William Monroe’s packed gymnasium observed a moment of silence before tipoff of the Bull Run District Tournament Final in memory of Rich Puryear. After a game in which All-District first team selections Gary Morris and Markel Williams combined to outscore Clarke County on their own, the former Dragons’ assistant coach who passed away Friday morning was still very much in mind.
“We played tonight with heavy hearts,” said William Monroe coach Mike Maynard. “He probably knew more about the game than I did. He worked with Gary [Morris] and Markel [Williams] as sophomores. He was a great motivator.”
Puryear coached on Maynard’s staff for three years, but health issues forced him away from the bench this season.
“We just wanted this game for Coach Puryear,” Williams said.
Monroe came through by beating the Eagles for the third time this season, adding the Bull Run District Tournament championship to its regular-season title, with a 78-59 win.
Morris started the game on fire from three-point range, hitting all four attempts in the first quarter, and six of seven before halftime. As Clarke County’s zone extended, Morris simply stepped further away and kept hitting.
“A couple of those were NBA range,” said Maynard. “He’s had an incredible two games. He has a scorer’s mentality. If he’s open, he’s going to try and get to the rack, and if he’s got his feet set, he’s a great outside shooter. Their whole game plan was to surround Markel with a zone, and we had to shoot them out of that.”
Clarke County kept things close heading into the break as the Dragons’ defense focused on All-District guards Sean McDonald and David Hardesty. Other Eagles, like junior guard Morgan Warfield (eight first half points), found openings driving inside, and taking advantage of second-chance opportunities.
“We were getting killed on the glass in the first half,” said Maynard. “We’ve got to really work on getting down and boxing out.
Both teams ran into early foul trouble, with three of the game’s starters picking up their third foul during the second quarter. Hardesty was one, but he also took advantage of his trips to the line, hitting four-of-five free throws in the quarter.
With Monroe leading 39-34 to start the third quarter, the Dragons took control with a 10-0 run over the first three minutes of the frame. Junior guard Austin Batten and Williams hit threes, while Morris switched his attack from behind the arc to driving to the basket. Hardesty did not score in the quarter as Monroe outscored the Eagles 23-10 to take an 18-point lead into the fourth.
“I thought our defense was much better,” said Maynard. “We helped better. We used our chest instead of our hands. We stopped some dribble penetration and got a couple key turnovers. Darion [McKinnie] picked off two passes and got us out on the break. Markel and Gary got a few layups and we got excited as a team. It was anybody’s game for a long time, and we had that stretch that opened up the game, forced them to play man-to-man.”
With 6:14 to play, Williams scored inside to tally his 1,000th career point. A full timeout allowed the home crowd to recognize the achievement with the District Player of the Year.
“It meant a lot to me to hug my mom and my father, and for them to both be here on this special night,” said Williams.
Morris finished with a game-high 35 points and Williams totaled 27, matching their scoring performances in Wednesday night’s semifinal. Batten added 11 for the Dragons. Morgan led Clarke County with 14 points, while Hardesty and senior forward Cody Taylor each posted 13. McDonald was held to seven points.
The Dragons enter the Region B tournament as the top seed, and will host Strasburg Wednesday night.
