Graford boys basketball pulls away late in state semifinal win over Benjamin

The Graford boys basketball team will attempt to win back-to-back state titles after the Jackrabbits ran away from Benjamin 66-42 in the Class 1A semifinals on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Graford (36-3), No. 1 in the final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 1A state poll, will play for the championship at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, at the Alamodome, against No. 2 Jayton (38-2). The Jaybirds defeated No. 3 Tilden McMullen County (37-3) 46-36 in the second semifinal.

The Jackrabbits crisp team play was enough to overcome the efforts of Grayson Rigdon and the running game of No. 19 Benjamin. Rigdon scored 36 of the Mustangs’ 42 points and kept Benjamin (21-2) in the game until late.

Graford coach Jeff Bell intended to double up and deny Rigdon, but not much was fazing the star sophomore.

“He’s just a really good athlete and he’s hard to no catch,” said Bell of Rigdon. “In the first half we did an ok job, but in the second half I just decided to go back to our man defense and I felt like that was the difference in the ball game.

“Connor Waters was guarding him and then I thought Christian Shea did an outstanding job when we switched Christian on him. I thought that was a huge deal for us.”

Rigdon also led the Benjamin football team to an undefeated, 15-0, season and a win in the Class 1A Division 2 state title game where he accounted for 343 yards and seven touchdowns.

Graford’s largest lead of the first half came with 4:54 left in the second quarter when Colin Roberts assisted on a jumper by McKennon Lemley that pushed the lead to eight at 22-14.

But Rigdon pulled the Mustangs back to within two in less than a minute on a lay in and a four-point play when he was fouled making a three.

“I thought we had a nervous first half, not playing the way we had been playing and maybe that had to do with what Benjamin was doing,” said Bell. We just had too many turnovers in the first half and seemed a little bit tight, but that happens in the state tournament.

“We really played well in the second half and started playing Graford basketball. We settled down a little bit, did some good things and came away with the win.”

Graford kept the lead, but never led by more than five until Shea, who led Graford with 18 points, hit a three pointer with a minute left in the third quarter that gave the Jackrabbits a 41-35 lead.

The Jackrabbits pulled away after that. Roberts, who finished with 14 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, had two break-away dunks, both assisted by McKennon Lemley. The second flush put Graford up 59-42 with 2:08 left.

Brad Lemley chipped in 17 points and six rebounds for the Jackrabbits. Graford had a 19-1 advantage in assists led by Waters who recorded five.

“They’re good,” said Benjamin coach Wesley Rigdon, Grayson Rigdon’s older brother, of Graford. “They’re so well coached and organized. I’m pretty envious of pretty much the whole program.

“They’re such good kids and good coaches that it really makes you pull for them. Even losing to them makes you want to watch and see what they can do on Saturday.”

Wesley Rigdon is in his first year at the helm of the Mustangs, who made their first state basketball tournament appearance. Wesley Rigdon’s father Jamie Rigdon and brother Mathew Rigdon are assistants on the team.

Grayson Rigdon, who was 11 of 28 from the floor including three of 15 from beyond the arc and was 11 of 15 from the free throw line, fouled out after committing a regular foul and technical foul with 1:55 left in the game. But it wouldn’t have mattered.

Graford had been a bridesmaid at the state tournament until last season when the Jackrabbits won it all. This is Graford’s ninth trip to the state tournament and before last year the Jackrabbits had only reached the title game once, in 2012, and came up short.

After winning last season Graford finally became the bride, this season they might be officiating the wedding if they win another. And with a roster that has only one senior, Roberts a 6-8 forward/post, the Jackrabbits might soon own the church.

“We live and breathe basketball in Graford,” said Bell. “It’s the closest thing to ‘Hoosiers’ that I’ve ever been to. They just love, love, love their basketball and it’s evident by the support we get.

“But these kids have spent a lot of time in the gym and on their own. I don’t have to tell them to go they just go because they want to do what the other teams have done. I’m really proud of them.”