The Shadow
The Madness that is known for March came a bit early this year.
Given the nickname “March Madness”, it comes from the month of March where Men’s and Women’s college basketball tournaments start to begin.
The Alleghany Mountaineers varsity boys basketball team created February Madness on Friday night following the teams 72-58 upset road victory over the Glenvar Highlanders in the Class 2 Region C first round.
Heading into the game, the Mountaineers had lost five of their last six regular season games, including losing to the Highlanders twice.
It’s like the saying goes, the third time is the charm.
The Mountaineers simply put, were the better team on Friday night.
The team only trailed twice in the game, 2-0 and 4-2. After that, the Mountaineers grabbed full control of the game and the lead as high as 14 points by the third quarter.
The Highlanders, even when they started knocking down shots, would be answered by the Mountaineers, who never let the lead get below seven points. The Highlanders got the deficit down to seven points in the fourth quarter with under four minutes left at 57-50 before the Mountaineers hung onto the victory.
In the teams first round victory, the Mountaineers finished with four players in double figures. Baron Leitch, led all scorers with a game-high 21 points. Leitch, had a dominant second half as he scored 14 of his points in the final quarter. Davien Moore, finished second on the Mountaineers in scoring with 14 points. Moore, scored eight of his points as part of a big second quarter for the Mountaineers that gave the team their first double digit lead of the game. Moore, also had a game-high seven rebounds. Xzavier Hayslett and Halen Lowman, each scored 11 points for the team, while Anthony Webb, added nine points, all coming off of three made three-pointers.
For the Highlanders, they came into Friday’s game undefeated (4-0) against area schools. The team had two wins over the Mountaineers and two wins over the Covington Cougars.
The Highlanders season came to an end following the loss. Gabriel Ford, was the team’s high scorer with 17 points. Stephen Barber and Aiden Alexander, scored 12 points each. Alexander, knocked down a game-high four three-pointers. Ty Boiling, who had been a nightmare for both area schools, was held to just two points in the teams loss. The Mountaineers defense contained him all game long. Boiling’s only points came in the fourth quarter.
The fast paced Highlanders who averaged over 12 made three-pointers against the area schools, were held to 9-for-28 shooting from behind the arc.
The first quarter was a back and forth contest with the Mountaineers taking a 14-11 lead after the quarter. In the second quarter, as mentioned, Moore, had a big eight-point quarter, including back to back three-pointers that increased the Mountaineers lead to double digits at 24-12. The Mountaineers went into halftime with a 33-22 lead.
In the second half, the third quarter was relatively similar to the first quarter as both teams answered the other. By the third quarters end, the Mountaineers increased their lead by one more point, taking a 47-35 lead heading into the final quarter.
Despite the Highlanders trying to rally, the Mountaineers would find way to slow their rally attempt down. With just over two minutes left and leading 59-50, Leitch, found an open Lowman, for a three-pointer that put the team back up double digits at 62-50. Lowman’s three-pointer sealed the victory for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers attempted 16 free-throws for the game. All 16 of them, came within the final few minutes of the game as the Highlanders who were down double digits were trying to extend the game. The Mountaineers made 10 of their 16 attempts at the free-throw line. The Highlanders finished the game 7-for-10. There was only two total free-throw attempts in the first half, both by the Highlanders.
On Tuesday, the Mountaineers are back on the road for another matchup with the James River Knights. This is the third time these two schools have met and much like with the Highlanders, the Mountaineers are 0-for-2 heading into their meeting with the Knights tonight. The Knights won at home 60-28 and on the road against the Mountaineers 61-54. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the semifinals.
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ttl
AHS 14 19 14 25 72
GHS 11 11 13 23 58
Mountaineers Statistics
Player Pts Reb Ast Stl
Leitch 21 4 5 –
Hayslett 11 3 4 –
Moore 14 7 3 –
Webb 9 3 5 –
Lowman 11 5 2 1
Harden 2 4 3 –
Caldwell – 2 – –
Gibson – – 2 –
Via 2 1 – –
Middleton 2 2 – –
Highlanders Statistics
Player Pts Reb Ast Stl
Ford 17 3 1 –
Barber 12 2 5 3
Alexander 12 3 2 1
Johnson 6 5 7 1
Boiling 2 2 1 –
Housh 6 5 2 –
Veverka – – – –
Carter 3 – – –
McMahon – – – –
