and then John Walker, who tallied 18 points, made back-to-back baskets in the paint, tying the score at 27-all. Hash’s free throw gave Tazewell its first and only lead at 28-27 with 1:03 left before the break.
In the third quarter, Richlands broke quick and stayed hot for several minutes, quickly racing ahead and building up a 21-point cushion with 6:40 left in the game. Again the Bulldogs battled back, outscoring the Tornado 24-15 in the fourth period with Hash pacing the attack. Hash took game scoring honors with 20 points including a pair of treys and an 8-of-10 effort at the line.
“I got hit out there pretty hard a few times,” noted Hash. “I’m OK but it was a very physical game from the opening quarter.”
Not only was the inside play rough, but the outside shooting was sizzling as each team hit 7 three-pointers.
“We had to play hard on the break in the third quarter,” said the Blues’ Harris. “Coach (Fuller) challenged us and we just ground it out and got a lead. We all played our hardest.”
Balance was a key for Richlands with five players in double figures, also including A. J. Johnson (15), Harris (13), and Gabe Hunsaker (12).
Colin Hancock nailed three from downtown to pace the Bulldogs, while Brown went deep an impressive 5 times for 15 of his 18 points. Despite being saddled with three fouls by halftime and missing much of the second half before fouling out, the Bulldogs Noah Walker had a strong effort with 7 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks, including blocking Johnson’s shot twice.
Johnson, however, although not a shooter, controlled the tempo with his muscle, quickness, and leaping ability. He had a pair of blocks, 8 rebounds, and three steals for the Blues.
Tazewell made it closer in the final quarter, behind Hash and a pair of treys from John Walker.
“We have to play smarter,” noted Tazewell head coach Lee Walker. “We let them talk to us on the court and break our concentration in a couple of places. You can’t do that. You can’t give a good team any advantage like that, especially on the road.”
Richlands hit 13-of-25 at the line, while Tazewell was a sparkling 20-for-27 shoot foul shots.
The Blue Tornado visits Honaker tonight and Tazewell will take on Abingdon Friday. The Tornado and Bulldogs will meet again in boys action Saturday starting with the junior varsity at 6 p.m.

At Richlands Middle School
TAZEWELL (9-8, 3-2)
Blake Hash 5 8-10 20, Jalen Jordan 1 3-6 5, Noah Walker 3 1-1 7, Colin Hancock 4 0-0 11, John Walker 5 6-6 18, Ryan Hankins 1 1-2 3, Christian Lewis 1 1-2 3, Mikal Moore 0 0-0 0.
RICHLANDS (6-10, 3-4)
A. J. Johnson 7 1-3 15, Eric Harris 5 2-7 13, Zach Barnett 0 0-0 0, Ben Brown 6 1-2 18, Zach Johnson 0 0-0 0, Devon Johnson 6 6-10 18, Gabe Hunsaker 4 3-3 12, Ethan Deel 0 0-0 0, D. J. Flack 0 0-0 0.
Tazewell.....................14 16 14 24 — 67
Richlands....................17 12 32 15 — 76
Three-point goals: R, 7 (Brown 5, Harris, Hunsaker ). T, 7 (Hancock, Hash 2, J. Walker 2). Fouled out: T– N. Walker.