Billingsley drops 21 points
SANGER- The Miller Grove Hornets traveled to Sanger High School Tuesday to face No. 2 ranked Graford in the Area round of the playoffs. The Hornets got to the second round by defeating Avinger on a last-second shot, winning the game by a final score of 59-58.
Graford controlled the game from the beginning, getting out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. Miller Grove’s seven points came from three Matt Brignon free throws, as well as a pair of baskets from Lexton Sly and Isaiah Billingsley.
Graford had a huge scoring outburst in the second frame, scoring 21 points in the quarter. Miller Grove was only able to match with 11 points of their own, five of which came from Billingsley as the Hornets trailed 35-18 at the half.
Miller Grove started to fall behind even further in the third quarter, scoring just six points in the third quarter. Graford added 13 points in the frame, extending their lead to 48-24 entering the fourth quarter.
The Hornets’ offense came alive in the final frame, scoring a game-high 25 points in the forth quarter. Billingsley had 11 points in the quarter; however, Graford was able to hold on to their lead, winning the game by a final score of 58-49.
Billingsley was the leading scorer for the Hornets, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Sly and Kobe Robertson were next with nine points and seven points respectively.
Other scorers for Miller Grove were Brignon who had five points, Landon Burnett with three points and Riley Hasten and Tanner Hensley who each had two points.
The loss makes the Hornets final record 20-6.
“The kids played really hard, Graford is well coached and is a very good team,” head coach Gary Billingsley said. “I’m proud of the season we had.”