BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Lawrence County (KY) defeated Tug Valley 72-60 in the nightcap of the annual Hatfield-McCoy Shootout at the historic Williamson Fieldhouse, Saturday, Feb. 7.
Tug Valley was scheduled to play in the event Friday, but those games were canceled due to the cold winter weather that blanketed the area that afternoon.
The visiting Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 27-13 lead after the first quarter in the neutral court game. The Panthers fought back and outscored the Kentucky squad 23-18 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 45-36 heading to intermission.
Senior All-State point guard Braydun Ferris scored 13 and Carson Newsome netted nine points in the first half to lead Tug Valley.
Tug edged the Bulldogs 13-12 in the third period, but Lawrence County outscored the Panthers 15-11 in the fourth quarter to pull away with the Shootout victory.
Haden Perry, Kaden Harris and C.J. Waller led a balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs, scoring 15 apiece, while Andy Ratcliff had 14 points. Braden Kittle chipped in seven and Caden Muncy five to help Lawrence County with the victory. Waller also dominated the boards with 15 rebounds.
Ferris finished with a game-high 24 for Tug Valley, while Newsome scored 12 and Aiden Copeland came off the bench to get into double figures with 11. Cam Slone added eight points for Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson’s squad, while Zade Rash had five points. Newsome had three assists and five rebounds, while Ferris and Rash each had two assists.
Tug Valley was only 6-21 from 3-point land for 29%, while shooting 39% from the floor, making 24-66 shots. They were only 6-12 at the free-throw line for 50%.
Lawrence County was 20-29 at the charity stripe for 69%, and shot 53% from the field, making 24-45 shots, including 4-12 from behind the arc.
The Class A Tug Valley Panthers dropped to 9-4 on the season and are still ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll in West Virginia. However, they fell to No. 2 in the MetroNews Power Index behind Parkersburg Catholic.
The Bulldogs improved to 12-9 for the season with the road win.
Score by quarters:
LC: 27 18 12 15 – 72
Tug: 13 23 13 11 – 60