VHSL Class 3 Boys
CAVE SPRING 76, PETERSBURG 75
With the Class 3 Boys State Championship going back and forth in terms of momentum, both head coaches decided to dig into each one’s bag of tricks. But in Thursday’s finale game, the decision only worked for one of them.
The game between Cave Springs and Petersburg had seen seven ties and eight lead changes. The Knights gathered an early lead and stretched it to 10, but the Wave kept coming back.
“I have to give them credit,” said Cave Spring Head Coach Jacob Gruse minutes after his team had squeaked by Petersburg 76-75 to win its fifth title in school history. “We’d make a run, and then they’d make a run.”
Unable to pull away, Gruse elected to change his team’s defense from a man-to-man to zone.
“For 12 to 14 minutes, we played zone. And for those that know me, that’s 12 to 14 minutes more than we had played zone all season. We pushed our chips in, but I think we caught them by surprise.”
Partly. Yet, the Crimson Wave would make a final fourth quarter run, and a Bernard Fuller put-back dunk put Petersburg within two points at 73-71 with 2:41 left in the game.
After a Wave rebound, Christopher Fields drew a foul on the next possession and hit both shots from the charity stripe. With 2:18 remaining, the game was tied once again.
An Owen Dawyot miss set Petersburg up well in transition and Bernard Fuller converted an easy lay-in to give the Wave its first lead of the second half at 75-73.
Dawyot tied the score at 75 with a jumper, and with the clock at 1:32, Petersburg Coach Ryan Massenburg made his gamble move.
“When we played Hopewell (in the Region 3A Final), we were tied at 40, and decided to hold the ball for the last shot. It had worked for us once because they fouled, and we hit a free throw and won (41-40).”
They wouldn’t be as lucky this time. Cave Spring decided not to foul, and as the clock neared 10 seconds, the Wave began their move toward the basket.
However, an errant pass through the middle was tipped and stolen by Dawyot, who protected the ball on his left side while driving down the middle of the court, eventually drawing a foul and sinking the second of two foul shots to preserve the victory.
“I got a piece of the ball, then it went behind me and I grabbed it,” said Dawyot. “I figured that if (Petersburg defender) was going to foul me, I’d either hit the shots or we would get the rebound.”
Speaking of his first missed free throw, he added, “I didn’t want to be that guy who misses and blows it for the team.”
Stark Jones added 18 points for the Knights (29-1), while VMI baseball commit Bryce Cooper made several defensive stops, despite playing the final quarter with four fouls.
“I rolled the dice when Cooper got his fourth,” said Gruse. “But he gave us huge minutes, took three or four charges, and other things that don’t show up in the scoresheet.”
Fields - who entered the State Tournament with 17 double-doubles and showed why he's a prime candidate for Class 3 State Player of the Year honors - led the Crimson Wave (23-4) with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
CAVE SPRING 76, PETERSBURG 75
CAVE SPRING (29-1) Lilley 8, Dawyot 29, Cooper 3, Jones 18, Saunders 13, Griffiths 2, Bryant 0, Tinsley 3. Totals 29 14-20 76.
PETERSBURG (23-4) Claiborne 5, Lawerence 14, Lundy 8, Fields 25, Fuller 14, Garnett 7, Wilson 2, Hodges 0. Totals 28 12-15 75.
Three pointers: Cave Springs 4 (Dawyot 2, Jones, Saunders). Petersburg 7 (Lawerence 4, Claiborne, Fuller, Garnett).