Galax thumps Bears

By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Bland County was able to keep it close for a while but once Galax flipped its defensive switch, it was light’s out for the Bears last Friday night in MED boys’ basketball action played at Galax. Combining a balanced scoring attack with a blistering defensive effort, Galax mauled the Bears 61-41, again sending a deliberate message of being the MED’s finest of this season.
The Maroon Tide (4-0, 11-3) led 10-3 at the end of the first period but the Bears eventually fought back to close to within 16-13 midway through the second stanza. Stifling defense from that point fueled an offense that used layup after layup to pull away to a 23-17 halftime lead.
Anytime the Bears made a run, Galax answered by flipping the defensive switch. Bland County finished the game with 33 turnovers, 16 of which came during the first two stanzas.
The third period saw Verl Brown’s club outscore the Bears 18-11 en route to taking a 41-28 lead to the fourth period. Jeremiah Criner dropped in six third period points to spark the Galax third quarter scoring surge.
Cameron Frazier popped in six markers during the fourth period as Galax continued drawing away. Galax outshot the Bears 20-13 down the stretch to claim the relatively easy win.
Frazier finished with 10 points for the victors, the lone Maroon Tide player in twin digits. Aundrey Sams, G Zachary, Criner, and Scott Alouf each scored eight points. Sams added seven steals and seven assists for Galax.
Jared Hagan led the Bears with 11 points and 12 rebounds, posting career highs in both categories. Kristopher Kennedy added seven points for a Bears’ club that hit just 15 of 58 shots from the floor, including a frigid two of 22 from behind the 3-point arc. Nine of 21 on free throws only magnified the shooting miseries the Bears experienced against the Maroon Tide.
Josh Shrader chipped in with nine rebounds for the Bears along with four assists. Nick Leighton added six points for the Bears (3-2, 7-7).
The JV game was also Galax rout as the Maroon Tide drained nine 3-pointers as a team, using a 26-10 first stanza scoring blitz as a springboard to a 73-27 win. Galax led 38-17 at the half before blowing the game wide open in the third quarter with a 21-8 surge.
Justin Hash drove home four treys and finished with 16 points to lead a trio of twin figure scorers. Bryan Martin followed with 12 points and Patrick Anderson 11. Aaron Blankenship paced the 4-9 Bland Countians with 11 points.

BLAND COUNTY (3-2, 7-7) 41
Shrader 2-8 0-2 4, Kr. Kennedy 3-10 0-1 7, Eastep 0-1 1-2 1, Ky. Kennedy 1-9 3-4 5, Hagan 5-9 1-1 11, Pennington 0-2 0-0 0, Robertson 1-4 0-0 3, Ko. Kennedy 1-9 1-2 3, Leighton 2-5 2-5 6, Reed 0-1 1-4 1.  TOTALS 15-58 9-21 41

GALAX (4-0, 11-3) 61
Frazier 5 0-0 10, Sams 2 4-5 8, Criner 3 2-2 8, Adams 2 0-2 4, Zachary 4 0-2 8, Sexton 2 0-0 5, Alouf 3 2-2 8, Burnett 3 0-2 6, Bartlett 2 0-0 4, Houk 0 0-0 0, Moreno 0 0-0 0, Tellez 0 0-0 0, TOTALS 26 8-15 61

Bland County 3 14 11 13—41
Galax 10 13 18 20—61

3-point goals: Kr. Kennedy, Robertson, Sexton
BC rebounds: 40 (Hagan 12)
BC assists: 6 (Shrader 4)
BC steals: 10 (Kr. Kennedy, Ky. Kennedy, Eastep, Hagan, Leighton 2)
Total fouls: BC 14, Galax 20
Fouled out: none