BY STEVE WILHOIT
SPORTS WRITER
The West Greene boys were hoping to make the clutch plays down the stretch and capture a much-needed victory on Tuesday. That was exactly what happened in Blue Ridge Athletic Conference action.
A three-point play by junior Ryan Roberts with 5.8 seconds left lifted the Buffaloes to a thrilling 59-58 home win over Grainger. Roberts also positioned himself to draw an offensive foul with a mere 0.8 remaining to sew up the outcome.
"You're coached to follow your own miss and that's what I did," Roberts said. "I felt confident about the free throw and this is really a boost to our self-esteem as a team and the reward for how hard we played."
Zach McCamey led the winners with 14 points, which included four of the Buffs' 10 3-pointers. The Grizzlies were paced by Andy Farmer's game-high 22 points.
Earlier, the Grainger girls managed to hang on for a highly-competitive 58-49 win over the Lady Buffs. Laura Johnson finished with a double-double for the Lady Grizzlies (25 points, 11 rebounds). Victoria Franklin set the pace for West Greene with 16 points and eight boards.
The WG boys improve to 5-18, 2-10 for the campaign while Grainger falls to 4-15, 1-9. The Grainger girls move to 12-10, 4-6 with the Lady Buffs dropping to 5-18, 1-11.
West Greene returns home Friday for a non-league match-up with Cherokee.
WG BOYS TAKE THRILLER
A pair of boys' teams hungry for a BRAC win scrapped to the final tick before an outcome could be determined. The final quarter featured 11 lead changes. Grainger hurt its cause by missing three-of-four free throws while leading in the last minute of the contest.
The game-changing play from Roberts came off his own offensive rebound after a perfect entry pass from Tyler Kelley in the last seconds. A pair of free throws by Roberts with 1:18 remaining had pulled the Buffs within 57-56, setting up the electric conclusion.
A pair of treys by Justin Evans kept the Buffs close in the closing minutes. Grainger led by four early in the fourth at 43-39 but a key 3-pointer by Matt Dickenson gave WG life.
The game was nip-and-tuck throughout with Kelley giving the Buffs a 16-15 lead late in the first quarter.
The Grizzlies overcame two treys by McCamey in the second and grabbed a 33-27 on a Ryan Webster three-point play.
Defense was the key word in the third. WG stayed close on 3-pointers by Kelley and McCamey but a Webster lean-in just before the horn kept the visitors on top at 41-37.
Also pivotal was the play of Corey Ramsey, who tossed in a bucket and four successive free throws in the latter stages of the match-up. All eight of Ramsey's points came in the second half.
Evans tossed in 10 points and hauled down six boards for the Buffs. Roberts added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Grainger (58): Ryan Webster 4-7 3-4 11, Glascock 1-7 2-3 4, Andy Farmer 9-13 2-4 22, Jackson 1-7 0-0 3, Aaron Carter 4-4 1-2 9, Headrick 1-3 2-2 4, Spaw 1-2 0-0 3, King 0-1 2-2 2. TOTALS: 21-44 12-18 58.
West Greene (59): Dickenson 1-2 0-0 3, Kelley 3-11 1-2 8, Lowery 2-6 0-0 5, Roberts 2-3 4-7 8, Zach McCamey 5-11 0-0 14, Julian 1-4 0-0 3, Ramsey 2-8 4-4 8, Evans 4-9 0-0 10, Myers 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-56 9-12 59.
3-Point Goals: GH-4 (Farmer 2, Spaw, Jackson). WG-10 (McCamey 4, Evans 2, Julian, Kelley, Dickerson, Lowery).
Score by quarters:
Grainger 15 18 8 17--58
West Greene 16 11 10 22--59
LADY BUFFS FALL SHORT
The girls' contest was also tight as West Greene trailed 49-46 with 1:25 remaining on the game clock. But eight straight points then put the stamp on a win for the visitors.
Grainger's spread looked somewhat comfortable with four minutes left at 47-39 but an 8-2 run made it a one-possession game, capped by a three-point play from Kayla Murphy and a Franklin put-back. The Lady Grizzlies closed out the outcome with four straight conversions at the charity stripe by Taylor Lamb.
The Lady Buffs trailed 14-9 after a quarter. But WG jumped ahead at the half, 25-24. Chelsey Carter came off the bench to rifle in a trio of 3-pointers in the second stanza. The Lady Grizzlies played nearly the entire half with their leading scorer on the season out of the game. Ashlee Acuff went to the pine at the 5:33 mark of the opening period and didn't return until the second half after picking up two quick fouls.
The third period featured seven consecutive lead changes to start the quarter. Johnson fired in all eight points for Grainger and Franklin poured in six for WG.
The Lady Grizzlies extended the margin but an Alison Brooks trey later pulled WG within 39-38 heading to the fourth.
Grainger opened the final quarter on a 10-3 run before the Lady Buffs' surge fell just short.
Lamb chipped in with 14 points for the Lady Grizzlies.
Carter provided scoring support for the Lady Buffs with 12 points, on four 3-pointers.
Grainger (58): Cabbage 2-8 1-2 5, Mara Maples 0-2 10-10 10, Laura Johnson 10-14 5-8 25, Taylor Lamb 4-7 5-8 14, Acuff 1-6 2-2 4, Morgan 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-38 23-31 58.
West Greene (49): Mathes 2-4 0-0 5, Kayla Murphy 2-4 3-5 7, Haire 1-3 0-0 2, Victoria Franklin 7-17 1-2 16, Brooks 1-8 0-0 3, Carter 4-9 0-0 12, Mary Ann Murphy 1-1 0-0 2, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Turner 1-4 0-0 2. TOTALS: 19-50 4-7 49.
3-Point Goals: GH-1 (Lamb). WG-7 (Carter 4, Mathes, Franklin, Brooks).
Score by quarters:
Grainger 14 10 15 19 --58
West Greene 9 16 13 11 --49
WG TAKES JV WIN
West Greene started the day with a 54-43 victory in boys' junior varsity play with Ben Rednour scoring 14 points. Hunter Spaw dropped in 21 for Grainger.
