RC Boys’ Skid Reaches Six

The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered three Valley District losses last week, falling at home against TurnerAshby and losing on the road to Spotswood and William Monroe.

The losses extended the Wildcats’ losing streak to six games, and RC fell to 1-13 overall and 0-6 in the district.

At Spotswood (10-3 overall, 6-0 district), the Wildcats suffered a 10746 loss on Monday of last week. The Trailblazers led 40-11 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 7022 by halftime.

Cam Pacheco led all players with 38 points, spending most of the second half on the bench, while Tyler Sprague scored a season-high 30 points. The backcourt duo combined to hit eight of Spotswood’s 10 3-pointers.

Bradi Ziegler led the Wildcats with 19 points, hitting five of RC’s 10 3-pointers, while Noah Hamm scored nine points on three 3-pointers, and Sam Ballstaedt chipped in seven.

TA70, RC 50

After a close first half, theWildcats struggled against sharpshooting Turner Ashby suffering a 70-50 home loss in Valley District action on Tuesday night in Lexington.

The Wildcats trailed 11-9 after Hamm hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, and the Knights (67, 3-2) built up a 10-point lead in the second quarter before the Wildcats cut it to five, with Ziegler making two 3-pointers. At halftime, TA led 30-23.

The Wildcats tried to get the tempo of the game going faster by applying their defensive press in the third quarter, but the Knights got hot from beyond the arc, 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 period, 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 cut the Knights’lead to 18, but could get no closer. Lacy hit another 3-pointer with just over two minutes left. 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.

Proud of his team for playing hard at the end of the game, RC head coach Rob Winfield said, “We’ve got a group of kids that don’t quit. … That says a lot about their character.”

Eversole led RC with 13 points and pulled down four rebounds, while Ziegler scored nine points on three 3-pointers. Gardner Clement added eight points for the Wildcats, Camden had seven points and a block, and Brady Edwards chipped in six points and had four rebounds, two steals and a block. Hamm hit a 3-pointer, while Clay Irvine grabbed four boards, scored two points and took a charge.

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.

WM 59, RC 41

The Wildcats ended the week with a 59-41 road loss to William Monroe on Friday night in Stanardsville.

Winfield said his players did a good job containing WM’s usual leading scorer, Brady Lam. Irvine and Ethen Camden guarded Lam and held him to 20 points. Last year, Lam scored 66 points (35 and 31) in WM’s two wins against RC. Helping to double-team Lam on Friday were two of RC’s bigger players, Clement and Evans.

After a solid first half offensively, RC struggled to make shots in the second half. The Green Dragons (111, 3-1) led 29-24 at halftime before extending their lead to 40-31 by the end of the third quarter and pulling away in the fourth quarter.

The WM player the Wildcats were doubling off of to guard Lam, Gavin Battaile-Gilbert, scored 17 points.

Hamm led the Wildcats with 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers, while Eversole scored nine points, and Clement and Ziegler each chipped in six.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Broadway yesterday and will continue district play at home against Rocktown on Thursday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.

On Friday, the RC varsity team will play host to a talented Stuart Hall team at the Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats will return to district action at Harrisonburg on Tuesday, starting with the JV game at 5:30 p.m.