After losing two of its top three scorers to graduation last spring, followers of Grafton High’s boys basketball team might have assumed that an offensive performance similar to Wednesday’s in the Group AA Division 4 semifinals against E.C. Glass would have proved devastating for the Clippers.
Or, as E.C. Glass coach Roy Roberson Jr. put it: “If you told me that (Grafton star forward) Elijah Moore shoots 3 of 19 and scores 16 points, I say we win by eight.”
However, as Moore – who in fact did shoot 3-19 from the floor and 2-11 from long range Wednesday – and his Clippers teammates have preached all season long, this year’s group has bought into a defense-first approach. And sure enough, their execution on that end of the floor Wednesday proved to be the difference as they outlasted the Region III runner-ups from Lynchburg in overtime, 51-48.
The Clippers came up with critical defensive stops at the end of both regulation and overtime as the Hilltoppers had the final possession to close out each period.
“The staple of our program has been defense,” Grafton coach Jeremy Jordan said. “I didn’t have to get our guys motivated when they come over after making that defensive stop at the end of regulation. Their demeanor kind of changed a little bit, and all of them were saying, ‘we’re going to find a way to make it happen and not going to lose this one.’”
Grafton’s players said having experienced a heartbreaking loss in overtime against Christiansburg in last year’s state championship game better prepared them this time around.
“Once overtime hit, we all knew the feeling of losing like that,” said point guard Tyler McMillan, who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. “We knew that to come out and get the win we had to get defensive stops since we weren’t playing well offensively.”
The eventual game-winning basket came off a heads-up defensive play from Grafton senior Jesse Santiago who, with the Clippers trailing by one (48-47) and less than a minute to play in overtime, stole the second pass of E.C. Glass’ inbounds play and converted the go-ahead layup.
“We were in our press, and I knew I couldn’t let them make the open pass,” Santiago said. “We were hungry for the win, so I just read [the pass], got the steal and made a play.”
Two possessions before Santiago’s steal-and-layup, it was Evan Sperling who stepped up and drew a charge in the lane that denied E.C. Glass the chance to go up by three.
“That was a huge play by a sophomore to step up and put his heart on the line for his teammates,” Grafton head coach Jeremy Jordan said.
After two made free throws from point guard Tyler McMillan with 12 seconds left in overtime put Grafton up by three, 51-48, the Clippers perfectly defended the Hilltoppers’ final possession, forcing a last-second heave from five feet beyond the three-point arc that came up well short.
E.C. Glass’ missed opportunities didn’t just come at the end of the final two periods. The Hilltoppers shot a dismal 5-17 from the free-throw line, including a 3-9 mark during the fourth quarter and overtime.
“I joked with my kids a couple years ago that I could kick that many [free throws] in, and I probably couldn’t do that, but I bet I could make that many with my left hand,” Roberson said. “On the big stage, when you shoot 5-17, you’re not going to win many games, so unfortunately that did us in.”
Neither team shot the ball well – Grafton finished 15-48 from the floor to Glass’ 19-49 – which demonstrated the type of hard-nosed play both sides offered on the defensive end.
Perhaps the most exciting sequence of the whole game came in the final minute of the first half when a nifty between-the-legs crossover by McMillan sent his defender to the floor and set up Sperling with a seemingly easy finish at the hoop, but the Hilltoppers’ 6-foot-9 center Karl Overstreet (12 points, 11 rebounds) adjusted nicely to viciously swat the ball out of bounds.
Those brief 10 seconds provided as many “oohs” and “ahs” as the entire second half, when the two teams combined to shoot just 13-41 with 19 turnovers.
Moore scored 12 of his 16 points during the first two quarters as Grafton maintained a 32-24 lead at the break, but the Hilltoppers came out strong to start the third and opened the period with a 13-7 run behind in the inside play of Overstreet to trim the Clippers’ lead to two, 39-37.
E.C. Glass would tie things for the first time all game (43-43) midway through the fourth quarter on consecutive 3-pointers from Montrez Bateman and Shawn Brown.
After McMillan and Akeem Jones exchanged made baskets to make the score 45-45 with 1:29 to play in regulation, neither side could muster one more bucket as the fourth quarter ended with Bateman’s contested baseline jumper bouncing off the rim.
Moore opened the extra period with a tough layup at the front of the rim, but Overstreet converted 2 of 2 free-throw attempts to keep things squared 47-all.
After Jones put the Hilltoppers on top 48-47 with a free throw, Grafton coughed up what appeared to be the costliest of its 18 turnovers for the game, but Santiago’s game-changing play saved the Clippers and put them back on top 49-48.
With under 20 seconds to play and E.C. Glass looking to regain the lead, Santiago came up with his second big defensive play in a 3-second span by swiping a steal at the free-throw line with 14 seconds left on the clock before putting the ball in the hands of McMillan, Grafton’s late-game free-throw specialist.
After McMillan sank both attempts to put Grafton ahead 51-48, the Clippers’ defense took it from there, forcing Tyus Brown to heave a 30-footer at the buzzer that fell well short.
Escaping in the final seconds drew no sort of celebrations from the Clippers, most notably McMillan and Moore, who said they expected to win and return to VCU Siegel’s Center on Saturday for a second shot at a Division 4 state title.
Grafton will face Salem at 9 p.m. Saturday in the Division 4 final.
“We’ll enjoy this one, at least for the bus ride home,” Jordan said. “But we’re certainly thankful to have one more shot at this thing on Friday.”
Grafton 51 E.C. Glass 48
Grafton- 17 15 7 6 6 – 51
E.C. Glass- 15 9 13 8 3 – 48
Grafton- Moore 16, McMillan 13, Santiago 11, Sperling 5, Miller 4, Jessup 2. Totals 15 16-21; 51
E.C. Glass- Overstreet 12, Jones 11, Bateman 10, Brown 8, Mayo 3, Brown 2, Osinga 2. Totals 19 5-17; 48
