BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Tug Valley’s week unfolded like a postseason preview — an overtime stumble, a statement home win and a hard-earned road victory against higher-class competition. The No. 1-ranked Panthers fell 64-52 in overtime to Huntington St. Joe on Feb. 18, then answered with back-to-back wins over Tucker County and Bluefield to close the stretch 2-1, showing their championship resolve as the regular season winds down.
St. Joe 64, Tug 52
The Huntington St. Joe Irish upset No. 1-ranked Tug Valley 64-52 in overtime Feb. 18 in a game at Spring Valley High School’s gym in Huntington.
St. Joe came into the contest ranked No. 5 in Class A. They outscored the Panthers 14-2 in the overtime period to pull out the win.
Tug Valley had defeated the Irish at Naugatuck earlier in the season, so the win gave St. Joe a split of the regular-season games.
The Panthers led the Irish 27-21 at halftime, but St. Joe outscored Tug Valley 23-13 in the third quarter to take a 44-40 lead heading into the final period.
TVHS fought back to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Micaiah Ehirim led the Irish in scoring with 18 points. Cylis Allen followed with 14 points, while Grady Paynter added 13 points and Isaiah Sanders netted 10.
Braydun Ferris led Tug Valley with 18 points. Carson Newsome followed with 13 points, while Cameron Slone and Preston May finished with six points each. Zade Rash chipped in five, Aiden Copeland three and Bryson Elia two for TV.
Tug Valley, ranked No. 1 in the state, dropped to 13-5. The loss was the first to a Class A team.
St. Joe improved to 11-6 with the upset win.
The two teams could meet again in the postseason.
Score by quarters:
Tug: 15 12 13 10 2 – 52
St. Joe: 7 14 23 6 14 – 64
Tug 63, Tucker 43
The Panthers defeated one of the top Class A teams in the state, downing visiting Tucker County 63-43 at home Feb. 20.
Senior All-State guard Braydun Ferris scored 30 points to lead the Panthers, including 20 in the first half. The talented Ferris fired in four 3-pointers and kept hitting his shots while driving to the basket. He shot 67% from the floor for the game.
Tug Valley led 45-37 heading into the final quarter and led 31-26 at halftime.
The Panthers outscored the Mountain Lions 18-6 in the final 8:00 minutes of play to pull away with a big win.
Zade Rash scored 15 points for Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson’s squad. Carson Newsome added 8, Cam Slone 6 and Preston May and Bryson Elia both chipped in 2 points.
Tug Valley was hot from the floor, shooting 57%, including 6-12 from behind the arc. They were 2-4 at the foul line for 50%.
Caden Arnold led Tucker County with 12 points, while Jon Black and Carson Dearborn both scored 8 points.
Tug Valley has won four games in a row against Tucker County. The Panthers have defeated the Mountain Lions in each of the last two Class A state championship games.
The Panthers improved to 14-5 and swept the season series with the No. 7-ranked Mountain Lions.
Tucker County dropped to 12-8 on the season.
Score by quarters:
Tucker: 8 18 11 6 – 43
Tug: 13 18 14 18 – 63
Tug 73, Bluefield 67
Tug Valley made the long trek down to Bluefield on Saturday to take on the highly-ranked Class AA Beavers. The Panthers pulled out the big road victory 73-67 in their fourth game of the week as they wind down the regular season.
Braydun Ferris led a balanced scoring attack for the Panthers with 20 points. Cam Slone scored 15, Carson Newsome 13, Zade Rash nine, Preston May eight and Bryson Elia four.
Jace Smith led Bluefield with 20 points, while Grayson Parris added 15.
Tug Valley is No. 1 in Class A and improved to 15-5. The Class AA No. 3 Beavers dropped to 13-5.
The Panthers swept the season series with Bluefield, having won earlier in the season in Naugatuck.
Tug Valley was scheduled to host Man on Feb. 24 for the final regular-season game.
Score by quarters:
Tug Valley:18 23 15 17 – 73
Bluefield: 15 13 20 19 – 67