Grafton explodes to early lead to defeat East Fairmont 77-44 in opener
Mar. 7—PLEASANT VALLEY — If there was any doubt as to just how many growing pains East Fairmont would face this season after graduating 10 seniors and essentially its entire varsity roster from last season, Grafton High confirmed every possible point of labor in Saturday's opener at East Fairmont High.
The Bearcats limited the Bees to just two first quarter points and one made field goal in the game's first 12 minutes to surge to a 39-3 lead and eventually take home a 77-44 victory.
"In an opener like this you want to start well. We knew the first couple of minutes were going to be a feeling out process and that was the case, but I thought we responded well (thereafter)," said Grafton coach Mike Johnson. "I thought we found each other well, I thought we defended well for the most part...I thought we did a lot of good things tonight."
Grafton's lockdown half-court defense held East Fairmont to just 1-of-10 with six turnovers in the first quarter, while the Bearcats shot 9-of-17 with just three cough-ups to build a 22-2 lead.
The Bearcats then reeled off a 17-1 run to start the second quarter and take the lead midway through the period. The 17-1 deluge to begin the quarter reached its climax when Ryan Maier canned back-to-back triples for six of his 23 first-half points.
"Since we got started this year, we talked about how we wanted to get up and down the floor as much as we can because it fits the personnel that we have. We've done a lot the past three weeks to kind of emphasize that, and I thought the boys did a really good job tonight carrying that over," Johnson said. "I thought we were aggressive (on defense) — I thought we looked to trap when we had opportunities and we were active with our hands getting deflections and runouts.
"Again, that's just the kind of style we like to play right now."
While Grafton discovered its offense in transition through the efforts of Maier and Blake Moore in the half court, East Fairmont struggled to handle the Bearcats' ball pressure and unearth any sort of small advantages to gain a bit of offensive traction. The Bees started the game just 1-of-16 shooting and turned the ball over eight times.
"In the first half, I was highly disappointed with our effort and heart, but in the second half it was better," East Fairmont coach Tyrone Asterino said. "Somebody made us uncomfortable and we have to find a way to be comfortable when somebody makes us uncomfortable, and we talk to our guys all the time about that. That's not the only team that's going to make us uncomfortable, so we have to get comfortable being uncomfortable."
Grafton, which took a 56-15 lead into the half and led by as many as 50 in the third quarter, was led by Maier, who poured in 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go with seven rebounds and four steals. Moore also cracked 20 points for the Bearcats, including a 9-of-12 showing from the foul line, to pair with four rebounds and four assists.
Kaden Delaney tacked on another 12 points for Grafton with seven rebounds, and Tanner Moats and JT Veltri each had six points.
Seth Cochran scored a team-high 13 points to go with seven rebounds in a strong effort off the bench, while Carter Saunders and Evan Parr each scored another seven points apiece.
"We're not going to make excuses," Asterino said. "I told our guys that you're going to take defeats, but it is critically important to see how we return tomorrow and move forward. The old saying is, it's not about being knocked down, but it's how you react to being knocked down."
Email Bradley Heltzel at bheltzel@timeswv.com or follow him on Twitter @bradheltzTWV.
