Rockbridge County Boys Fall To 0-6

The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team lost a pair of games last week to fall to 0-6, suffering a 60-35 home defeat against Valley District rival Broadway last Tuesday before falling at Waynesboro 56-49 in nondistrict action last Wednesday.

Against Broadway, the Wildcats had a rough shooting night at Maury River Middle School and fell to 0-2 in the district, while the Gobblers improved to 2-3 overall in their district opener.

RC got off to a slow start, getting a 3-pointer from Sam Ballstaedt to cut Broadway’s lead to 5-3 before the Gobblers went on a 10-0 run and ended the first quarter with a 20-5 lead.

Led by 13 first-half points from Sam Post, Broadway built up a 30-11 halftime lead, outscoring RC 10-6 in the second quarter.

The Wildcats picked up their offense in the third quarter, but they didn’t make much of a dent in Broadway’s lead, trailing 47-25 going into the fourth quarter. Broadway closed out the game by converting 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Reviewing his team’s performance, RC head coach Rob Winfield said, “It seems to me we can play a good quarter here, we can play a good quarter there. We just can’t put four of them together.”

Winfield said Broadway head coach Dwight Walton “does a good job. They play a certain style. They play physical, and he does a good job with those guys. I thought they took it to us a little bit, and we just hadn’t played a team like that yet, and we’ll grow from it.”

Braden Burkhalter led the Gobblers with 20 points, making 8-of-9 free throws, while Post added 15 points, sinking three 3-pointers. Andrew Garber chipped in 11 points for Broadway.

Bradi Ziegler led RC with nine points and grabbed two rebounds and two steals, while Ballstaedt, Luke Eversole and Gardner Clement each scored five points. Clement led the Wildcats with six rebounds, Noah Hamm chipped in four points and took a charge early in the fourth quarter, and Clay Irvine had three points, two rebounds and two steals. Also contributing was Christian Moore with two boards and a steal.

Broadway made five 3-pointers, while RC hit just two triples.

RC struggled to take care of the ball, committing 21 turnovers, while Broadway had 13 turnovers.

It was the Wildcats’ second game without senior forward Zane Ramsey, whose season ended when he fractured his leg during the Wildcats’ home loss to Waynesboro on Dec. 11. “Tonight is a game you need Zane Ramsey because he’s our effort and our energy,” said Winfield. “We were a little flat tonight. That’s my fault. I didn’t have them ready to play. I’m trying to peel back a little bit on them because we’ve got so many games (four in five days). I don’t know that I had us mentally ready and physically ready to play. That’s on me.”

WHS 56, RC 49

The Wildcats showed improvement in their 56-49 road loss to Waynesboro (2-4) last Wednesday.

“We played better,” said Winfield. “We shot the ball a little bit better.

It was a close game the whole way, but the Wildcats struggled to stop Lamari Nowell, who led all players with 25 points, hitting six 3-pointers. A week earlier in Lexington, the Wildcats had held Nowell scoreless. “At times, we didn’t do a good job defending him,” said Winfield. “We didn’t do the scouting report well.. That’s on me. He was a good shooter.”

Other leaders for the Little Giants were Haden Morris with 13 points and Jackson Darden with 10.

Ziegler led RC with 12 points, sinking three 3-pointers, while Ballstaedt scored 10 points. Also contributing for RC were Camden and Hamm with eight points each, Clement with seven, and Brady Edwards with four.

RC and Waynesboro each made eight 3-pointers.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play in the Titan Basketball Invitational at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke last Friday and Saturday, facing Lord Botetourt on Friday evening. Due to the early Christmas deadline, the story on the tournament will be in our Tuesday, Dec. 31 newspaper. This Friday, the Wildcats will play host to local rival Parry McCluer back at the RC gym, with the varsity game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The day will start with the junior varsity girls’ game at 1 p.m., followed by the JV boys’ game at 2:30 p.m. and the varsity girls’ game at 4 p.m.

The Wildcats will begin the new year by playing host to Valley District rival Harrisonburg on Friday, Jan. 3, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m. RC will then play at PM on Saturday, Jan. 4, with the same schedule as this Friday.