BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers took down Man and Tolsia last week to claim the Class A Region 4 Section 1 championship. Tug Valley was the No. 1 seed and got to host the two sectional games in Naugatuck.
The Panthers improved to 21-3 and are one win away from returning to the state tournament. They will advance to co-regional play Thursday, hosting Huntington St. Joe at 7 p.m.
Tug Valley 62, Tolsia 34
Tug Valley started hot and rolled over the Tolsia Rebels 62-34 in Friday night’s sectional championship.
The Panthers were the No. 1 seed and thus got to host their two sectional games.
TVHS jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead over the visitors. The Panthers led 21-5 after the first quarter. Senior Parker Davis scored five early to help Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson’s team on offense.
Senior Jonathan Wagoner came off the bench early due to Buddy Marcum picking up a couple of quick fouls. Wagoner made two nice baskets down low in the paint.
Sophomore guard Joey Gollihue had a good second quarter with six points to help the Panthers to a commanding 35-9 advantage at halftime.
Tolsia played better starting the third quarter, but after a timeout by Coach Thompson, the Panthers settled down and built the lead back. Several players got playing time for Tug Valley as Thompson went deep on his bench.
Parker Davis led the Panthers with 15 points. He also dished out four assists. Wagoner and Gollihue finished with 10 points each, Ashton Davis scored eight and handed out six assists, Braydun Ferris added six points, Buddy Marcum and Kaden Hale chipped in four points each, Brady Brewer nailed a 3-pointer, Paul Preece scored two, and Aiden Armstrong tossed in one point.
Tug Valley shot 39% from the field and hit 11-21 from behind the arc for 52%. The Panthers made 3-6 at the foul line for 50%.
Coach Thompson said he is pleased with how his team has been playing and likes the balanced scoring. He said players had accepted their roles, which is important moving forward.
Tug Valley is one win away from going back to the state tournament. The Panthers improved to 21-3 with the win.
Parker Watts, who battled foul trouble, led Tolisa with 19 points.
Score by quarters:
Tolsia: 5 4 17 8 – 34
Tug: 21 14 18 9 – 62
Tug Valley 70, Man 28
Tug Valley, ranked No. 2 in Class A, improved to 20-3 on the season as they clobbered visiting Man 70-28 in the first round of the sectional tourney March 1.
Sophomore guard Joey Gollihue led the Panthers with 22 points, Ashton Davis added nine, Braydun Ferris eight and Parker Davis six. Several players saw action and scored for TVHS.
Tug was scheduled to host Tolsia (13-9) in Friday night’s sectional finals. The Rebels won 59-57 at Sherman Wednesday in double overtime.
Score by quarters:
Man: 4 6 7 11 – 28
Tug: 16 19 16 19 – 70