Luray to host two state semifinals Friday night

Girls tip-off against Essex at 5:30 p.m.; Boys face Rapp at 7:30 p.m.

Luray 75, Northampton 56

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, March 3 — For the second-straight year, the Luray Bulldogs (22-6) have advanced to the state’s “Final Four.” On Friday night, the Bulldogs will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. with neighboring Rappahannock (15-9) for the fourth time this season in a VHSL Class 1 boys basketball tournament semifinal. The winner heads to the state championship on March 13 in Richmond.

“Hopefully, we can get those guys for a fourth time,” LHS head coach Matt Huff said after Tuesday’s 75-56 state quarterfinal win over visiting Northampton (14-8).

Although the Bulldogs have won all three games this season against the Panthers on the east side of the Blue Ridge, each matchup between the Bull Run District foes grew more competitive with time. Luray won by a 21-point margin at home on Jan. 9 and squeaked out a seven-point victory on the road Feb. 3. However, the Region 1B championship played one week ago in Louisa came down to the final seconds and two missed three-pointers by Rappahannock.

“The Deal kid has been playing extremely well,” Coach Huff said of Rapp junior Jason Deal, who finished right behind LHS senior Matthew Owens in the voting for Region 1B Player of the Year following last Friday’s championship bout. Luray secured its third-straight region title, 55-53, despite a game-high 32 points from Deal, including a hat trick of triples in the fourth quarter.

Deal also played a big part in Rapp’s 62-60 upset of Region A champion Northumberland in a state quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

“He’s been making shot, after shot, after shot,” Coach Huff said. “So, we’re gonna watch some film, game plan, and do some things to maybe make him not make as many shots.”

Owens serves as Luray’s counter to Deal’s amazing play in the postseason. The senior shooting guard, who has committed as a preferred walk-on at James Madison University next season, has scored 60 points in the last two games — including a game-high 35 points in the state quarterfinal against Northampton on Tuesday.

“Big-time players step up in big-time games, and he stepped up,” Coach Huff said. “Let’s keep that momentum rolling on Friday night against Rappahannock.”

The Bulldogs hit 15 three-pointers against a young, but very talented team from Northampton. Despite Owens’ dominating performance, Luray played “team” basketball…and almost everybody seemed to have a hot hand.

“We hadn’t had a game in a while where all the guys were hitting on the same cylinder offensively,” Coach Huff said after the win. “We were kinda waiting for that to happen, and tonight we came out and we were letting it fly, playing free, and guys were just making shots and making plays…we kinda been waiting for that all year and tonight was a good night to have it.”

Senior Connor Hilliard, junior Ayden Haddock and junior Aiden Cook all posted 11 points in the state quarterfinal. Hilliard joined Owens on the all-region first team, while Haddock earned second team all-region honors.

Luray jumped on Northampton early Tuesday night behind 14 points from Owens and four team triples. The Bulldogs held a 19-10 lead at the end of the first, and then added five more triples in the second frame to take a 40-23 advantage into halftime.

“It’s hard when you get to this level and you travel four hours on a bus and try to get off and play, it’s really hard,” Coach Huff said of the Yellow Jackets. “So, I understand what they were going through a little bit, but we wanted to get off to a fast start and we did, kinda jumped on ’em early and never looked back.”

Owens put up 15 more points in the third, and Luray went up 62-37 entering the final frame. The Bulldogs substituted freely, allowing the Yellow Jackets to win the fourth quarter 19-13. Overall, Luray hit 61 percent of their shots from the floor through the first three quarters (with starters in the game). They went 8-for-13 from the line on the night and committed a total of 14 turnovers.

Northampton shot 46 percent from the floor, 47 percent from the line and committed 13 turnovers. The Yellow Jackets were lead by sophomore Jasheem Collins with 15 points, followed by senior Antoine Horsley with 13 and sophomore Travon Hill with nine.

Friday’s other state semifinal will feature Region C champion Fort Chiswell (23-5) against Region D champion Patrick Henry (24-3).

VHSL Class 1 Boys State Basketball Tournament

QUARTERFINALS ~ Tuesday, March 3

(B1 ) Luray 75, (A2) Northampton 56
(B2) Rappahannock 62, (A1) Northumberland 60
(C1) Fort Chiswell 75, (D2) Twin Springs 47
(D1) Patrick Henry 67, (C2) Parry McCluer 61

SEMIFINALS ~ Friday, March 6

Luray (22-6) vs. Rappahannock (15-9)
Fort Chiswell (23-5) vs. Patrick Henry (24-3)

FINALS ~ Friday, March 13

For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.

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Luray 60, Rappahannock 24

LURAY, March 3 — The Luray girls basketball team opened up Tuesday night’s state quarterfinal action with a dominating performance over Rappahannock (Warsaw), 60-24. Sophomore Caroline Donovan had one of her best games of the season and lead the Bulldogs with a game-high 14 points.

While the opening period was a back-and-forth battle that Luray narrowly won 12-11, the Bulldogs went on a 22-6 run in the second frame to take a 34-17 lead into the half. Trailing by 17, the visiting school from the Northern Neck would only score seven points in the second half. The Raiders would only hit 29 percent of their shots from the floor and 25 percent from the line, while committing 18 turnovers.

Luray was able to spread the ball around all night. Behind Donovan’s game-high 14, freshman Makenzee Owens recorded 12 points, sophomore Emily Benson had 10, and three players had seven in the state quarterfinal — freshman Brylee Painter, senior Ella Parlett and freshman Marlee Taylor.

Overall, the Bulldogs shot 42 percent from the floor, 42 percent from the line, and committed nine turnovers.

With an easy first round win behind them, Luray (17-10) will now advance to the state semifinals, where they will host Region A champion Essex (20-2) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6.

Essex defeated Surry County (22-3) on Tuesday night in a state quarterfinal, 49-38. When Luray went head-to-head with Surry in the Region 1B championship last Friday, the Bulldogs captured the region title with a 38-33 win.

The other state semifinal features Region C champion Galax (24-3) against Region C runner-up George Wythe (22-5). When the two teams met for the Region C title, Galax posted an eight-point victory over GW, 76-68.

VHSL Class 1 Girls State Basketball Tournament

QUARTERFINALS ~ Tuesday, March 3