Grayson cruises to a dominating victory

Grayson cruises to a dominating victory

By Robert Alfonso Jr

Norcross, GA – In any heavyweight matchup the aggressor throws the first punch and doesn’t stop. 

This is exactly what Grayson High did Saturday night. The Rams ran, pushed, and dunked its way to a 94-54 win over Tri-Cities in On the Radar’s Tip-off Classic at Norcross. 

“The point of emphasis from day 1 is we want to be the aggressor,” Rams coach Geoffrey Pierce said. “We don’t want anybody to have us on our heels. We want them to adjust to what we’re doing.”

Grayson (2-0) smashed the gas and were off the races. The Rams raced down the floor looking to score in lightening quick fashion. Defensive deflections led to layups, jumpers, three-pointers, and highlight dunks.

Jacob Wilkins delivered two of the most thunderous dunks of the night. His first half dunk was explosive. His next one was early in the fourth where he jumped just inside the free throw line on an angle to drop the one-arm hammer. The University of Georgia signee (17 points, five blocks) had everyone in disbelief.

Whenever Wilkins wasn’t putting on a show, his teammates were getting into the act. Caleb Holt (21 points, six steals) was getting the basket and causing havoc on defense. Amir Taylor, a recent Kennesaw State signee, dominated the interior (12 points). KJ Garris, a Cal-State Fulerton signee, was the team’s utility knife finishing with 21 points. 

However, not to be lost in the highlights or flare is point guard Chris McLavish. The senior held things together running the team. He started things on the defensive end making steals. His ability to then set the pace on the offensive end for all the talked about plays throughout the night. 

“For my money Chris is one of the best point guards in the state offensively and defensively,” Pierce said. “He is the catalyst for us defensively out front. He is super unselfish and a great teammate.”

McLavish shined on the stat sheet finishing with 13 points, nine assists, and five steals.  

Tri-Cities (1-1) had no answers for what the Rams were doing on either end of the floor. The City squad looked fatigued with the pace being played. Sean Van Dorn, the Georgia Southern signee, finished with a team-high 12 points. Carby Martin chipped in with 11 points.