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Wednesday, Jan. 24 – In a back-and-forth battle, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered a 67-60 home loss to Salem on Wednesday night in Lexington.
In their previous meeting this season between these two nondistrict rivals, on Dec. 5 in Salem, the Spartans (7-9) had defeated RC (2-16) by the same score.
Both teams shot well from beyond the arc in the rematch, hitting eight 3-pointers each.
RC’s Sam Ballstaedt opened up the scoring with the first of his five 3-pointers, but Salem responded with a pair of triples and took an 8-3 lead. The Spartans led 18-16 after the first quarter.
The second quarter had several ties and lead changes, and Salem went up by seven points before the Wildcats cut the lead to 34-32, with Zane Rowsey making a 3-pointer just before halftime.
The third quarter stayed tight, with Salem taking a 47-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Spartans opened up the final quarter with a 3-pointer from Grant Clemens. Ballstaedt responded with a triple, but Salem answered back, taking a six-point lead. The Wildcats would cut the lead to 63-60 on a triple from Ballstaedt with just over two minutes left, but the Wildcats didn’t score again, and the Spartans put the game away at the free throw line.
Milo Mulitalo led RC with 16 points, Ballstaedt added 15 points. Henry Lambert scored 13 points for RC, but, facing pressure after the break, he was held to just two points in the second half. Noah Hamm chipped in seven points, and Ramsey added five.
Parker Dallas paced Salem with 17 points, while Clemens added 14 points, sinking four 3-pointers. LaMarius Foxx scored 12 points, and Cam Boles chipped in 10.
Both teams did a good job taking care of the ball. The Wildcats committed seven turnovers, and Salem had six.
The Wildcats will return to action on Friday at 1 p.m. when they play host to Eastern Mennonite in the 10th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout, a 12-game event on Friday and Saturday that raises funds for the American Cancer Society.
For the full stories on this week’s action, with photos from Friday’s game, please see our Jan. 31 newspaper.
