Alleghany holds off Radford; Win TRD Title

LOW MOOR – With the regular season winding down Alleghany was pushed to the end by Radford before the Cougars ultimately prevailed victorious through free throw shooting as AHS were 45-41 winners Monday evening.

 

It was a slow start to the game for Alleghany who only scored three points in their first five minutes and at one point found themselves trailing 10-1.

 

The Cougars though would go on to score 13 straight points in the quarter to take a 14-10 lead. AHS would never trail again in the game.

 

In the second half Alleghany kept trying to separate themselves from Radford, but the 8-win Bobcats kept fighting back. The Cougars lead would grow several times to eight points, but RHS wouldn’t budge.

 

With 3:45 left in the fourth quarter, Kelsey Nicely who scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed a loose ball and made a layup to put Alleghany up 43-35 with 3:45 remaining.

 

It seemed as if finally, that was enough for Alleghany to put away Radford, but the Bobcats kept it close and held the Cougars off of the scoreboard to keep themselves in the game. 

 

Thanks to some help via a handful of turnovers Radford would score six straight points and cut the deficit down to two points with 19 seconds left.

 

It seemed it would be too little too late as with 17 seconds remaining Alleghany was sent to the free throw, but the team missed both attempts and gave Radford one last chance.

 

Kearson Carter, who scored a game-high 18 points was looking for her two biggest points of the game or a potential game-winner, Carter took the pass at halfcourt and drove to the lane a looking for a layup, but was unable to get a clean look at the rim as Bryce Leitch came flying in to alter the layup attempt.

 

Following the miss, Nicely came down with her game-high 18th rebound and drew the foul with only seconds remaining. Nicely would seal the win by knocking down both free throws,

 

In the final 3:45 of the game Radford was given many opportunities, but free throw shooting down the stretch did not help the Bobcats who were only 1-for-5.

 

Along with Nicely, both Leitch and Kayden Jack scored 10 points each for Alleghany, while Ja’Kara Heighter added eight.

 

Alleghany (16-6, 11-1 Three Rivers) wrapped up their regular season on Tuesday evening with a 41-27 away victory over Floyd County. With the win over the Buffaloes the Cougars won the outright regular season district championship.

 

AHS will play this Friday as they host a first-round game in the Class 3, Region C tournament. Their official seeding and opponent is TBA.