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Making clutch shots in the final stretch, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team earned a 63-60 road win in overtime over Valley District rival Harrisonburg on Tuesday of last week.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 3-2 overall and completed a sweep of the regular-season series with the Blue Streaks, who fell to 2-13 overall and 1-4 in the district. RC would even up its overall record at 9-9 with a 61-37 home win over Stuarts Draft on Friday night in the Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout. (See separate story.)
Against Harrisonburg, the Wildcats trailed 28-26 at halftime and were behind 41-39 after the third quarter before outscoring the Blue Streaks 13-11 in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
Keaton Owsley made a big 3-pointer in the final stretch of regulation for RC, and teammate Matthew Burkhart hit a pullup jumper to tie the game at 52-52. RC’s Henry Lambert then made a strong defensive play just before the end of regulation.
In overtime, the Wildcats outscored Harrisonburg 11-8. “We made a couple more plays than they did,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield.
Brandon Mays led the Wildcats with a game-high 25 points, sinking three 3-pointers, while Burkhart added 14 points for RC. Owsley and Milo Mulitalo each scored eight points, and Lambert chipped in six.
Jadon Burgess paced the Blue Streaks with 18 points, while Latham Fields scored 14 points, and Keith Brown chipped in 12.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Spotswood last night and will play host to nondistrict rival Alleghany tonight, Wednesday. They’ll conclude the regular season with two district games, at Turner Ashby on Friday and at home against Broadway on Tuesday. All nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. Before Tuesday’s varsity game, the Wildcats will honor their four seniors: Mays, Peyton Jay, Andreas Poindexter and Daronde’ Stores.
