By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Dec. 18 — After dropping the season opener at home to East Rockingham in late November, the Luray Bulldogs have now won four in-a-row in December. On Monday night, Luray picked up its third win over a Class 3 school, with a 58-45 victory over Warren County.
The Bulldogs begin Bull Run District play this week with two games prior to Christmas. On Tuesday night, Luray travels to Strasburg (1-3), before hosting Madison (2-3) on Thursday. Currently, the Bulldogs sit at the top of the district standings alongside Rappahannock with a 4-1 non-district record. District play begins Tuesday night, Dec. 19.
Luray closed out its early season non-district schedule on Monday with a strong performance over Warren County. The first time these two teams met on Dec. 5 in Front Royal, the Bulldogs pulled out an 85-79 overtime win. On Monday in Luray, the Bulldogs lead the Wildcats from start to finish and never showed signs of not being in control of the game…and they leaned on the same senior in the paint.
Luray’s Christian Lentz lead all scorers with 21 points. The senior forward put up a lot of points underneath the basket, scored consistently throughout the game, and grabbed rebounds at both ends of the court. During the first meeting with Warren, Lentz put up a season-high 27 points.
The inside play of Lentz was supported by the outside shooting of junior Blake Jenkins and sophomore Matthew Owens. Jenkins scored the first basket of the game and five of Luray’s last nine points in the first half. The junior point guard also went on a six-point run near the end of the third quarter and ended the night with 15 points. Jenkins matched Owens from beyond the arc, as the duo produced all four of the Bulldog’s three-pointers on the night. Owens finished with nine points.
The Bulldogs played a fairly clean game, only turning the ball over an average of about twice per quarter and not really getting in any major foul trouble. However, Luray only shot 14-for-31 (about 45 percent) from the free throw line, including a 1-for-8 showing in the first half.
Luray still outscored Warren County in all four quarters. The Bulldogs extended a four-point lead (32-28) at halftime, to a 13-point margin of victory by game’s end. The Wildcats shot 60 percent (6-for-10) from the floor in the opening eight minutes, but went cold as the game progressed — only hitting four baskets in the second quarter and only six shots from the floor in the entire second half.
The Wildcats were lead by senior Raymond Dingess with 12 points. Fellow seniors Marshall Barton and Jayden Jeffries each added nine. Warren County (3-6) features 11 seniors on a 14-man roster and will next travel to Fauquier High School on Thursday, Dec. 21 for their fourth Northwestern District matchup.
For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.
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