BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers went into the final quarter with a four-point lead, 34-30. Minutes later, they built that lead to 17 and went on to defeat Doddridge County 56-42 in the first round of the Class A state tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Charleston Coliseum.

The Panthers outscored Doddridge County 22-12 in the fourth quarter.

Tug Valley led 14-11 after one quarter and held a 3-point lead, 21-18, heading into the dressing room at the half.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Tug Valley Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson said. “Our defense bailed us out.”

“They came out and busted us pretty good. Our defense was pretty good and kept us in it,” he added.

Tug Valley, usually a good shooting 3-point team, was 0-8 from behind the arc. On the other side, the Panthers held the Bulldogs to only one 3-pointer. They were 1-11 from 3-point land.

Thompson said that usually, teams find it tough to shoot from the outside at the Charleston facility and the state tournament. But his squad forced several turnovers, and Tug Valley was able to take advantage of those and produce some points from short range.

Big Buddy Marcum, a senior low post threat, came through big-time for Tug Valley. The 6-foot-3 center scored 17 points, hauled down 14 rebounds and had a pair of blocks. Marcum admitted he was nervous before the game, but once the tipoff started and a couple of baskets went through the hoop, he was fine.

Sophomore point guard Braydun Ferris scored 16 points and dished out eight assists.

Bryson Elia added 10 points, while Ashton Davis scored eight for the balanced Panthers attack. Elia also had four steals and four blocks. Kaden Hale chipped in two and Carson Newsome three for TVHS.

Tug Valley shot 49% from the floor despite not making any 3s. The Panthers were 10-16 at the free-throw line for 63%.

Brandon Hileman led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while Jacob Dehaven scored 12. “We were worried about Hileman,” Thompson said. “We knew if he got the ball he could score.”

“Survive and advance,” Coach Thompson added.

Tug Valley headed to the semifinals in the Friday evening session of the popular state tournament. The No. 2-seeded Panthers (20-6) will play at 7:15 p.m. Friday against No. 3-seed East Hardy.

Score by quarters:
Doddridge: 14 4 12 12 – 42
Tug Valley: 11 10 13 22 – 56