Tripleheader Sweep

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 The Varsity Graham boys capped a 3-game sweep by the visiting Red Devils as Kendall Patterson and Trent Torain scored 26 points each to lead Graham to a hard-fought 79-48 victory and their second confernce win.

  Graham raced to a 15-7 first period lead, as the rust from being off the court for a week showed.  Graham struggled to find their deep shot the whole first half and went into the locker room at the half leading by 10, 31-21.  The Red Devils only conncted on 3-three point shots the first half.

  Things got interesting the second half.  Intentional fouls, technical fouls, and a meeting at mid court of the coaches with the officials testified to the intensity level that the game was being played at.  The Red Devils turned up the heat, as the Patriots fought and clawed in a desperate attempt to stay with Graham.

  Not a problem for the more talented and deep-benched Red Devils.  Graham plowed through all the muck and outscored the Patriots 48-27 the second half to win their 11th game of the season 79-48.  The second half scoring binge by the Red Devils equaled the amount the Patriots scored for the entire game.

   There were a total of 26 fouls called the second half on both teams, showing the nature that the game had took after the half.  In one sequence, an intentional foul was called on a Patriot player and immediately a technical was called on the Graham player who thought the foul was a little too rough for his liking.  Indeed, this writer witnessed a brutal foul earlier in the season that I deemed unnecessary and the player sufferd some serious head and neck injuries, and a similar result could have happened here.  Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and play resumed with minimal effects of that play.

  The Red Devils improved to 11-3, 2- in the Mid-State 2A Conference, while Providence Grove drops to 3-10, 0-2.

  Seth Hardin led the Patriots with 12 points, while Kyle McDonald added 10.

  In the girls game, the Lady Devils jumped out to a 21-10 first period lead, thanks to a hot-shooting BriAna Snipes, who banged in three 3-point baskets and 11 points.  Things got interesting in the second period, as the Lady Pats outcored Graham 15-5.  Graham clung to a 26-25 halftime lead. Hope and Charity Foxx led the Patriot charge the second period.

  The second half was a see-saw affair, with Providence Grove, then Graham claiming a lead.  Graham led 40-35 going into the final period of play.

  Deja Cousin stepped onto the stage the last period and poured in 8 points to lead the Lady Devils to a 52-49 win.  Cousin hit a basket to put Graham up 7 with 2 minutes to play, but as Providence Grove fouled in an attempt to slow the game down, Graham struggled at the line, hitting only 1 of 5.  Good defense and poor shot selection fom the Lady Pats helped the Lady Devils hold on for their 7th win.  The Lady Devils equaled the boys with 9 three point baskets.  

  Deja Cousins and BriAna Snipes scored 16 points each, while Jasmin Atkins added 12 for Graham.  Hope and Charity Foxx led Providence Grove with 12 points each.  

  Graham evened their record at 7-7, going to 2-0 in the conference.  Providence Grove fell to 3-8, 0-2.

  For the JV boys, 2013 did not start out on a good note for Coach Ward's squad.  They dropped a tough 60-55 loss in the championhip game of the Eastern Alamance JV Holiday Tournament Tuesday evening.  They were unable to beat the Eagles for the third time this season.

  It took some time, but the JV squad finally got enough breathing room the final period to claim a 65-58 win.  Graham led 44-43 at the end of the third period.  Heady play and geat defensive stops helped the JV squad down the stretch.  Even though Graham missed 10 free throws the final stanza, their offensive firepower enabled them to gut out their 10th win of the season.  Brent Baldwin and Cody Coleman each tossed in 19 points for the Red Devils.

  Up next, an across-the-railroad-tracks treck to take on the Cavaliers of Cummings on Tuesday January 8th.  The Cavaliers boys are undefeated, while the Lady Devils defeated the Lady Cavs in the championship game of the Don Amos Holiday Classic in December.

To view photos of this game, click on the link below (if photos do not show, click on thumbnails in the style tab)

Graham-Providence Grove Photo gallery

Gaham-Providence Grove Girl's Photo Gallery