KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers once again punched their ticket to the state tournament. Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson’s team crushed the visiting Man Hillbillies in the Class A, Region IV co-championship 81-31 at the TVHS gym, March 11.
The Panthers, who have won back-to-back Single A titles, will go for a 3-peat next week in Charleston.
Tug Valley, now 18-5 on the season, jumped out to a quick lead after one quarter.
The Panthers took a comfortable 38-14 lead into the dressing room at halftime, then built on that to lead 59-24 after three quarters of play.
All-State senior point guard Braydun Ferris led Tug Valley with 23 points. Carson Newsome and Zade Rash followed with 13 points each. Aiden Copeland added 10 points off the bench to give TV four players in double figures.
Jace Hale and Preston May scored six points each, Bryson Elia added four, while Jackson Jewell, Lleyton Brumfield and Braxton Farley all chipped in two points.
For the Hillbillies, Jaxon Vance led the way with 10 points. Bryson Wingler followed with five points. Grayson Sanders added four points. Noah Frazier and Zach Sansom had three points each and Adex Martin, Connor White and Parker Sizemore finished with two points each.
The Panthers received the No. 2 seed in the West Virginia Class A State Tournament next week at the Charleston Coliseum. They will face No. 7 seed Ritchie County at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, which is also St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m tickled that we are going back (to the state tourney),” Coach Thompson said. “That has been our goal all year. We got off to a good start and played good on defense. The kids played well tonight and it was a total team effort.”
If Tug Valley wins the first game, they will play the winner of the Huntington St. Joe vs. Tucker County game.