Gallery by Ashley Honaker
Lindside – On track for the No. 1 seed in the region, James Monroe was nearly derailed but the in the end the Mavericks found their footing.
Struggling to score most of the night, James Monroe shot 67 percent from the field in the third quarter, using the frame to secure a 47-40 victory over Bluefield Tuesday night in Lindside.
Little worked offensively for the Mavericks through the first half of the contest. They took more 3-point shots (19) than 2-point shots (nine) and managed to net just three each from each part of the floor for a minuscule 21 percent shooting percentage (6 of 28). But a hot third quarter that saw them make more field goals (eight) than they did in the first half combined provided the necessary cushion to win.
“I went to a little bit more of an offensive group,” James Monroe head coach Kelly Mann said. “We just couldn’t quite find our footing and couldn’t make a shot. We finally had two of our better shooters in and I think Bryce (Gardinier) made a couple and maybe Jayden (Miller) made a couple and really that was the only difference. We made a couple shots finally and got that little bit of lead thankfully because we gave it right back, really. It wasn’t long before they were back within four, but I think we made two or three shots in that run. We actually switched our defense up just a little bit and got two or three stops and by switching our defense up, we got a couple of runouts, too, and got a couple easy ones. And that changed things. It was just struggle all night.”
Aiding the host’s cause was a Bluefield team facing the same offensive struggles.
The Beavers also shot more 3s (15) than 2s (6) in the first half, hitting at 29 percent clip. Three of the Beavers’ six field goals in the first half came early, courtesy of Amari Helms who nailed a trio of 3s to put them up 9-2 but points were far and few the rest of the way.
“I’ll be honest with you, we don’t have a big man presence right now,” Bluefield head coach Tony Webster said. “Our big Jeffrey (King) is no longer with us. He decided to concentrate on football where he signed with Concord. Greyson (Parris) is out with a meniscus. We just don’t have a big-man presence right now. We just don’t have one. I’m just be honest with you.
“We’re playing with some freshmen and sophomores and a lot of guards that right now. That’s not how we want to play. I like banging in there, but if you ain’t got nobody to bang it too, then you just don’t have the bodies. We just don’t have the bodies right now to bang with hardly anybody.”
Despite its shooting woes James Monroe managed a 17-16 lead at the half, finally catching fire out of the break.
Trailing 23-22, Gardinier connected on a layup to put the Mavericks ahead, kicking off the decisive run. Kadyn Hines added a layup before Bluefield’s Jase Smith netted a pair of free throws but the Mavericks were already hot. A Jayden Miller 3 was followed by a short jumper from Gardinier, extending the lead to 31-25. Ryan Mann added a layup off an offensive rebound before Ricky Dunford snapped the skid with a 3 but Gardinier was quick to answer.
By the time the horn sounded, the Mavs led 38-30 after three quarters.
The Beavers, however, were undeterred.
Jase Smith opened the fourth with a 3 before Devin Totten added a layup to swiftly cut the deficit to three at 38-35.
But Gardinier again delivered a gut punch with another 3, accounting for the last of his game-high 19 points.
It was the only made 3 of the final frame for James Monroe which found balance in the second half. The Mavs finished 5 of 9 from inside the arc and 4 of 8 from beyond it across the final two quarters. They also excelled at getting to the free throw line, making 14 trips there in the second half and 22 for the game.
Bluefield battled back late, getting the deficit to 44-40 with under a minute to play and possession but struggled to score.
“Really the point of emphasis was mentality at halftime,” Mann said. “This game’s an emotional game. It’s way, way more emotional than people realize and this group, what are we 16-2? But I don’t know that they believe that they’re 16-2 sometimes. Their confidence levels could be much higher than they are and uh I just feel like we played tight, played not to win in the first half, really the second half to a certain degree too.
“Shots don’t go when you’re really not shooting them to make them. Sometimes you’re gonna have a cold night. I was more frustrated that we missed that many shots and didn’t have very many offensive rebounds. I told them, “Making and missing, you can’t really control that, but there’s offensive rebounds on the back side, we should have had some more opportunities there.”
Hines joined Gardinier in double figures with 11 points while Smith added 15 to tie Helms for Bluefield’s team-high.
B: 9 7 14 10 – 40
JM: 10 7 21 9 – 47
Bluefield
Amari Helm 15, Ricky Dunford 8, Devin Totten 2, Jase Smith 15
James Monroe
Wil Boggess 5, Kadyn Hines 11, Ryan Mann 8, Jayden Miller 3, Bryce Gardinier 19, Brock Parker 1
