The Shadow
The Alleghany Mountaineers crafted a Caldwell-approved victory Thursday night.
“I really think we’re a much better team when we play like this,”?Alleghany coach Nolan Caldwell said after his Mountaineers pressed and scrambled their way to a 67-62 win over Glenvar.
Jayson Easton scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the final quarter, and the Mountaineers withstood a 30-point fourth quarter blitz by the Highlanders who shaved a 12-point deficit to one late in the game but couldn’t quite complete the comeback.
A?Jeb Secrist basket cut the Alleghany lead to 59-58 in the game’s final 90 seconds, but a three-point play in reverse fashion extended the Alleghany lead to four.
Easton hit the first of two free throws but missed the second. On the rebound, Christian Allen smartly tipped the ball to Chris Tingler for a layup that extended the Alleghany lead to 64-60.
Secrist and Allen then exchanged baskets before Corey Easton and Jayson Easton combined to convert 3-of-4 from the line in the final 25 seconds to secure the Mountaineer win, their first of the season in Three Rivers District play.
The Mountaineers snapped an eight-game losing streak and improved to 1-6 in the Three Rivers, 5-10 overall.
The loss dropped the Highlanders to 12-5, 7-2 in district play.
Jayson Easton scored nine points in the opening quarter while Tavi Wright had five, and the Mountaineers hit four from behind the arc to open a 20-9 lead after one.
It didn’t take long for the visiting Highlanders to get back in it, though. They opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run and whittled their deficit to 20-17 before a Tanner Arritt bucket at the 3:50 mark — Alleghany’s first points of the quarter — briefly stopped the Highlander spurt.
The Mountaineers could manage just four points in the second quarter, and by the half, the Alleghany lead had been reduced to 24-21.
The Easton brothers got the Mountaineers going again in the third quarter. They scored the first nine points of the period to run the Alleghany lead to 33-21.
Charles Honaker then provided a spark for the Mountaineers at the end of the quarter. He scored on an Arritt assist, then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer, giving Alleghany a 46-32 lead after three.
“The last month, we’ve really struggled to score the ball offensively,”?Caldwell said. “Tonight in the first quarter, we really played well against their zone. We really moved the ball and got some good shots.”
Secrist, Landry Gerbers and Mason Holliday had 14 points apiece for Glenvar. The Highlanders missed their first 10 three-point attempts before Hayden Clark and Marshall Snider hit from deep during their fourth-quarter comeback.
“Teams don’t like to play against teams that press the whole time and really speed the game up,”?Caldwell said.
The Mountaineers face the host Wildcats in the 7 p.m. nightcap tonight of the Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout at Rockbridge County High School.
The Highlanders were 42-21 winners in Thursday’s jayvee contest.
Andrew Middleton had nine points to lead the Mountaineers, while Antwan Broadnax scored five. Baron Leitch with three, Alexandre Taylor with two and Cameron Marshall and Garrett Via with one each rounded out the Alleghany scoring.
The Highlanders enjoyed a 23-13 lead at the half.
