BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they downed county rival Mingo Central, 99-67, for the second time this season at the TVHS gym on Valentine’s Day evening at Naugatuck.

The Panthers clawed their way to a 27-12 lead after one quarter and led 48-26 at the halftime break.

Tug Valley had a balanced scoring attack with five players getting into double figures. Carson Newsome led with 19, Ethan Ferrell and Kaden Hale scored 16 each, Bryson Elia scored 12 and Ashton Davis 11 for Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson. Braydun Ferris and Jace Hale both had 6 points.

Coach Thompson and his staff cleared their bench and several players scored in the contest.

The Panthers forced 14 turnovers and turned most of those into points.

TVHS made 38-74 from the floor for a nice 51%, including 5-19 from behind the arc for 27%. They shot 90% at the foul line knocking down 18-20.

Caden Porter scored 11 for Mingo Central, while Eric Sartin and Logan Barker both chipped in 10 points.

The Miners, coached by Stan Elkins, made 7-20 from 3-point land for 33% as they shot 42% from the field. They were 10-12 at the free throw line for 90%.

The Panthers, ranked No. 1 in Class A, were slated for a rematch with the Logan Wildcats on Feb. 18. They will host Sherman on Friday night and round up the regular season next week at Charleston Catholic.

Tug Valley has a 17-2 record at this point in the season.

Score by quarters:

Mingo: 12 14 17 24 – 67

Tug: 27 21 21 30 – 99