.jpg)
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 regularseason 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, rescheduled from last Tuesday due to snow, 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.
“You can’t get down 30-8 to start a game,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield. “I’ll be honest with you, practice yesterday, I thought the guys had good lift. They had good energy. They had good focus. I walked out of practice yesterday thinking, we’re ready to play, and that was not the case to tip it off tonight.”
Early in the second quarter, Noah Hamm made a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run by the Wildcats, and RC 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.
Winfield said Ziegler would’ve benefited from more practice time last week, but inclement weather prevented the Wildcats from practicing last Monday and Tuesday. “He’s a guy that can make shots,” said Winfield. “He’s a shooter. He hit a couple tonight. I think he rushed the one he missed. I had a plan to bring him up, and I thought I’d have a couple more practices to get him ready, and we just didn’t. I wanted to give him some time as a young kid, and an opportunity.”
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. The senior guard also paced RC with seven rebounds and three steals. Hamm scored 11 points, knocking down three triples, and had a steal, while Milo Mulitalo added six points, two steals and a block.
Leading Broadway’s offensive 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 were scheduled to play at East Rockingham last Friday, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather. For the rescheduled date, visit www.thenews-gazette.com. RC was slated to play host to Harrisonburg last night. Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will play host to Salem in nondistrict action. Following the JV girls’ game at 4:30 p.m., the JV boys are scheduled to play at 6, followed by the varsity boys at 7:30. In the 10th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout, the Wildcats will play host to Eastern Mennonite on Friday at 1 p.m. The Wildcats will return to district action on Tuesday when they play at Spotswood, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m.
