by Rusty Ellis
MURFREESBORO – The Gordonsville Tigers saw their season come to an end in the Class A Semifinals, as they fell to Frank Hughes 48-43 on Friday afternoon.
“They know what they’re good at, and they stay with what they’re good at,” said GHS head coach Greg Bibb. “This group has had so many firsts, first 20-win season since 2006-07. The first region championship is who knows when, the first state tournament since 1996, and the first-ever semifinal, so it’s just a true testament to those guys.”
A back-and-forth affair early, Gordonsville used a pair of free throws from Eli Adams to tie the game at 12 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter. Frank Hughes scored a last-second shot to take a 14-12 lead to begin the second, and the game remained close until the first half buzzer sounded, as FHHS took a 21-20 lead into the break.
In the third, Adams used a physical bucket to give Gordonsville a 27-24 lead, their largest of the game to that points, but Frank Hughes took another one-point lead at the quarter’s buzzer thanks to a Weston Lineberry jumper.
Gordonsville took a 31-28 lead at the six-minute mark on another Adams basket, but Levi Tuck answered right away with a three to tie the game at 31-31. From there. FHHS outscored Gordonsville 17-12 over the game’s final 5:43 to clinch their spot in the Class A Championship with a 48-43 win.
Not the result Bibb or his team was looking for, the Tigers head coach maintained his stance that it wasn’t a one-year deal for his team; rather, it was a new standard his 2023-24 group set.
“We know what this program is capable of, and once you get it to a certain spot, that’s what a leisure does,” Bibb said. “You can’t just rest on all your laurels, and that makes me hungrier. This is the type of group of kids, it makes them hungrier too.”
And a lot of that started with Adams and Brodie Sykes as this team’s leaders, as they combined for 22 points and 20 rebounds in the loss. Bibb says it’s players like that who have created a new precedent for Gordonsville basketball.
“It’s their leadership that molded this team,” Bibb said. It’s because of these guys…it changes, and we’re going to have to accept that. The bar has changed. We don’t work, we won’t be able to reach it, but I don’t think I have a group of kids that just wants to sit back and watch.”
