Tide sets pace, races into state

ELLISTON –– Having given up 112 points two weeks ago to No. 1-ranked Oak Hill Academy, Galax knows that there’s not a lot of joy in watching an opponent go to triple digits. After Thursday, the Maroon Tide knows that sometimes it’s just going to happen.

Craig Worrell

Steven Peoples of Galax goes up between two Bland County defenders for a layup during the Maroon Tide’s 102-56 win in the Region C Division 1 semifinals.

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On a night when everything seemed to fall, Galax put up its highest scoring total in four years, zipping past Bland County 102-56 in the Region C Division 1 boys’ semifinals at Eastern Montgomery High School.

The defending state champions earned a spot in this weekend’s Division 1 state quarterfinals, to be played either March 2 or 3 in either Salem or Bristol, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s region title game against Parry McCluer.

In two regular season wins over Bland County, the Maroon Tide (23-2) had allowed the Bears to set the pace. Galax opened up with full-court pressure Thursday and returned to it intermittently throughout the first three quarters. The transition game resulted in layup after layup for Galax, which shot 63 percent from the floor.

“We decided not to let them dictate the game by slowing us down,” said Galax coach Verl Brown. “We made a commitment to rotate a lot of guys in and I think that was the difference. We made up our mind we were going to force the tempo.”

Galax led for good after Austin Pack nailed wide-open 3-pointers on the Tide’s first two possessions. The Maroon Tide seemed to have the Bears (13-13) put away on several occasions only to see Bland creep back to within range. Two putbacks by Eddie Hanks had Galax ahead 23-7 when two 3-pointers by Asher Dillow pulled Bland to within 25-17 before the end of the first period.

The Bears were down just seven points early in the second when Galax erupted for 15 points in less than two minutes. Devonte McKinney scored twice in 15 seconds on layups off of his own steals, and Deion George’s drive capped the run with Galax on top 44-24.

Bland was back within 12 points late in the half before Galax closed with a 6-0 run for a 50-32 lead at the break.

“That’s just Bland, they never quit,” Brown said. “If they get a shot off they’ve got a chance to make it. They’re young and they’re going to be hard to handle the next couple of years.”

The Bears made one last charge, cutting the gap to 54-40 at the 5:31 mark of the third, before the Tide put the game away with an 18-4 spurt over the next three-plus minutes.

Galax scored just eight points over the game’s final three minutes, including 3-pointers by Chandler Quesenberry and Trevor Quesenberry to reach triple figures.

“Rich is a good friend of mine, and it bothered me,” Brown said of Bland coach Rich Hankins. “He said not to worry about it, just keep going on and playing hard. I don’t like to get 100 on anybody, but this time of year you’ve got to play the best you can play.”

McKinney benefited most from the Tide’s defensive pressure, scoring the bulk of his 20 points in transition. Five other Galax players hit double figures, led by Pack with 17 points. George finished with 14, Hanks and Lawrence Parsons had 12 apiece and Chandler Quesenberry scored 10 in his first appearance on the varsity.

Chase Hankins led four Bears in double figures with 17 points.

Bland County......17  15  18    6––  56

Galax...................22  23  27  25––102

Bland County (13-13)

Dillow 4 0-0 10, Greene 0 0-0 0, J.Miller 0 0-0 0, White 4 0-0 10, Walker 1 0-0 3, Clark 3 5-6 12, Dunnack 0 0-0 0, J.M.Miller 1 0-0 2, Hankins 6 3-4 17, Goins 1 0-0 2, French 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-10 56.

Galax (23-2)

C.Quesenberry 4 1-0 10, D.Peoples 1 0-0 2, Hanks 6 0-0 12, Fisher 1 0-0 2, Vaughan 1 0-0 2, Pack 6 2-3 17, George 6 2-2 14, T.Quesenberry 2 0-0 5, Garvey 0 0-0 0, Gable 0 0-0 0, McKinney 9 2-4 20, Parsons 6 0-1 12, S.Peoples 2 0-0 4, Kohl 1 0-0 2. Totals 45 6-11 102.

Three-point field goals – Bland County 7-23 (Dillow 2, White 2, Hankins 2, Clark), Galax 6-11 (Pack 3, C.Quesenberry 2, T.Quesenberry). Rebounds – Bland County 24 (Clark 6), Galax 32 (Parsons 6). Turnovers – Bland County 27, Galax 14. Team fouls – Bland County 9, Galax 13. Fouled out –none. Technical fouls – none.