Gruver wins fifth straight district title with win over West Texas Stinnett
STINNETT — Down two of its leading scorers due to injury, the Gruver boys basketball team had to lean big on its man in the middle.
And, boy, did he deliver in a big way.
Jefferson Weaver scored 27 points, including 19 in the first half, to power Gruver on the way to defeating West Texas Stinnett 54-46 and clinching a fifth straight District 1-2A championship.
It was all Greyhounds (24-9, 9-0) for much of the night.
After leading just 5-4 early, Gruver went on a 12-2 run before Stinnett's Cash Fulton hit a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds to go in the first quarter. The Greyhounds led 17-9 after one and doubled their points to take a 34-20 lead at the midway point.
Gruver was in solid form for much of the third, taking an 18-point lead before Stinnett went on a 6-0 run capped off by a Sam Cromer buzzer-beater to cut it to 42-30 entering the final quarter of play.
The Comanches continued to fight and scrap, getting as close as 51-44 with less than two minutes to go. But Gruver made its free throws down the stretch and held off West Texas High.
Colt Matthews had a nice game for the Greyhounds with 17 points, but it was Weaver's 27 — 19 of which came in the opening half, that secured the win for Gruver.
"We really need him right now," Gruver coach Brittin East said. "We really need him especially when we're struggling from the outside. We've got to be able to get it to him and rely on him. In the big games so far this year, that's what he's done for us which has been huge. He's a beast down there, the guys know that and they really try to get him the ball down there."
Weaver got into foul trouble early in the second, relegating him to the bench; otherwise he may have cracked 30 points.
For West Texas (13-15, 3-6), the loss puts them into a bind.
With Booker's victory over Sunray on Friday, the Kiowas clinched the third playoff spot in the district. Stinnett and Sanford-Fritch are now 3-6 in the 1-2A standings. West Texas plays at second place Stratford (13-13 overall) on Tuesday while Fritch is at Sunray — which is winless in district action.
The Comanches fought back in the second half, getting 14 points from Cromer by the end of the contest. West Texas may be young, but the talent is there to make big things happen.
"We feel like we're just extremely young right now," West Texas High coach Aron Graves said. "We have three freshmen and a couple of sophomores up. Tonight was not the end result that you'd want, but we battled in the second half and won the second half by eight got us back in the game. It was a positive note moving forward."
West Texas Stinnett
Cash Fulton 5, Sean Rames 4, Peyton Lay 4, Sam Cromer 14, Kade Hamby 9, Brodey Stone 9
Gruver
Jefferson Weaver 27, Michael McCloy 3, Sutton Wand 2, Ridge Holland 4, Briggs Satterfield 1, Colt Matthews 17
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Gruver wins fifth straight district title with win over West Texas Stinnett
