by Jamie Harris
The Berkeley Springs High School Indians Boys Varsity Basketball Team boarded up early the afternoon of Monday, February 25 and headed west. From I-68 to I-79 the Indians finally rolled into Grafton for the opening round of the Class AA Sectional playoffs.
The Tribe went into the contest red hot and seeded fifth while the host Grafton Bearcats were the number four seed.
The first half proved to be the difference maker in the game as Grafton grabbed a 22-11 lead in the first quarter. Berkeley Springs was led in the quarter by freshman Gavin Barkley who scored four points. Seniors Nate Bland (three points) and EJ Barkley (two points) rounded out the scoring.
The second quarter was no better for the Indians as Grafton went on a 16-10 run to take a 38-21 halftime lead. The Tribe was led by G. Barkley’s six points while Bland added four points.
Berkeley Springs woke up in the third quarter as they outscored the Bearcats 22-17. The Tribe was led by E. Barkley and G. Barkley who tallied eight points in the quarter. Also scoring for the Indians were seniors Payton Mann (three points) and Ty’Jae Armstrong (two points).
The Tribe tried to go on a fourth quarter run as they outscored Grafton 22-19, however, it seemed every time Berkeley Springs was going to make a comeback the Bearcats had an answer with 11 made free throws.
The Tribe got six points each from G. Barkley and Armstrong in the final period. Bland (four points), Mann (three points) and E. Barkley (three points) rounded out the scoring.
G. Barkley led the Tribe overall with a game high 24 points. Seniors E. Barkley (13 points), Bland (11 points), Armstrong (nine points) and Mann (eight points) ended their Tribe basketball careers by helping lead the scoring charge.