COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Walnut Ridge outlasted Briggs behind another dominant game from Mr. Basketball candidate VonCameron Davis. His efforts and an aggressive press helped the Scots pull away and secure a 65-49 victory.

Walnut Ridge got off to a hot start that saw them take a 14-4 lead early on. Briggs responded with a basket of their own before the game went into all out stall.

Briggs sat back in their 2-3 zone while Walnut Ridge simply held the ball and waited for Briggs to apply pressure. This lasted for the final 3:45 of the first quarter.  Davis knocked down a three right before the buzzer to give Walnut Ridge a 17-6 lead.

Briggs played great defense in the second quarter and were paced offensively by senior forward Andrew Grubbs, who had 12 first half points. They went into the half with some momentum as they  outscored Walnut Ridge 17-14 in the second quarter.

Briggs then cut the lead to five points early in the third quarter. Walnut Ridge offered a response, but Briggs remained confident as they were still mucking up the game and playing at their desired pace.

That all changed in the fourth quarter when Ridge applied their trap and started to force turnovers and get guys out in transition. The pressure was the final nail in the coffin as Ridge used a 24-13 fourth quarter to put Briggs away.

For Walnut Ridge, Davis led all scorers with 25 points, Qian Magwood and Kaveon Ross both chipped in 13 points and Myles Garrett and Leon Douglas had seven a piece.

For Briggs, Grubbs led the way with 16 points, Javion Williams scored 12 points and Dom Farley scored 10 points.

VonCameron Davis (6’5 WF / Walnut Ridge / 2020): Despite seeing double teams and the occasional triple team, Davis still managed to have a very productive night. He continued to show off his improved range as he knocked down two threes. He did most of his work on the block though as he finished through contact and drew fouls. He made the most of his free throw attempts going 7-7 from the line. On the defensive end he had very active hands coming up with five steals. He also protected the rim very well coming up with three blocks. He did a great job with his matchup of Grubbs, limiting him to only four second half points.

Andrew Grubbs (6’3 F / Briggs / 2020): Grubbs is the kind of kid coaches love. Every night he puts his hard hat on and just provides maximum effort. This translated to scoring today as he consistently carved out spaced on aggressive post ups and found ways to score around the rim. In a time where most kids only care about scoring, Grubbs seems to get it and can play at the next level simply because of his effort. Grubbs added four rebounds with his team high 16 points.

Qian Magwood (6’0 G / Walnut Ridge / 2020): You’d be hard pressed to find many players in the area who play better on ball defense than Magwood. Magwood took pride in his match up with Briggs leading scorer Dom Farley. He made things really difficult for him as he had to work extremely hard to get off decent looks. He had three steals on the night. He got his guys involved on offense coming up with four assists and was able to slash to the rim where he was able to finish or draw fouls.

Javion Williams (6’4 F / Briggs /  2021): Williams supplied the Bruins with great effort as he was all over the glass leading the team in rebounds with eight. He turned some offensive rebounds into points and finished off some nice passes around the rim. When he is playing with a high motor Williams can be a handful for teams to deal with as he’s one of the more athletic players in the area.