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The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered a 79-44 home loss to new Valley District rival Rocktown on Thursday night in Lexington.
In a game between two teams that were meeting for the first time, Rocktown (5-8 overall, 2-3 district), a new school formed last year when Harrisonburg split into two schools, used its athleticism and physicality to build up an 11-3 lead midway through the first quarter. The Wildcats (1-14, 0-7), suffering their seventh consecutive loss, then went on a 7-0 run, started when Noah Hamm hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 11-10. Rocktown responded with a 7-1 run to end the quarter with an 18-11 lead.
In the second quarter, the Raptors hit three 3-pointers and gradually built up a 20-point lead, taking a 44-24 lead into halftime.
Rocktown carried the momentum into the third quarter, capitalizing on RC turnovers and increasing its lead to 66-30 by the end of the third quarter.
Since the lead was 30 points or more, the teams played the entire fourth quarter with a running clock.
Ayden Groden led Rocktown with 28 points, scoring 18 points in the second half, while Keyton Benton added 15 points, and Jayden Robinson chipped in 12.
Bradi Ziegler led the Wildcats with 14 points, making four 3-pointers. Scoring six points each for the Wildcats were Hamm, Luke Eversole, Sam Ballstaedt and Gardner Clement. Clay Irvine chipped in four points for RC.
The Wildcats hit eighth 3-pointers, while the Raptors made five.
RC committed 15 turnovers, while Rocktown had 12.
The Wildcats will return to action on Friday when they play host to Stuart Hall at 5:30 p.m. in the 11th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout, an American Cancer Society fundraiser.
For the full stories on this week’s action, with photos from Rock the Ribbon, please see our Jan. 29 newspaper.
