The Bruton (16-1, 14-1 Bay Rivers District) boys basketball team earned a crucial 56-50 home win against Tabb Wednesday evening ahead of Friday’s blockbuster showdown versus Grafton.
The win marks Bruton’s 10th consecutive win.
As Bruton coach Brenner Carter put it, “I’ll take an ugly win any time.”
Tabb attacked the paint early and often against Bruton’s zone defense, but the Panthers repeatedly came out the victors, blocking four shots within the first four minutes of the game.
The blocks at times came to the chagrin of Carter.
“I know we had right many blocks, but I’ve been trying to get our post guys to not try to block every shot, because sooner or later it’s going to get you,” Carter said. “Earlier in the game, I guess they don’t listen to the coach. And that’s OK, because it worked.”
While Bruton’s defense contested plenty of shots, the Tigers missed plenty of point-blank opportunities that came back to bite them.
With Tabb (14-5, 11-4) trailing 22-14 in the second quarter, Terrell Sheffey made three consecutive shots to pull the Tigers within two points. Sheffey finished with a game-high 22 points.
Bruton entered halftime with a 22-20 lead.
Sheffey continued playing effectively on the offensive side of the ball for Tabb, hitting shots inside and out. He finished with seven points in the third quarter.
Sheffey opened the final quarter by splashing a 3-pointer that tied the game at 36 apiece.
The Panthers attacked the heart of the Tabb defense in the fourth quarter, drawing more free throw attempts in the final quarter than the rest of the game combined. Bruton sank 12 of their 13 attempted free throws in the final quarter.
Zack Calloway, who had been held scoreless until the fourth quarter, made his presence known in a big way by draining a pair of 3-pointers to extend Bruton’s lead to as much as 11 points.
Bruton had control of the game late, despite the scoreline saying otherwise.
The Tigers, trailing by eight points, scored four quick points with less than 15 seconds to play, closing the game to 54-50.
Tabb was unable to steal the ensuing inbounds attempt and was forced to foul Jalen Carr, who sank both of his free throws on the other end and tallied a game high 19 points.
The win gives Bruton a half-game lead over Grafton in the Bay Rivers District standings.
Tabb continues its season with a home matchup against York on Friday.
Bruton 56, Tabb 50
Bruton (16-1, 14-1)
Jones 7, Florence 2, Carr 19, Calloway 6, Edwards 8, J. Taylor 8, Adkins 4, Danek 2
Tabb (14-5, 11-4)
Sheffey 22, Sebastien 3, Shaske 5, A. Brown 2, K. Brown 6, Pearson 2, Jordan 1, Hicks 9
Bruton: 14 8 14 20 — 56
Tabb: 10 10 13 17 — 50
3-point goals: Bruton 2 (Calloway 2), Tabb 3 (Sheffey 2, Shaske)
Balanced Scoring Effort Gives Smithfield Win Over Lafayette
A monster effort in the third quarter helped propel Smithfield to a 74-48 road victory over Lafayette Wednesday evening.
Chris Pierce led the Packers in scoring with 13 points and collected six rebounds.
Nick Turner came off the bench to score 12, and Nick Wells contributed 10 points, all of which came in the second half. Keyshawn Jefferson and Trey Neville carried the scoring load for Lafayette, scoring 21 and 18 points, respectively.
Smithfield led from start to finish, but Lafayette (6-9, 6-9 Bay Rivers District) kept the score within double-digits throughout the first half. The Packers led by nine at halftime thanks in part to five trips to the free throw line.
“We were a little sluggish in the first half,” Smithfield coach Richard Pullen said. “Their zone defense slowed us down and we missed a lot of easy shots.”
The Packers sealed the game in the third quarter, outscoring Lafayette 25-7. They began the quarter with three-and-one scoring plays from Wells and Pierce. Wells earned both of his 3-point plays by driving the lane and fighting through contact. Pierce’s came on a 3-pointer from the corner.
Smithfield also made four of its six treys in the quarter, much to the surprise of Pullen.
“We’ve got a lot of 3-point shooters, but it hasn’t been one of our dominant stats as of late,” he said. “So we wanted to get the ball inside before we went outside, but that just happened to be the flow of the game.”
Smithfield (13-5, 11-3) played its bench for most of the fourth quarter, which is an area they want to improve in as the regular season comes to a close.
“Everyone’s been playing as of late,” Pullen said. “It’s a testament to our ability to build a lead and get guys rotating in and out of the game.”
Smithfield hosts Poquoson on Friday, when Lafayette will travel to New Kent.
Smithfield 74, Lafayette 48
Smithfield (13-5, 11-3)
Pierce 13, Turner 12, Wells 10, Shephard 9, Jones 8, Pullen 8, Elliott 5, Ryan 4, Holloway 3, Brown 2
Lafayette (6-9, 6-9)
Jefferson 21, Neville 18, Woollum 3, Harley 2, Jacobs 2, Epps 2.
Smithfield: 12 17 25 21 — 74
Lafayette: 8 12 7 21 — 48
3-point field goals: Lafayette 6 (Jefferson 4, Woollum, Neville), Smithfield 5 (Turner 2, Holloway, Jones, Pierce)
— Christopher Williams
The Grafton boys basketball team managed to hang on against a late-surging Warhill team during a 55-50 home win Wednesday evening.
Leading by three points with 40 seconds left, Grafton (17-1, 13-1 Bay Rivers District) watched a Warhill 3-pointer miss the mark, allowing the Clippers to dribble the clock out.
Evan Sperling paced Grafton with 18 points, while Isaiah Moore added 13.
Keron Dedmon led all scorers with 19 points for Warhill (6-13, 5-10), while Da’Shawn Cook logged 15 in the loss.
Grafton hosts Bruton on Friday in what will likely be the deciding game in the Bay Rivers District, while Warhill hosts Jamestown on the same night.
Grafton 55, Warhill 50
Grafton (17-1, 13-1)
Murillo 7, Kiedinger 9, Durant 3, Moore 13, Sperling 18, A. King 2, Alves 3
Warhill (6-13, 5-10)
D. Cook 15, R. Cook 8, Dedmon 19, Lipscomb 4, Stovall 3, Belle 1
Grafton: 21 19 5 11 — 55
Warhill: 10 11 17 12 — 50
3-point goals: Grafton 7 (Murillo, Kiedinger 3, Moore, Sperling 2), Warhill 8 (D. Cook 3, R. Cook, Dedmon 4)
York was able to earn a 64-58 road win against Jamestown behind Joe Riddick’s game-high 19 points Wednesday evening.
The Falcons (8-11, 5-10 Bay Rivers District) were in control for most of the game by single digits before briefly losing the lead in the third quarter.
Eric Harp scored 11 points for York, while Jaylen Riggsbee added 10.
Connor Swain and Mason Wang tied with a team-high 11 points for Jamestown (7-9, 6-8).
York travels to play Tabb on Friday, while Jamestown will travel to take on Warhill the same night.
York 64, Jamestown 58
York (8-11, 5-10)
Riddick 19, Riggsbee 10, Harp 11, Simmons 8, Jackson 6, Christian 4, Kimrey 3, McFadden 3
Jamestown (7-9, 6-8)
Swain 11, Wang 11, Greene 9, Schmidt 8, Lipscomb 8, Devine 7, Slade 4
York: 19 8 19 18 — 64
Jamestown: 13 12 15 18 — 58
3-point goals: York 7 (McFadden, Jackson, Riddick 3, Kimrey, Simmons), Jamestown 7 (Greene 3, Wang 3, Lipscomb)
| Boys Basketball | Overall Record | District Record | District Games Back | Games Remaining |
| Bruton | 16 – 1 | 14 – 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Grafton | 17 – 1 | 13 – 1 | 0.5 | 4 |
| Smithfield | 13 – 5 | 11 – 3 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Tabb | 14 – 5 | 11 – 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Jamestown | 7 – 9 | 6 – 8 | 7.5 | 4 |
| Lafayette | 6 – 9 | 6 – 9 | 8 | 2 |
| Warhill | 6 – 13 | 5 – 10 | 8 | 3 |
| York | 8 – 11 | 5 – 10 | 9 | 3 |
| New Kent | 5 – 12 | 2 – 12 | 11.5 | 3 |
| Poquoson | 1 – 17 | 0 – 15 | 14 | 5 |
