Owens leads all scorers in state semifinal with 26 points
By Randy Arrington
RICHMOND, March 7 — When junior Connor Hilliard hit an opening three-pointer just over two minutes into the state semifinal, Bulldog Nation felt a little hope as Luray took a 3-2 lead over the giants of John Marshall. However, it would be Luray’s only lead of the night in an unbalanced game played at Huguenot High School featuring only two lead changes. Just eight seconds later, the Justices retook the lead and launched an arial display on their way to punching a fifth-straight ticket to the VHSL Class 2 state championship game.
Luray played Division I-stacked John Marshall tough in the opening six minutes on Friday. Following back-to-back baskets by sophomore Ayden Haddock, the score stood at just 11-9 with 2:52 left in the first quarter. Hilliard hit a pair of three-pointers in the first frame, and the Luray defense forced a turnover against some talented ball handlers.
However, the Justices began to use their height advantage and slammed through three of their 13 dunks in the final 2:38. The Justices also hit a pair of threes for a 12-5 run to close the first quarter up 23-14.
Region B Player of the Year Matthew Owens would score eight points, including two three-pointers, in the second quarter. But John Marshall would hit four three-pointers and put another pair of dunks on the highlight reel. The Justices outpaced the Bulldogs 28-14 during the frame and lead 51-28 at the half.
Senior point guard Aiden Argabright hit the last of his five three-pointers early in the third quarter. Argabright ended the game with a team-high 19 points. Six-foot, eight-inch junior power forward Latrell Allmond would also score the last of his team-high 19 points in the third as well. Owens hit another pair of triples in the third for Luray. John Marshall lead 88-40 heading into the fourth.
Substitutes leveled out the playing field a little, as the Justices only held a 16-13 advantage in the fourth. Owens and senior Blake Jenkins both hit from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs. Luray never gave up, despite the lop-sided 104-53 finish on Friday night.
Owens lead all scorers in the state semifinal with 26 points, including five three-pointers, followed by 10 points from both Hilliard and Haddock. Jenkins had five points in his final high school game. Overall, Luray hit eight triples and shot 38 percent from the field, but went a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. The Bulldogs committed a total of 13 turnovers.
The Justices hit 62 percent of their shots, albeit many were inside the paint. However, they also hit 10 shots from beyond the arc and went 13-for-16 from the line (81 percent). The No. 1 team in Class 2 committed just five turnovers. Five players finished in double figures in scoring.
Luray finishes an amazing season at 21-8, and caps it off with a gutsy performance against a team featuring seven players 6’4″ or taller and ranked 13th nationally. Luray’s 6’3″ Riley Benson and 6’2″ Jae Frye battled all night with JM’s 6’6″ senior wing Desmon Rose, 6’8″ power forward Allwood, and 6’9″ junior forward Ladarius Givan.
John Marshall (24-2) heads to yet another Class 2 state championship to face off with Region D champion Graham (21-4) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 at VCU’s Siegel Center in Downtown Richmond. Graham defeated Region C champion Floyd County, 62-61, on Friday.
To follow the VHSL Class 2 boys basketball state tournament, CLICK HERE.
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