Cardinals finish on 9-2 run, Griffin pours in 29
By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
WEATHERFORD (March 1, 2016) — Tom VanKranenburg grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, found Tim Griffin, and the senior guard sliced through the middle of the Graford defense for an aggressive layup that put Lingleville ahead for good in a thrilling Region III-A boys quarterfinal at Weatherford High School Tuesday evening.
Lingleville held on, 70-65, to advance to the regional tournament Friday and Saturday at Mansfield High School.
Lingleville head coach Doug Galyean discusses the win here:
The biggest shot of the night by Griffin made it 64-63 with 1:29 remaining, and Graford threw the ball out of bounds 19 seconds later. Free throws did it from there, as Stoker, Griffin and big-man Jarod Hagood each made a pair from the stripe to seal a fourth regional tournament trip in five seasons.
Griffin amassed 29 points along with four assists and four steals, while Hagood scored 20 in the paint and doubled up with 11 rebounds. He also blocked five shots and was a disruptive force all night in the paint defensively.
Tom VanKranenburg scored eight points and corralled eight boards, while Stoker finished with seven points, 11 assists and five steals.
Graford made 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, keeping the Jackrabbits in the game while the Cardinals were getting out in transition. Lingleville led by as many as nine before Graford cut it to five late in the fourth. The Jackrabbits began the final period with their 10th 3-ball to pull within 51-49, and their 11th gave them a 63-61 lead.
But Lingleville finished a game full of runs with a 9-2 push of its own to touch off a celebration worthy of a Sweet 16 berth.
The Cardinals had to overcome four first-quarter 3-pointers that gave Graford a 14-8 lead. But they did, getting loose in transition off takeaways to for a 8-2 run that evened the score at 16 entering the second.
Lingleville made it a 12-2 push with the first four points of the second, and were ahead by between three and nine points until the fourth quarter.
Bailey Fenn and Sergio Rangel each scored two for the Cardinals. Fenn also collected five rebounds.
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