Panthers end season with fine 23-4 record
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The No. 3 seed Tucker County upset No. 2 seed Tug Valley in a physical game in the semifinals of the Class A field of the West Virginia State High School Basketball Tourney held Friday at the Charleston Coliseum. The game was the early tipoff for the day’s event starting at 9:30 a.m.
The Mountain Lions downed the Panthers 71-58.
Tucker County out-rebounded Tug Valley 38-25 which helped them win the game and head into the championship game Saturday.
Tucker County had the size advantage under the basket with three players around 6-foot-4.
A key stretch of the contest came over the final couple of minutes of the opening half when the Mountain Lions took control of the game by outscoring the Panthers 12-1.
“It was a very tough physical game, but give Tucker credit,” Tug Valley Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson said. “They have a good team and are well coached.
“I’m proud of our guys. This hurt, but the sun will come up tomorrow,” Thompson added. “We have some kids with a lot of heart.”
Tug Valley had a young roster and will only lose two seniors, Parker Davis and Jonathan Wagoner. They are also expected to get a couple of quality middle school players coming into the program next season.
TCHS began the second half in strong fashion and took its biggest lead at 38-27 on an Ethan Rosenau trey at the 5:07 mark.
The Panthers fought back over the remainder of the quarter and pulled to within 43-39 on big junior center Buddy Marcum’s conventional three-point play 32 seconds before the start of the fourth.
A key basket from Levi Bennett allowed Tucker to hold a 6-point lead with 8:00 minutes remaining.
Buddy Marcum led TV with 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Braydun Ferris scored 12, sophomore Joey Gollihue added 11 and Parker Davis 10 before fouling out in the final quarter. Sophomore guard Ashton Davis added eight points, and freshman guard Bryson Elia four off the bench.
Tug Valley only made a pair of treys, shooting 2-12 for 17% and was 18-25 from the free-throw line for 72%.
Bonner scored a game-high 22 points and made 10-of-15 shots for the Mountain Lions. Bennett added 13 to go with seven rebounds. Ethan Rosenau scored 11 off the bench. He made three of his team’s seven 3-pointers.
Tug Valley’s season came to a close with a fine record of 23-4.
Score by quarters:
Tucker Co.: 11 17 17 28 – 71
Tug Valley: 12 9 18 19 – 58