By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. — It’s never easy to beat a team three times, but Galax was able to do just that to Bland County.
Lawrence Parsons used his size to his advantage, scoring 20 points and dominating the glass, as the No. 4-ranked Maroon Tide advanced to the finals of the Mountain Empire District tournament with a 53-34 win over the Bears on Wednesday night at Graham Middle School.
Bland County defeated Graham — which had beaten the Bears twice during the regular season — on Tuesday, but had no answer for the Maroon Tide’s inside game, which included the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Parsons, 6-2 Deion George and 6-1 Eddie Hanks.
George added 12 points and Hanks added nine. Six-foot-3 Devonte McKinney was saddled in foul trouble and finished with two points.
Galax, which won the Group A, Division 1 state championship last season, improved to 20-2 and will play Grayson County for the MED crown on Friday at Graham with tip-off slated for about 7:30 p.m.
Grayson County survived Fort Chiswell 72-70 in the second semifinal.
The Maroon Tide’s lone losses on the season have come to Fort Chiswell and the nation’s top-ranked prep team, Oak Hill Academy.
“They’re defending state champs for a reason,” Bland County head coach Rich Hankins said. “Coach (Verl) Brown does an outstanding job with them and they have a lot of kids coming back from last year. They are proven veterans.”
Bland County (12-12), which will host Rural Retreat on Tuesday in the Region C, Division 1 playoffs, led 23-23-20 1:22 into the second half, but size and pressure defense saw the Maroon Tide to go on a 25-4 run and out-score the Bears 33-16 after the break.
Galax controlled the glass against the smaller Bears, and also forced 14 second half turnovers, including seven in each of the final two quarters.
“Playing last night and beating Graham, our legs were getting a little heavy there in the third and fourth quarter for sure, but you have got to give Galax credit,” Hankins said. “They turned up that defensive intensity and caused some turnovers.
“That momentum shifted in their direction and we were back on our heels quite a bit in the second half.”
Asher Dillow and Chase Hankins led Bland County with 11 points apiece, including combining for 10 of the Bears’ 18 first half points.
Bland County came out in a zone, forcing the cold-shooting Maroon Tide to patiently work the ball for open looks. The teams combined for seven ties and four lead changes in the opening half.
The Bears led 8-6 after the first quarter before Parsons scored all 10 of his first half points in the second period with Galax taking a 20-18 lead on consecutive drives to the hoop by George.
“We tried to pack that zone in tight, as tight as we could get it,’ Hankins said. “We still came out too far at times and Galax with their size, just continued to pound it on the inside and there wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it.”
Bland County quickly took the second half lead on two free throws off a technical for McKinney’s third foul, and Dillow followed with a 3 for the 23-20 lead.
From there it was all Galax, as the Maroon Tide’s fullcourt pressure defense was too much for the Bears, who struggled to get the ball across halfcourt.
Galax continue to take it inside, with Parsons and George helping the Maroon Tide on a 15-2 run to end the quarter leading 37-25. The lead grew to as much as 19.
“There were a lot of turnovers against that diamond-in-one press we don’t normally make, but they got us rattled and took full advantage of it.” Hankins said.
Bland County, which also received eight points from Darryl Clark, returns to action on Tuesday to face the Indians in the Bears’ return to regional play.
“We battled through a lot of things the last two or three years in particular so to be where we are at right now looking at the regionals that is a blessing.” Hankins said.

at Graham Middle School
BLAND COUNTY (12-11)
Asher Dillow 4 2-2 11, Darryl Clark 2 4-4 8, John Robert Miller 2 0-0 4, Chase Hankins 4 2-5 11, Jonathan Goins 0 0-0 0, Tyler White 0 0-0 0, Raymond Greene 0 0-0 0, Jonah Miller 0 0-0 0, Anthony Donnack 0 0-0 0, Derek French 0 0-0 0, Dylan Walker 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-11 34.
GALAX (20-2)
Eddie Hanks 3 0-0 9, Austin Pack 1 2-2 4, Deion George 6 0-0 12, Devonte McKinney 1 0-0 2, Lawrence Parsons 10 0-0 20, Jacob Fisher 1 0-0 2, Jordan Vaughan 0 0-0 0, Trevor Quesenberry 0 0-0 0, Travis Gravey 1 0-0 2, Jacob Kohl 1 0-0 2, Donte Peoples 0 0-0 0, Timmy Gable 0 0-0. Totals 24 2-2 53.
Bland County..........................8 10 7 9 — 34
Galax.....................................6 14 17 16 — 53
3-point goals: BC 2 (Dillow 1, Hankins 1); GX 1 (Hanks 1). Total fouls: BC 7; GX 13. Fouled out: none. Technicals: McKinney.