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After a close first half, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team struggled against sharpshooting Turner Ashby, suffering a 70-50 home loss in Valley District action on Tuesday night in Lexington.
The Wildcats (1-12 overall, 0-5 district) trailed 11-9 after Noah Hamm hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, and the Knights (6-6, 3-1) built up a 10-point lead in the second quarter before the Wildcats cut it to five, with Bradi Ziegler making two 3-pointers. At halftime, TA led 30-23.
The Knights got hot from beyond the arc in the third quarter, making seven 3-pointers. Jayden Lacy, who hit five 3-pointers in the game, made four triples in the third quarter. TA also capitalized on five RC turnovers in the quarter, during which the Knights outscored the Wildcats 29-9 to take a 59-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
Despite the large deficit, the Wildcats kept fighting in the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run to cut TA’s lead to 59-39. In that stretch, RC got an inside basket from Brayden Camden, along with a basket and a three-point play from Luke Eversole. The Wildcats would cut the Knights’ lead to 18, but they got no closer, as Lacy hit another 3-pointer to put TA up 66-45 with just over two minutes left, the TA stayed comfortably ahead for the rest of the game. Just before the final buzzer sounded, Camden launched a full-court shot that went in the basket.
Eversole led RC with 13 points, while Ziegler scored nine points on three 3-pointers. Gardner Clement added eight points for the Wildcats, Camden had seven points, and Brady Edwards chipped in six.
Anthony Perez led the Knights with 21 points, sinking three 3-pointers, while Lacy scored 19 points. Also stepping up for TA were Jackson Good with 10 points, Jonathan Wood with six, and Solomon Shifflett with five.
The Knights made 11 3-pointers, while the Wildcats hit five triples.
RC committed 15 turnovers, while TA had nine.
The Wildcats will continue district action at William Monroe on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
For the full story on this week’s action, with photos from Tuesday’s game, please see our Jan. 22 newspaper.
