The Shadow
MONTEREY – After two regular season Pioneer District losses to Highland, the third time was a charm and on a much bigger stage as Bath County upset the 4-seeded Rams 59-53 in the first round of the district tournament on Monday, February 12th.
Even bigger for the 5-seeded Chargers, the first-round win over HHS clinched a berth in the Class 1, Region C tournament in five years.
Following a back and forth first half which was tied at 24-24, Highland led by John Wagner’s 13-point quarter had separated itself from Bath County by three points by the end of the third quarter at 41-38. The Rams had built a lead as large as eight points in the quarter.
However, the Rams would go cold in the fourth quarter and only connected on two field goal attempts.
Meanwhile, the Chargers led by Andrew Turner, helped save the Chargers best quarter for last as BCHS outscored HHH 21-12 in the final period. Turner, who scored a team-high 23 points outscored the Rams by himself in the fourth with a 13-point effort.
The game came down to the wire, with the score tied at 52-52, Bath County outscored Highland 7-1 in the final two minutes to pull out the first-round upset.
Along with Turner’s 23 points, Issac Ingram was the only other Charger in double figures as he scored 14. Ingram finished with a double-double as he reeled in 11 rebounds.
The Rams were led by Wagner’s game-high 25 points. Wagner also knocked down all three of the HHS 3-pointers. Elijah Good was the only other Ram in double figures as he scored 16 points.
Highland had defeated Bath County by 11 and 23 points in their two regular season games.
The Rams season concluded at 9-11, while the win had improved the Chargers to .500 basketball at 12-12.
BATH COUNTY – A. Turner 23, I. Ingram 14, L. Turner 9, F. DeBoe 7, G. Walton 4, W. Campbell 2.
HIGHLAND – J. Wagner 25, E. Good 16, Z. Armstrong 6, E. Moore 4, P. Hull 2.
3-pointers – Bath County 8 (I. Ingram 3, L. Turner 2, A. Turner). Highland 3 (J. Wagner).
