By Cody Elliott
HARRISONBURG - Entering Friday night’s 2A boys basketball quarterfinal game between Robert E. Lee and Gate City, many expected it to be a showdown of the team’s two superstars , Darius George and Mac McClung.
Instead, it was a couple of unsung heroes coming up big as Jarvis Vaughan took over in the second half to help carry the Leemen to an 81-74 victory over the BlueDevils at JMU’s Convocation Center.
“The kids showed a lot of grit,” Lee head coach Jarett Hatcher said. “We won that game without Darius on the floor. We made big plays. All of the things people say about us - not being able to shoot, not being able to defend, bad decisions, missed free throws - well, we are in the final four. … I thought they gutted it out.”
Lee used an 11-point quarter from Vaughan in the third to take an eight-point leading into the final frame.
Gate City, however, rallied behind McClung’s play in the fourth, to force it into overtime at 69-69.
George, meanwhile, fouled out of the game with 19.9 seconds remaining, leaving the Leemen without their best player heading in the extra period.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Hatcher said. “This group is moving on. I can’t say enough. That was a tough, gutty win.”
In the overtime period, Tyrese Haliburton connected on a 3 along with a Vaughan putback to go up four. Jahleel Pettiford then connected on 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“I was pretty nervous but my teammates calmed me down,” Pettiford said. “Jarvis came to me and just said, ‘Hit these.’”
It took a while for both stars to get going with McClung and George combining for just two points in the opening frame.
Zac Ervin scored all six of Gate City’s points in the first quarter but Lee got four points apiece from Vaughan and Manny Johnson to go up 10-6 through one.
In the second, Ervin hit a 3 to get things started but a pair of buckets in the post from Vaughan kept Lee ahead 14-11.
Ervin then connected on his second 3 of the frame followed by McClung’s first basket of the contest to take a 16-14 lead.
The two teams battled back-and-forth from there throughout the remainder of the half, as McClung began to find his rhythm. A pair of jumpers from the Gate City junior eventually put the Blue Devils up four.
“We used a lot of different guys on him and rotated a bunch of different guys,” Hatcher said. “You have to survive. These barrier games are the big games. All the games today were ugly.”
George responded with a traditional three-point play before Drew Vermillion and Lee’s Jayden Williams exchanged treys to leave the Blue Devils up 26-25 heading into the intermission.
“I thought our kids fought hard,” Gate City head coach Scott Vermillion said. “They made the plays in overtime to win. Hats off to Robert E. Lee. I thought my guys fought. I’m really proud of my guys.”
Vaughan finished with 22 points on the evening while George had 17.
“If I had the open shot, I just had to take it and follow through,” Vaughan said of his big game. “It’s just repetition. I work on those shots every day in practice. It’s just a shot I always work on and it has helped me a lot this season.”
The Leemen now advance to the 2A state semifinals where they will Dan River on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at JMU’s Convocation Center.
HARRISONBURG - Entering Friday night’s 2A boys basketball quarterfinal game between Robert E. Lee and Gate City, many expected it to be a showdown of the team’s two superstars , Darius George and Mac McClung.
Instead, it was a couple of unsung heroes coming up big as Jarvis Vaughan took over in the second half to help carry the Leemen to an 81-74 victory over the BlueDevils at JMU’s Convocation Center.
“The kids showed a lot of grit,” Lee head coach Jarett Hatcher said. “We won that game without Darius on the floor. We made big plays. All of the things people say about us - not being able to shoot, not being able to defend, bad decisions, missed free throws - well, we are in the final four. … I thought they gutted it out.”
Lee used an 11-point quarter from Vaughan in the third to take an eight-point leading into the final frame.
Gate City, however, rallied behind McClung’s play in the fourth, to force it into overtime at 69-69.
George, meanwhile, fouled out of the game with 19.9 seconds remaining, leaving the Leemen without their best player heading in the extra period.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Hatcher said. “This group is moving on. I can’t say enough. That was a tough, gutty win.”
In the overtime period, Tyrese Haliburton connected on a 3 along with a Vaughan putback to go up four. Jahleel Pettiford then connected on 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“I was pretty nervous but my teammates calmed me down,” Pettiford said. “Jarvis came to me and just said, ‘Hit these.’”
It took a while for both stars to get going with McClung and George combining for just two points in the opening frame.
Zac Ervin scored all six of Gate City’s points in the first quarter but Lee got four points apiece from Vaughan and Manny Johnson to go up 10-6 through one.
In the second, Ervin hit a 3 to get things started but a pair of buckets in the post from Vaughan kept Lee ahead 14-11.
Ervin then connected on his second 3 of the frame followed by McClung’s first basket of the contest to take a 16-14 lead.
The two teams battled back-and-forth from there throughout the remainder of the half, as McClung began to find his rhythm. A pair of jumpers from the Gate City junior eventually put the Blue Devils up four.
“We used a lot of different guys on him and rotated a bunch of different guys,” Hatcher said. “You have to survive. These barrier games are the big games. All the games today were ugly.”
George responded with a traditional three-point play before Drew Vermillion and Lee’s Jayden Williams exchanged treys to leave the Blue Devils up 26-25 heading into the intermission.
“I thought our kids fought hard,” Gate City head coach Scott Vermillion said. “They made the plays in overtime to win. Hats off to Robert E. Lee. I thought my guys fought. I’m really proud of my guys.”
Vaughan finished with 22 points on the evening while George had 17.
“If I had the open shot, I just had to take it and follow through,” Vaughan said of his big game. “It’s just repetition. I work on those shots every day in practice. It’s just a shot I always work on and it has helped me a lot this season.”
The Leemen now advance to the 2A state semifinals where they will Dan River on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at JMU’s Convocation Center.
