BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
RED JACKET, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers clawed the Mingo Central Miners 67-38 Tuesday night at the MCHS gym in the battle for bragging rights in Mingo County.
Tug Valley jumped out to a 20-14 lead after one quarter.
The Panthers led 35-18 at the half in front of a good-sized crowd on Miner Mountain. Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson had his squad come out in a full-court press from the start, which forced several turnovers.
Ashton Davis and Braydun Ferris both swished in 10 points in the first half to lead the Panthers.
Tug Valley, now 6-0 on the season, shot 49% from the floor for the game, including 7-12 from behind the arc for 58%. They were 8-10 from the free-throw line for 80%,
The Miners only shot 31% from the floor and only made a pair of 3-pointers, 2-of-11. Coach Stan Elkins’ squad was cold at the charity stripe, only making 4-13 for 31%.
Ferris led Tug Valley with 19 points and dished out four assists, while Davis finished with 13, Bryson Elia chipped in 12, 6 boards and three assists, and Buddy Marcum had seven points and nine rebounds. Kaden Hale added six points for the Panthers. Coach Thompson cleared his bench in the final quarter. Several players scored two points, including Derek Jewell, Evan Bryant, Cam Slone, Carson Newsome and Ben Brufield.
Kendan Trent led Mingo Central with 11 points.
“I’m very pleased with how we played,” Coach Thompson said. “We got off to a good start. Ashton, Braydun and Bryson all played well and got into double figures.”
The coach added, “Defensively, it was one of our better games. We took control there in the third quarter. Those rivalry games are always tough and I’m glad we got the win.”
Tug Valley, ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll for Class A and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, played Friday and Saturday in the Willie Akers Classic. (See the story in this edition of the newspaper.)
Mingo Central fell to 3-6 and was slated to travel to Bluefield for a Class AA match-up Saturday.
Score by quarters:
Tug Valley: 20 15 16 16 – 67
Mingo Cent.: 14 4 11 9 – 38