Grafton pulled out a thrilling 56-55 victory against Granby on Saturday thanks to 26 points from Jacob Murillo.
The first quarter was even with both teams scoring 13 points. Grafton pulled ahead by five points before halftime after strong 3-point shooting by Adam King, who finished the game with 14 points off four 3-pointers.
Grafton held a narrow 29-24 halftime advantage over Granby, which evaporated in the second half.
With an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, Grafton watched Granby slowly chip away and eventually take a one-point lead with roughly three minutes left in the game.
On a crucial possession with less than a minute left and Grafton leading by one point, the Clippers put together a 40-second possession that featured nine passes and every player on the floor for Grafton.
The possession ended with a layup that gave Grafton a 56-53 lead with four seconds left. A Granby desperation 3-pointer went off the backboard, but Micah Blackwell was there for the putback score.
Blackwell’s layup left Granby one point shy of Grafton as the buzzer sounded, resulting in the Clippers’ victory.
Grafton (6-0) will enjoy a nice three-day break before hosting Lafayette on Wednesday.
Grafton: 13 16 16 11 — 56
Granby: 13 11 13 18 — 55
Grafton: Durant 4, Murillo 26, King 14, Brown 6, Alves 6
Granby: Epps 9, Green 3, Carter 9, Jones 12, Jenkins 8, Blackwell 14
3-point goals: Grafton 7 (Murillo 3, King 4), Granby 7 (Epps 2, Green, Carter, Jenkins 2, Blackwell)
Walsingham Edges Highland in OT
Walsingham Academy found itself in unfamiliar territory Saturday afternoon after Highland in the second day of play in the Breath & Life Tournament at Wakefield School.
For a team that had not scored less than 50 points this season, Walsingham Academy was locked in a defensive battle with Highland that saw both teams tied at 40-40 by the end of regulation.
Even with an overtime period in which neither team was able to break free from the other, Walsingham managed to eke out a 42-40 victory.
While the Walsingham offense struggled to make headway against Highland, Richard Washington proved the difference maker with a game-high 23 points.
Washington also provided the only offense from either team in overtime as he sank a pair of free throws to give the Trojans the win.
Walsingham (7-1) will now prepare for a Monday home game against Atlantic Shores.
Walsingham: 13 5 9 13 2 — 42
Highland: 4 17 8 11 0 — 40
Walsingham: Washington 23, Stewart 8, Vicentic 9, Ptacek 2
Highland: Justice 8, Decker 3, Mays 4, Rasmussen 20, Suggs 2, Terrell 3
3-point goals: Walsingham 5 (Washington 3, Stewart 2), Highland 3 (Decker, Rasmussen 2)
