.jpg)
Thursday, Jan. 18 – Unable to come back from an early large deficit, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered a 73-50 home loss to Valley District rival Broadway on Thursday night in Lexington.
With the win, the Gobblers (12-3 overall, 5-1 district) completed a sweep of the regular-season series with the Wildcats (2-14, 2-5). When the teams met on Dec. 12 at Broadway, it was a much more competitive game, with the Gobblers making a layup at the buzzer to defeat RC 65-63.
In the rematch, Broadway started out on fire, making four 3-pointers in the first quarter and taking a 30-8 lead into the second quarter. On the night, the Gobblers hit 10 3-pointers, while the Wildcats made six triples.
Early in the second quarter, Noah Hamm made a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run by the Wildcats, and RC would cut Broadway’s lead to 38-25 on a triple by freshman Bradi Ziegler, playing his first varsity game after moving up from the junior varsity squad. However, the Gobblers continued to hit shots, taking a 45-30 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Hamm and Henry Lambert each knocked down a 3-pointer for the Wildcats, cutting the Gobblers’ lead to 47-39, but Broadway’s Tristan Yoder responded with a triple to stop the comeback, and the Gobblers took a 54-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
Hitting two more 3-pointers and forcing turnovers in the fourth quarter, the Gobblers gradually pulled away, extending their lead to more than 20 points toward the end of the game.
Lambert led the Wildcats with 25 points, making two 3-pointers and going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Hamm scored 11 points, knocking down three triples, while Milo Mulitalo added 10 points, and Ziegler chipped in five.
Leading Broadway’s scoring effort, with four players scoring in double figures, was Conner Michael with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, while Yoder added 17 points, sinking four treys. Jet Gonzales scored 13 points, and Braden Burkhalter chipped in 12.
RC committed 14 turnovers, while Broadway had 13.
The Wildcats are scheduled to continue district action on Friday when they play at East Rockingham, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. When the teams met on Dec. 15 in Lexington, RC won 79-75 for its first victory of the season.
For the full story on this week’s action, with photos from Thursday’s game, please see our Jan. 24 newspaper.
