2026 Battle for the Springhouse: James Monroe stuns Greenbrier East in overtime

Ryan Mann scores 10 points in the extra period to lift the Mavericks to a 70-67 win over the Spartans

White Sulphur Springs - James Monroe boys basketball has suffered through a couple of near misses in big games this year.

Friday night at the Battle for the Springhouse, the Mavericks finally had one fall their way.

Battling back from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter, the Mavs pushed the game to overtime and rode a huge performance in the extra period from Ryan Mann to grab a 70-67 win.

James Monroe will play Bridgeport Saturday in the Boys Championship Game at 5 p.m. Greenbrier East will meet Wyoming East in the consolation game at 3 p.m.

The Spartans took control early, building a 10-point advantage, six minutes into the contest.

The lead went to 14 points at the 5:20 mark of the second quarter before James Monroe finally settled into the game.

Running off 13 straight points, James Monroe pulled within one point, but a late spurt from Greenbrier East gave the Spartans a 38-32 advantage at the break.

Similar to the start of the game, Greenbrier East regained control of the contest, building a 13 -point lead and held a 10-point lead with eight minutes to play.

However, for nearly six minutes of the final stanza, Greenbrier East was unable to score and the Monroe County boys took full advantage.

Four points each from Mann and Kadyn Hines trimmed the deficit to two points prior to a bucket Darius Burns for the Spartans.

Undaunted, James Monroe kept pushing forward to take its first lead of the game.

A 3-ball from Bryce Gardinier and a two charity tosses from Hines put the Mavs ahead, but was off-set by an old-school 3-point play from Nate Dixon with 27 seconds to play for a 58-56 lead.

With his team in dire straits, Mann powered his way to the glass for basket, sending the game to overtime.

With Hines, who scored 19 points and had nine rebounds, on the bench having fouled out of the game, Mann took over.

After the two teams traded baskets to open the overtime session, Mann scored the next seven points to give James Monroe a 67-64 lead.

A free throw from Brody Hamric and a score inside from Braylen Godfrey tied the game, setting the stage for Mann's final heroics.

The Mavericks senior once again attacked the basket, scoring a contested shot, converting the And-1 for a 70-67 lead.

Greenbrier East had one last chance to score, but the 3-point attempt was partially blocked by Mann to preserve the win.

Mann led all scorers with 24 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Jayden Miller added 12 points.

Dixon led East with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Hamric scored 14 points, while Darius Burns netted 11 and had eight rebounds.

James Monroe head coach Kelly Mann discussed the win over Greenbrier East.