The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS - Thursday night began with everyone rallying together to finish off the Star Spangled Banner and ended with the Bath County boys basketball team posting a convincing 61-39 win over visiting Covington.
Bath County senior Colby Bosserman knocked down five three-pointers on his way to scoring 26 points to lead a quartet of BC players in double figures.
Walker Ryder added 11 points, while Ryan Plecker and Aaron Newmarker finished with 10 points each.
“An outstanding team effort,” said Bath County coach Dave Herscher. “The whole team played outstanding defensively and we were patient on both ends of the floor. Most importantly, we played together as a team.”
That case was not the same in the visitors locker room.
“It’s embarrassing,” said Covington coach Rob Bennett on his team’s performance. “Until we learn to do the right things, we can’t play a game together. I am about doing things the right way. They know what I’m talking about.”
Aaron Newmarker’s stickback with 7:20 left in the opening frame gave Bath County a 2-0 lead and it was a lead they would never relinquish.
Tanner Paxton his one of two at the line with 4:04 left in the first quarter to make the score 6-3 and Bosserman extended the Chargers’ lead to eight (11-3) with his first three-pointer on the night.
Covington’s Dominique Jordan countered with a three-ball of his own, but Bosserman added a late baseline take to give Bath County a 13-6 lead after one.
Jordan stroked his second three-ball of the game to open the second quarter and his dish to Malik Spinner pulled the Cougars to within three (13-10) with 5:31 to play in the first half.
Jordan’s baseline take two minutes later cut Bath’s lead to one (15-14), but the Chargers would outscore the Cougars 9-2 over the final three minutes to take a 24-16 lead at intermission.
Plecker opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer to increase Bath’s lead to 27-16, but the momentum looked as if it was going to quickly shift.
Troy Helton dished to Paxton an easy two and that started a 10-0 run by the Cougars that saw them pull to within one point (27-26) with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter.
That was Covington’s final push as they would be outscored 34-14 over the game’s final 11 minutes.
Bath County closed the third quarter 11-0 run and continued the run into the fourth quarter.
Ryder opened the fourth quarter scoring with a three-ball and a layup to cap a 16-0 run by the Chargers that gave them a commanding 43-26 lead.
Covington never rebounded from the collapse and the Chargers cruised to the 61-39 Pioneer District win.
Jordan led the Cougars with 13 points, while Chad Lipes finished the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The win was the fourth straight for the Chargers since tragedy struck on December 24 when assistant coach James McComb died of a heart attack.
“It’s amazing how this team has come together in the face of adversity,” said Herscher. “They came together as a team that weekend and the results are showing on the court.”
Bath County (2-0 Pioneer, 6-2 overall) will be back in action at home on Saturday when they host the Alleghany Mountaineers.
Action begins at 12 p.m. with the boys and girls junior varsity games with varsity action to follow.
Covington (1-1 Pioneer, 1-10 overall) returns to action Saturday in the Chance Harman Classic at Floyd County High School. Covington will face Eastern Montgomery at 12 p.m.
The Covington junior varsity opened the night with a 64-53 win in the junior varsity preliminary.
