LEBANON — It seemed like it had been some time since Lebanon defeated Graham on a basketball court. As a matter of fact, you can go back 36 years; 1988 was the last time the Pioneers handed the G-Men a loss in basketball.
The Lebanon boys closed the regular season on a high note Saturday with a 65-59 defeat of Graham in Southwest District play at Charles C. Long Gymnasium. It didn’t affect the SWD final standings, Virginia High was the regular season champion. Graham finished in second place by holding the tiebreaker, and Lebanon third, but the victory meant something to the team.
“It was a big win,” said Lebanon post Mike Reece. “We hadn’t had a quality win like this in a while. They blew us out the first time, so it feels good to get back and get a win on them.”
Lebanon fell 71-46 at Graham on January 30th, less than two weeks ago. What was the big difference in the contests?
“Just making shots,” Reece said. “Up there, they made everything, and it was hard to bounce back after they had a big lead. We knew if we could get it inside, and then I could pass it back out, good things would happen.”
The biggest lead by Graham (14-6, 7-3 SWD) was three points in the second quarter. Lebanon was up 26-25 at the break. Markelle Ray canned a trey to tie it for a fifth time at 29-all early in the third quarter. Reece scored in the paint with 6:50 left in the third to put the Pioneers up 31-29, and they would never relinquish the lead.
Reece scored 10 points in the third frame, Hunter Musick added three triples, and Andy Musick two, as Lebanon went up 17 points, seemingly in control. They took their largest lead when Lambert hit a jumper in the corner 54-35 to start the fourth quarter. However, the G-Men would not go away.
Graham ramped up their defense and forced the Pioneers to take some tough shots. Lebanon also had five turnovers in the final eight minutes. The G-Men went on a 19-5 surge, pulling within 59-54 with just over a minute to play.
Reece made two crucial foul shots with 1:05 to play to push the lead to seven, but freshman Channing Disibbio converted behind the arc for Graham, and they trailed 61-57. Caden Boyd made a foul shot to put the lead to five, and Blake Graham scored in the paint for the G-Men to narrow Lebanon’s advantage to three with 19.3 seconds left.
Boyd made another foul shot to make it a two-possession game. Graham was whistled for a walk, and Lambert nailed two free throws for the final margin.
“We had played a lot better against Virginia High here a couple of weeks ago, but we still didn’t get the result we wanted,” Lebanon coach Scotty Boyd said. “I think it was big for us to show that we’re capable of beating Virginia High or Graham. Hopefully, that will carry over to the tournament.”
Reece scored a game-high 24 points and pulled 14 rebounds. He was 10-of-11 from the foul line. Lambert nailed four treys to finish with 20 points, and Musick added three from long distance and totaled 13 points for Lebanon (14-8, 7-3 SWD).
“Every night, Reece fills up the stats,” remarked Boyd. “Assists, blocks, steals, rebounds, and obviously, he’s a big-time scorer.
“I gave him a hard time a few weeks back; he was shooting around 50 percent at the line. I said, Mike, you’re leaving a lot of points; you’re way too good. Let’s get a focus on the foul line. I think he’s missed one free throw since then, he’s been on a tear there.”
Ray (13 points), Gage Palmer (12) and Daniel Jennings (12) led the G-Men.
“Our defense was better at our place, and I don’t think Lebanon played well at all up there,” said Graham coach Todd Baker. “We have three sick, and we’re trying to rest them as best we can; I didn’t want to do a lot of pressing. We didn’t pressure the ball that much until the end, and that’s usually our game. Lebanon played well, when they shoot the ball well, they’re tough to guard.”
The SWD tournament should be interesting. Virginia High, Graham, Lebanon, and Marion are strong. Richlands and Tazewell are wildcards, anything could happen.
“It’s the most balanced our district has been in a while,” Baker said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re going to take some days off and then get ready for the tournament.”
GRAHAM 9 16 10 24 — 59: Ray 5 2-3 13, Graham 1 7-10 9, Sexton 1 0-0 3, Fix 1 0-0 2, Jennings 6 0-0 12, Disibbio 3 0-0 8, Palmer 4 4-5 12. Totals 21 13-18 59.
LEBANON 12 14 26 13 — 65: Musick 5 0-0 13, Wess 2 1-2 5, Reece 7 10-11 24, Lambert 7 2-2 20, C. Boyd 0 3-6 3, Hilton 0 0-0 0, Baker 0 0-0 0, M. Boyd 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 17-20 65.
3-point goals: Graham 4 (Disibbio 2, Ray 1, Sexton 1). Lebanon 7 (Lambert 4, Musick 3). Fouls: Graham 17, Lebanon 16. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none. JV game: Graham 49-16.