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Wednesday, Feb. 1 – The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team’s attempt to come back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter fell short in a 57-52 home loss to Alleghany on Wednesday night in Lexington.
With the nondistrict win, the Mountaineers (8-11) completed a sweep of the season series with the Wildcats. When the teams met on Dec. 19 at Alleghany, the Mountains won 70-62.
In the rematch, the Wildcats (9-11) trailed 31-25 at halftime and fell behind 46-35 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter before ending the period on a 5-0 run to cut Alleghany’s lead to 46-41. After Alleghany hit a pair of free throws, RC’s Keaton Owsley scored the next eight points, making two three-point plays, to give RC a 50-48 lead with 5:49 left in the game.
After Alleghany hit a pair of free throws, Brandon Mays made an inside shot to give RC a 52-50 lead. The Mountaineers then took a 53-52 lead when Davien Moore made a 3-pointer with 1:56 left. After making a defensive stop, Alleghany went up by three when Eli Entsminger scored on an inside shot. Alleghany then forced a turnover that led to two free throws from Christopher Harden, who then stole the ball to seal the win.
Owsley led all players with 18 points, going 4-of-5 from the free throw line, while Matthew Burkhart added 12 points for the Wildcats. Andreas Poindexter scored eight points, and Mays chipped in six.
Harden paced the Mountaineers with 10 points, while Hunter DePriest and Halen Lowman added nine points each, and Entsminger chipped in seven.
The Wildcats will return to Valley District action on Friday when they play at Turner Ashby before concluding the regular season at home against Broadway. Both nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
For the full story and photos from this week’s action, please see our Feb. 8 newspaper.
