No. 4 Panthers give Rams a scare in semifinal; Luray girls fall to No. 1 Clarke
Bulldogs upset Falcons in Bull Run semifinal, 54-43
By Randy Arrington
STRASBURG, Feb. 17 — The Luray boys basketball team upset No. 2 Central of Woodstock, 54-43, during the front end of a district tournament double-header Tuesday night at Strasburg High School. Senior shooting guard and JMU-commit Matthew Owens lead Luray with a game-high 21 points. Owens hit a pair of three-pointers and went 3-for-6 at the line.
Now, the No. 3 Bulldogs (17-5) will advance to Thursday night’s Bull Run District championship at 7:30 p.m. at Strasburg. The No. 1 Rams (17-6) advanced to the title game on their home court after defeating No. 4 Page County (13-10) in the exciting nightcap of Tuesday’s double-header, 56-50.
Luray and Central battled point-for-point through the first half of Tuesday’s first semifinal. Both teams went scoreless through the opening minutes and didn’t reach double-digits until a couple of minutes into the second frame. There would be 11 combined turnovers in the first eight minutes, and the best shooting team was only hitting 33 percent. Central lead 8-6 heading into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs flipped the script in the second quarter to tie the game at 20-20 at the break. Both teams shot about the same from the floor, and turnovers were about even heading into the second half.
Luray then created separation over the final two periods, as Owens scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half. However, that separation came slowly as there were six lead changes in the third quarter. With 2:53 left in the third, senior Riley Benson hit an “old-style” three-pointer that allowed Luray to take a 31-29 lead that they would never relinquish. A 14-8 run in the fourth capped off an 11-point semifinal victory.
Behind Owens’ game-high 21, senior Connor Hilliad put up 13 points and Benson finished with nine. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor and 57 percent from the line. Luray committed a dozen turnovers.
The Falcons were lead by senior Haiden Click with a team-high 13 points. Junior Dereck Batiz Lugo put up nine points, while junior Malachi Young added eight. Overall, Central shot 30 percent from the floor and 67 percent at the line. The Falcons committed 11 turnovers.
Central (17-6) will now await its seeding for the Region 2B tournament next week, where the Falcons will likely draw a No. 2 seed and host a first round game.
At Thursday’s district championship at Strasburg, the Bull Run’s JV boys championship between Page County and Strasburg will tip-off at 6 p.m. The varsity district championship between Luray and Strasburg tips at about 7:45 p.m.
Panthers fall to Rams in Bull Run semifinal, 56-50
STRASBURG, Feb. 17 — The fourth-seeded Page County boys basketball team fell to No. 1 Strasburg in a hard-fought Bull Run District tournament semifinal, 56-50.
Tuesday night’s nightcap was streaky at times, with both teams enjoying nice leads. Page and Strasburg ended the game with same amount of turnovers and nearly the same shooting percentage. Down the stretch, shooting at the charity stripe on one end and foul trouble on the defensive end may have impacted the Panthers’ game the most.
The Rams opened the game on a 13-7 run in the first eight minutes. Junior Quincy Williams put up seven of his 13 points in the opening frame. Page only hit 25 percent of its shots from the floor during that stretch.
The Panthers turned things up as they outscored the Rams over the next two quarters. Senior Aaron Hensley hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight of his 10 points in the second period. Senior Caden Combs, who lead the Panthers with a game- and team-high 16 points, recorded seven of those points in the second quarter. Page County narrowed the gap and went into halftime only trailing top-seeded Strasburg, 29-26.
The Panthers opened the second half with an 11-2 run and took over the lead when senior Dawson Richards hit a bucket with 5:33 left in the third. Page’s lead built to as much as six points at 37-31 midway through the third, but Strasburg got their footing at that point. After scoring only one bucket in almost four minutes, the Rams closed the quarter on an 11-3 run and took a 42-40 lead into the fourth.
While Page was able to keep within a two-possession game until the end, Strasburg stayed just ahead and outscored the visitors 14-10 in the final eight minutes. The Panthers had four players on the floor with four fouls in the final minute. Despite the Rams only going 2-for-6 at the line in the final 33 seconds, the Panthers couldn’t capitalize. Page went 2-for-7 from the line in the second half.
Junior Jasiah Warner tied Combs with a game- and team-high 16 points for the Rams. Williams finished with 13, while senior Gracen Hottle had 10 and junior Gavin Dellinger added eight. Overall, Strasburg shot 47 percent from the floor and went 7-of-13 at the line. The Rams committed 14 turnovers.
Behind Combs’ 16 points, Hensley had 10 points and Richards finished with nine. Senior Trenton Eppard had a solid game and posted seven points, while senior Isaac Foltz added six. Overall, Page County shot 47 percent from the floor and went 4-for-10 at the stripe. The Panthers also committed 14 turnovers.
While Strasburg (17-6) heads to Thursday night’s Bull Run District championship against Luray, Page County (13-10) will be preparing for the Region 2B tournament next week, where they will likely be a No. 3 seed.
Page County’s boys JV basketball team will be taking on Strasburg for the junior varsity championship at 6 p.m. on Thursday night, Feb. 19. The varsity title game tips at about 7:45 p.m.
Lurays girls fall to No. 1 Clarke, 60-34
BERRYVILLE, Feb. 16 — On Monday night, the fourth-seeded Luray girls basketball team fell to No. 1 Clarke, 60-34, in a Bull Run District tournament semifinal. While the Bulldogs hung tough in the first half, the Eagles pulled away in the second half behind a game-high 23 points from senior — and Bull Run Player of the Year contender — Alainah McKavish.
Sophomore Caroline Donovan lead Luray with a team-high 11 points. Donovan scored all 11 in the first half, including nine in the second quarter. The sophomore hit a three-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the line.
Freshmen Makenzee Owens and Marlee Taylor both recorded five points in the district semifinal, while junior Chloe Gochenour, sophomore Emily Benson, freshman Brylee Painter and sophomore Madison Eavey each added three.
The Bulldogs fell behind early as McKavish put up 10 points in the first quarter and paced Clarke to a 19-7 lead after the first eight minutes. Luray shot 25 percent from the floor and committed three turnovers during that stretch.
However, Luray played its best basketball in the second quarter, outpacing the home team 13-10. The Bulldogs got three-pointers from Owens and Donovan, while going 5-for-6 from the line. Luray held No. 1 Clarke scoreless for nearly four minutes toward the end of the first half. The Eagles shot a dismal 23 percent from the floor in that frame.
In the second half, Clarke picked up the pace and went on a 31-14 run in the final two periods. Painter hit a three-pointer in the third that brought Luray within nine, but the Eagles would end up winning by 26. The Bulldogs committed a total of 22 turnovers during the game, with eight in the fourth quarter. Overall, Luray hit 28 percent from the floor and went 10-of-17 from the line.
In addition to McKavish’s game-high 22, Clarke got 10 points from sophomore Savannah McCaw and eight from sophomore Paige McKavish. Overall, the Eagles hit 39 percent from the floor, while going 13-of-15 at the line. Clarke committed 10 turnovers.
Up next, top-seeded Clarke (21-2) will host No. 2 Strasburg (21-3) for the Bull Run District championship at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The girls JV championship will tip-off at 6 p.m.
Luray (13-10) now awaits the start of the Region 1B tournament this Friday night, Feb. 20, when the No. 3 Bulldogs host the No. 6 Dukes of Cumberland (9-8). The Dukes finished in third place in the James River District behind Class 2 members Prince Edward (undefeated) and Buckingham.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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