Short-Handed RC Boys Continue To Struggle

The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team lost a pair of Valley District games last week, falling at home against Spotswood 77-44 last Tuesday before suffering a 49-31 setback on Friday at Turner Ashby.

Against Spotswood (13-3 overall, 12-0 district), playing hard against one of the top teams in the state, the Wildcats had a much closer game on Friday than the previous meeting between the two teams, on Jan. 13 at Spotswood, when the Trailblazers won 107-46.

With the two losses last week, the Wildcats (1-20, 0-12) saw their losing streak stretch to 13 games, while Spotswood (18-3, 12-0) ended the week on a 13-game winning streak.

The shorthanded Wildcats, who were missing Sam Ballstaedt and Luke Eversole due to injuries, got off to a strong start, taking an 8-6 lead on a 3-pointer from Clay Irvine. RC went up 10-7 on an inside shot from Brayden Camden, who was battling cramps but making his first start as a sophomore. However, the Blazers, who were missing star guard Cam Pacheco, then went on a 10-0 run to go up 17-10, forcing several turnovers with their defensive press. Spotswood led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Drives to the basket by Bradi Ziegler and Christian Moore cut Spotswood’s lead to 20-16, but the Blazers answered, with Tyler Sprague hitting three 3-pointers in the second quarter to help them take a 37-24 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats cut Spotswood’s lead to 39-30 on a 3-pointer from Ziegler, but they would get no closer, as Spotswood built up a 23-point lead at one point, taking a 56-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats kept battling, but Spotswood stayed comfortably ahead the rest of the way.

Sprague led all scorers with 27 points, sinking four 3-pointers, while Cam Langridge scored 23 points for Spotswood. Scoring six points each for the Blazers were Reese Fisher, Will Parlee and Cayden Price.

Gardner Clement led the Wildcats with 16 points, hitting a 3-pointer off the glass to end the third quarter, and pulled down four rebounds. RC head coach Rob Winfield praised his two centers, Clement and Brady Edwards, for stepping up the past few weeks. “Those two guys have pushed each other in practice,” said Winfield. “They’re two kids that didn’t play a lot last year, but got better every single day, and they get an opportunity this year, so that’s good.”

Ziegler scored nine points for RC, sinking two 3-pointers, and Clay Irvine and Noah Hamm each chipped in six points and two steals, with Irvine hitting a triple and battling for a team-high nine rebounds. Camden made one steal to go along with two points.

The Blazers made seven 3-pointers, while the Wildcats hit four. RC was plagued by turnovers, committing 30, while Spotswood had just five turnovers.

Reviewing the game, Winfield said, “Against [Spotswood], you’ve got to find a way to limit turnovers, and then when you get opportunities to score, you’ve got to score, and I thought for probably 25 minutes, we did that.”

Winfield said the Blazers are tough because “they just are relentless.”

TA 49, RC 31

Turner Ashby pulled away from a close game in the second half to deal the Wildcats a 49-31 loss in Bridgewater.

With the win, the Knights (11-8, 8-3) completed a sweep of the regular- season series with RC. When the teams met on Jan. 14 at RC, TA won 70-50.

In the rematch, TA led 14-8 after the first quarter before the Wildcats cut the lead to 25-20 by halftime. The Knights then outscored RC 11-4 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 36-24, and they put the game out of reach by outscoring the Wildcats 13-7 in the fourth quarter.

Going over the game, Winfield said, “We played good enough defense to win. We just struggled to score. That was our problem.” Winfield noted that the Wildcats shot under 30 percent from 3-point range and under 40 percent from the field.

Ziegler led RC with 12 points, making three 3-pointers, while Clement scored seven points, and Hamm chipped in four. Ballstaedt, back from his injury but not 100 percent, hit a 3-pointer, as did Irvine.

Solomon Shifflett paced TA with 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers, while Jayden Lacey scored 13 points, and Anthony Perez chipped in 11.

The Knights made seven 3-pointers, while the Wildcats hit five.

Winfield said the Knights are challenging because their three star guards – Shifflett, Lacey and Perez – “are good. They’re athletic. They play well together. They’re all capable shooters, which makes it tough to guard.”

The Wildcats were slated to play host to William Monroe last night and will conclude the season at home against district rival East Rockingham on Thursday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. Before the varsity game, the Wildcats will honor their eight seniors. For weather-related schedule updates, check www.thenewsgazette. com.