Gate City, Tri-Cities Christian win big at Arby's Classic

BRISTOL, Va. — Zayne Reed sank a game-winning free throw with 3.2 seconds left and Gate City came up with another timely rebound to defeat perennial power John Marshall in Saturday's late game of the Arby's Classic. The Blue Devils pulled out a 50-49 victory over the Justices in a game which was back-and-forth throughout the contest. Reed, the quarterback on the football team, calmly went to the free throw line to knock down the first of two shots at the Virginia High gym. "Everybody told me to relax and knock it down," Reed said. "That's what we work for every day." The Blue Devils came up with the offensive rebound on the miss. Bryson Smith commented how both teams were tired, and they had to dig deep to get the extra possessions. Gate City head coach Chris Fugate talked about Reed and the rest of the boys showing the mental and physical toughness required to beat the program that defeated the Blue Devils in the 2020 state championship game. They were outmatched in ways against a bigger, taller team from Richmond. "He's strong. It's a game of strength and he's strong," Fugate said about Reed. He continued, "I've got 11 kids and nine of them will be back next year. We're young so that's a ig win for our kids. I told the kids before the game that nobody believed in them. Everybody looks on the other end of the floor and says you can't play with them. But, they don't know what's in your heart." Parker Jenkins led the Blue Devils with 15 points and nine rebounds. Reed finished with 14 points and five boards. Ollie Carpenter made some key scores and ended with eight points. The Blue Devils led the Justices 17-14 at the end of one quarter. John Marshall fought back to lead 27-25 at halftime. Down 37-32 late in the third quarter, Gate City scored eight straight to take a three-point lead with 6:30 left in the final period. John Marshall tied it up, although the Justices suffered a blow when offensive leader Troy Tomlin fouled out with 4:25 left in the game. Tomlin was still the Justices' leading scorer with 19 points. Ahmad Britt-Sow was right behind with 17 points. Tri-Cities Christian 70, Wesley Christian (Ky.) 56 Up by two points at the end of the first quarter, the Eagles went on a 25-3 run against the Circuit Riders in the second quarter. It resulted in the double-digit victory. "We needed it. We were 0-3 in a tough snap in Knoxville," Tri-Cities coach Tyrone Smith said. "Coming in here in front of the hometown fans against a team which took one from us at home, to play the way we played, that is a testament to these kids." It was a much different contest than their previous game back on Nov. 24 when the Circuit Riders escaped with a 63-62 victory as the Eagles missed 12 free throws. This time around, the Eagles (8-5) hit 15 of 24 shots from 3-point range, and had a 15-point lead going into the final period. Aaron Pomrenke paced Tri-Cities with 16 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Peters also finished with 16 points, including a 4-for-6 night behind the arc. Guard Lofton Looney scored 12 points and Loony Holland added more balance with 10 points. Wesley Christian reserve Chuckler Barags effectively sliced to the basket and scored 21 points. But, the Eagles got the defensive stops late to end a comeback threat after the Riders had cut the lead to single digits. "We weathered the storm," Smith said. "Sometimes when you lose, it brings out what you need to work on. We worked on our defense, and our defense won the game. I never worry about scoring with my team, but we have to get stops instead of trading baskets with them." Looney talked about how they were finally able to slow down Barags. "We tried to play the gaps where we weren't leaving anyone on an island," Looney said. "We played team defense where we were able to get back out to the shooters." Tyler Jaedn tallied 12 points and Max Martyanoy totaled 10 for Wesley Chapel. Oak Hill (Va.) 60, John Handley (Va.) 43 The tournament favorite Warriors had their hands full with Handley for the first two quarters, tied 25-all at halftime. Oak Hill laid a sentence of a punishing defense on the Judges over the next two quarters. Ethan Mgbako, a Vanderbilt signee, led the Warriors with 18 points and four assists. LJ Smith, who is headed to Ohio State, added 15 poitns and five rebounds. Kamon Lawson scored 10 points and David Johnson added nine to a balanced attack. Jaeron Briscoe and Christian Dingus each had a dozen points to pace the Judges. Dutchtown (Ga.) 48, Charlotte (Fla.) 46 The classic Georgia-Florida matchup went to overtime with the Bulldogs emerging with the win over the Tarpons. Bobby Buggs missed a shot at the end of regulation to give Dutchtown a chance to win, but the team with the same nickname and jersey colors as the University of Georgia came through in the extra period. Maddox Melancon led the Bulldogs with 17 points, and Buggs finished with 15 points and four steals. Jah'siah Payne ended with 11 points. Jianny Reyes-Sanchez was the leading scorer for the Tarpons with 12 points. Devan Jones scored 11 for Charlotte. Archbishop Spalding (Md.) 67, Hampton 46 The Cavaliers raced out to a 41-23 halftime lead over the Bulldogs on their way to the victory. Moe Lonergon led Archbishop with 18 points and Colt Busse came through with 10 points and four assists. TJ Moutrie had a team-high 11 rebounds. Colby Clark led Hampton's efforts with 13 points. Chase Davenport hit double figures with 11 points. Tuff Robinson totaled nine points and 11 rebounds. Hamilton Heights 86, Montgomery County (Ky.) 49 B.J. Bradford scored 42 points as the Hawks overpowered the Indians. The 6-foot guard hit 16-of-22 from the field, including 7-for-9 from 3-point range. Cheidk Couliably came off the bench to make 7-of-8 shots and score 15 points for the Chattanooga team. Paul Sama also reached double figures with 10 points. Andrew Terry led the boys from the Bluegrass State with 19 points. Tyce Jarvis was next with 16 points and Dawson Gentry scored 10. Ridgeview (S.C.), 73, Mt. Bethel Christian (Ga.) 60 Four players reached double figures for the Blazers who have won six South Carolina state championships since 2018. RJ Davis paced Ridgeview's efforts with 19 points, followed by DJ Wiley with 14 points. CJ Moore totaled 13 points and Talan Staley added 11. The combined effort was needed as the Eagles' 6-foot-9 center Peter Julius had a big afternoon with 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting and 11 rebounds. Roman Avery posted a 14-point effort. Miami Country Day (Fla.) 85, Roanoke Catholic 69 The Spartans raced out to a 49-23 halftime lead to easily dispatch the Celtics in Saturday's opening game. Fernando Romero was on target, hitting 9-of-12 shots, and scoring 23 points in limited action. Miguel Orbe added to the high-scoring attack with 18 points. Delan Montgomery with 11 and Kaleb Corbitt with 10 also reached double digit scoring. Roanoke's Jayden Johnson was the game's high scorer with 25 points. Leron Lipford, Kyce Lemon and Mason Williams all ended with 10.