Greyhounds race to third place in Classic

By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

The 2023 Holiday Classic boys consolation game on December 29 pitted the tourney host Manchester Greyhounds against the West Union Dragons, both squads smarting from big losses the previous day but both eager to put those behind and get back on a winning track. The Hounds came into the contest in the midst of an up and down season to this point, with a record of 6-5 that included a pair of three-game winning streaks. On the other hand, the Dragons had only tasted victory one time in nine outings, looking for the upset and the third-place crown.

Unfortunately, the fates were not to again be on the side of the Dragons. West Union managed to keep the game close for the first quarter and a half before the light bulb came on for the home team and they pulled away in a big way, outscoring the Dragons 40-19 in the second half to cruise to the third place spot in the Classic with an 84-47 victory.

The consolation contest went back and forth in the opening quarter, tied four times, until the Dragons took an 11-8 lead on a “trey” by Trae Grooms. That three-ball may have lit a fire under Coach Austin Kingsolver’s troops as they proceeded to end the first period on an 11-2 run. The run began with baskets by Elijah Crabtree, Parker Hayslip and Braylan Roberts, followed by a Hayslip three-pointer. Add in a Leland Horner score and another from Hayslip and Manchester claimed a 19-13 advantage after one.

The Dragons opened quarter number two with a 5-0 spurt, scoring on their first two possessions with a bucket by Brennan Pollitt and a three-ball from Gavin Jarvis to cut the Greyhound lead to one, but the Hounds answered with Robert scoring from both outside and inside the arc to extend the Manchester lead back to 24-18. After the Dragons got another triple from Grooms but a three from Luke Applegate pushed the Greyhound lead out to double figures at 33-22. Manchester didn’t let up and scored five points in the half’s final 8.6 seconds, all of them coming from Connor Darnell at the charity stripe to take a 44-29 halftime lead.

The third quarter and the second half as a whole was a disaster for Coach Roy Cooper’s Dragons. In the third period, West Union managed to put up 12 points but their defense allowed the Hounds to double that with 24 as the Hounds began to run away with a huge 68-41 advantage after three.

West Union could only muster six fourth quarter points, five of those from Jarvis, who would be named to the All-Tournament Team for his two-day effort. The Hounds got seven fourth quarter points from Applegate and finished off the impressive win with a Landon Doyle three-pointer that sewed up win number seven on the year for the hosts.

In their 84-point outburst, their highest output of the season, the Greyhounds placed a quartet of players in double figures, led by 16 point efforts from Braylan Roberts and Connor Darnell, with Darnell getting the All-Tournament Team nod. Parker Hayslip scored 15 for the winners, with Luke Applegate adding 12 off the bench. Drew Kennedy and Elijah Crabtree contributed 7 points each.

West Union was paced by two players in double figures, Trae Grooms with 16 and Gavin Jarvis with 14.

After a very full December schedule, the Greyhounds (7-5) get a bit of a break, not seeing action again until Tuesday, January 9 when they travel to Portsmouth Notre Dame in non-conference action. The Dragons (1-9) will not be back on the hardwood until Saturday, January 6 when they will also be in non-conference action, hosting the Green Bobcats.

West Union

13 16 12 6 —47

Manchester

19 25 24 16 —84

W. Union (47): Harding 3 1-2 8, Pollitt 4 1-2 9, Grooms 6 2-3 16, Jarvis 6 1-2 14, Team 19 5-9 47.

Manchester (84): Hayslip 6 1-2 15, Doyle 1 0-0 3, Roberts 7 1-2 16, Darnell 5 5-5 16, Rickett 1 0-0 2, Applegate 3 5-6 12, Kennedy 3 1-2 7, Horner 3 0-0 6, Crabtree 3 1-1 7, Team 31 14-18 84.

Three-Point Goals:

W. Union (4)- Harding 1, Grooms 2, Jarvis 1

Manchester (6)- Hayslip 2, Doyle 1, Roberts 1, Darnell 1, Applegate 1