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Keeping its playoff hopes alive, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team earned a 59-49 home win over Valley District rival Broadway in the final game of the regular season on Tuesday of last week in Lexington.
With the win, the Wildcats (11-11 overall, 5-3 district) avenged a 55-49 road loss to Broadway on Jan. 20. After a 57-40 loss at Valley District champion Spotswood on Thursday, Broadway ended the regular season with the same overall and district record as the Wildcats. The Gobblers were scheduled to play at Spotswood in the first round of the Region 3C tournament on Monday.
Leading a balanced scoring attack in last Tuesday’s game, Brandon Mays paced the Wildcats with a game-high 17 points, sinking two 3-pointers, and pulled down four rebounds. “He’s been good for us all year,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield of Mays.
Andreas Poindexter added 12 points and three boards for RC. Contributing to the Wildcats’ balanced scoring effort were Henry Lambert and Milo Mulitalo with eight points each, Matthew Burkhart with six points, and Keaton Owsley with five. Mulitalo and Owsley each grabbed four rebounds.
Before the game, the Wildcats honored Mays, Poindexter and their two other seniors, Peyton Jay and Daronde’ Stores, who played well defensively.
RC got off to a fast start, taking a 9-2 lead in the first quarter before the Gobblers cut it to 13-11 by the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats got their offense rolling while containing Broadway. RC went on a 13-0 run in the first few minutes of the quarter to extend its lead to 24-11. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 28-14 lead.
“It was a good start,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield. “The seniors, the guys that have been busting their butts in practice that haven’t gotten many opportunities, did a good job starting the game.”
Late in the third quarter, the Gobblers began to trim the lead, as star guard Tristan Yoder hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut it to 40-35. The Wildcats responded well, a s a free t hrow from Owsley and a 3-pointer from Lambert put the Wildcats up 44-35 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Lincoln Hundley made a 3-pointer to put RC up by 10 points. The Gobblers cut RC’s lead to 53-47 when Conner Michael hit a triple with just under two minutes left. However, the Wildcats then converted from the free throw line, with Mays, Poindexter and Lambert each making two free throws apiece to put the game away.
Yoder, guarded well by Poindexter, led Broadway with 13 points, all in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers.
“We knew coming in that [Yoder] was their guy that can get going and get them back in the game, and in the third quarter, he did,” said Winfield. “I thought we played a little bit not to lose in that third quarter, a little timid, and we knew it was a big game.”
Caleb Barnes added 12 points for the Gobblers, sinking two triples, and Breylon Miller chipped in nine points.
To find out if the Wildcats advanced to the Region 3C tournament, which is scheduled to start this week, visit www. thenews-gazette.com.
Winfield was hopeful but realistic about his team’s chances, after the Wildcats bounced back from an 0-7 start to win 11 of their final 15 games.
“There’s a lot of cookies out there,” he said. “There’s a lot that can happen. All I know is we’ve done a lot of things to be alive, and we get to practice tomorrow.”
