G.W. Graham 86 Hope 57

Well, the clash of the titans turned out to be more of a Sparta-Persia affair with G.W. Graham dominating Hope on Thursday night.  The preparation and lead-up to the game was tense and both teams came into the gym ready to do battle for AA Fraser Valley East division supremacy. 

The Grizzlies were a little more focused and prepared on this night (probably helped by their loss to Abbotsford Christian) and they jumped out to a quick lead and led after the first quarter 22-12.  Micah Cockrill led the Grizzlies with a hot hand and hit three three-pointers in the first period.  The second quarter was no different for the Mustangs as they continued to struggle to find opportunities on offense and contain Graham's shooters.  G.W. Graham led 47-27 at the half.

The Mustangs continued to expend effort but never got close as the Grizzlies moved to 3-1 in league with a 86-57 victory.  Micah Cockrill finished with 37 points helped by six three-pointers and Chris Thomson added 15 points and a solid 17 rebounds.  Ryan Temple contributed 5 points and Henry Derksen and Josiah Cockrill finished with 4 each.  However, the most exciting Graham basket of the night was Jesse Derksen's first basket of the year which brought the entire Graham bench off their feet and into a frenzy.  The Stat Sheet Stuffer of the night was Lucas Mannes who had a solid line with 13 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds.  G.W. Graham bench contributions and strong defensive rebounding helped lead them to the win on this night.

The lone bright spot for the Mustangs was the three-point shooting of Linden Willock who finished the game with 18 points (five three-pointers).  Wilson Willock was Hope's leading scorer with 26 points.  Hope will have to find more efficient ways to score and get the ball into the hands of their best players if they want to make noise beyond early February. 

Notes:

• Another factor in the Graham victory was the fact that assistant coach Mike Mannes decided to listen to voices of fashion wisdom and change from white to black socks before the game
• It should be noted that our Stat Sheet Stuffer of the night, Lucas Mannes, fell into some hard luck after the game as he allowed Scott Thomson to nail a game-winning three-pointer in a 2-on-2 pickup game in the small gym (Lucas is currently doing defensive closeout work)
• The Hope fans definitely outnumbered and out-yelled the G.W. Graham fans on this night