There wasn’t a whole lot that William Monroe could do about it, Gate City was simply hitting everything in sight. The Blue Devils guards could not have been more crisp distributing the ball, and whether it was 6-foot 7-inch center Andy Arnold in the paint, or Luke Ervin from the perimeter, the shots were falling. As such, the Dragons spent every minute of their Group AA Division 2 semifinal in Richmond trying to play catch up but Gate City would not relent, ending Monroe’s season with a 73-61 win.
“They played outstanding defense, take nothing away from them,” said Dragons coach Mike Maynard. “They shot the ball incredibly well, but I’m proud of my guys for not giving up.”
The Dragons led just once in the game when Austin Batten hit a 3-pointer in the first two minutes of play to put Monroe up 5-4. With the Blue Devils attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line on seemingly every other shot attempt, Gate City outscored the Dragons 19-9 over the next six minutes to claim a 9-point lead. It was an advantage that Blue Devils would never surrender.
“We’ve got a great passing team, and unselfish team and when you see that you’ve got 17 assists in a game that usually means you had a pretty good night,” said Blue Devils coach Scott Vermillian. “I was really proud of the way they helped each other.”
Behind Markel Williams’ shooting the Dragons were able to keep pace in the second quarter, but still went into the half trailing by 12 as Gate City knocked down 60% of its field goal attempts.
“(Their guards) really pulled us out and we couldn’t help out defensively,” Maynard said. “Both my bigs got in foul trouble and (Arnold’s) 6-7. We didn’t’ do very well in the post. I kind of wish I’d run a gimmick defense and then try and keep (Ervin) from getting open and make the other guys beat us, but we’ve been a man-to-man team all year.”
The second half was a tie from start to finish. In the third, Monroe trailed by as many as 18 with Arnold and Ervin working the inside-outside game, but the Dragons finished strong to get the margin back to 12 with Gary Morris heating up to aid Williams. Jeff Early got Monroe to within 10 of the lead and also was able to hit Arnold with a fourth foul, but that was as close as the Dragons could get.
With Arnold on the bench, the Blue Devils looked ready to try and eat away at the clock, but with it’s passing game clicking, the number open looks underneath were just too good to pass up. There guards Dylan Jenkins and Michael Collier stepped up big to aid in the scoring and keep Monroe at bay for the final five minutes.
Playing in their final high school games, Williams and Morris finished with 24 and 20 points respectively. Williams also had nine rebounds and three assists and was particularly reflective and gracious afterwards.
“You just got to love the fans, this community – they’ve been great to this basketball team,” Williams said. “Gary and me, we came in when this program was already on fire and tried to keep the standards high. It was just great for all of us to come together and play as a team this year. We dealt with adversity the last couple of years, but we stuck together this year. The coaching staff was amazing going every where to (scout and) find a game plan and get it back to us. It was just a joy to have these fans and my brothers with me each and every day.”
Senior Jo Jo Krynitsky and sophomore Jeff Early each chipped in seven rebounds. Early also contributed eight points.
Ervin led Gate City with 22 points on a night where he hit seven of his nine field goal attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers. He also collected eight boards. Arnold had a second straight double-double, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Jenkins threw in 11 points and eight assists while Collier added 10 points.
The Dragons finished their best season since winning a Group A title in 1995.
“We had dreams of winning a state championship and we fell short, but it was a great season,” Maynard said.
The Blue Devils move on to play Radford in the championship on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Richmond.
