Rivalry game tied up six times and featured 11 lead changes
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Feb. 14 — During Friday’s pep rally at Luray High School, junior Matthew Owens was asked whether he would like to make the game-winning shot, or the game-winning block. The 6’1″ shooting guard responded with “the game-winning shot” … and then he went out and did it.
Friday night’s rivalry game between Luray and Page lived up to the hype. The Bull Run District matchup not only determined the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds for Tuesday night’s district semifinals, it was also an extremely even contest that was tied six different times and featured 11 lead changes. Best of all, it went down to the final shot.
And there’s a chance that the packed house that witnessed Friday night’s thriller could see two more matchups in this cat-and-dog fight during the postseason.
“I don’t like it…but at this point in the season we’re not picky,” LHS head coach Matt Huff said of potentially playing the Panthers in three consecutive games. “I guess we’ll have a good crowd.”
The Bulldog gymnasium was packed for Friday’s tip-off. The first eight minutes saw the lead change three times and end in a 13-13 tie. While juniors Caden Combs and Isaac Foltz carried the Panthers in the opening frame, five different Bulldogs put up points including a triple from sophomore Ayden Haddock. Both teams shot an identical 6-for-16 from the floor, and neither team went to the line.
Combs scored six of Page’s 13 points in the second quarter, while Luray once again had five players spread out a dozen. The Bulldogs scored first to retake the lead and grew that margin to as much as six at 21-15. But Page overtook the lead in the final 95 seconds of the half. The Panthers hit 40 percent from the floor in the second quarter and went 4-for-4 at the line. The Bulldogs went 2-for-2 from the line and hit one-third of their shots from the floor. By halftime, Page County held a one-point advantage, 26-25.
The third quarter was basically a repeat of the second frame as Luray scored first to retake the lead behind a traditional three-point play from junior Connor Hilliard. The Bulldogs built up another six-point lead at 35-29, but the Panthers came roaring back behind a trio of three pointers to tie things up at 37-37 by the end of the third.
Page County carried that momentum into the fourth as Combs and senior Ace Campbell helped build up a five-point lead, 46-41, with 3:33 left in the game. However, the Panthers would not score again. A technical foul called against PCHS head coach Tyler Parker with 2:58 on the clock seemed to shift the momentum.
“The boys did everything they could… they played their hearts out… they were in the right position all night…that was on me…my head space wasn’t right,” Coach Parker said after the game. “I feel like I really let the guys down getting that technical and they scored off of it.”
Owens only hit one of two free throws off the technical. However, Hilliard hit two consecutive baskets that tied the game at 46-46 with 2:02 still left in the game.
PCHS junior Brandon Wright then fouled out with 1:32 left, which was followed up by a Panther turnover on a 5-second violation during an inbound play. After the teams traded some misses and some timeouts, Luray got the ball with the goal of holding for one final shot. With 5 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 46-46, the Bulldogs called one last timeout.
“In those situations, you get the ball to your best player and hope they can make a play,” Coach Huff said. “It was designed to try to come off a couple of screens, but when he caught it the defense wasn’t really set…he dribbled up…luckily, he hadn’t hit one all night, but he hit the one he needed to hit.”
Owens’ buzzer-beater from beyond the arc secured a 49-46 win, and the No. 2 seed in the Bull Run District tournament semifinals on Tuesday night at Central of Woodstock. The 6 p.m. tip-off, however, will not be with Central…it will once again be with the Panthers of Page County, the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
“We played bad, we played rough. We just haven’t been getting shots up and no practices here lately,” Coach Parker said after Friday night’s heart-breaking loss. “If it takes us to play like that and lose by three to them, I like our chances going forward.”
Both teams shot a nearly identical 35 percent from the floor, and only one of 11 free throws was missed by both teams combined. Luray committed nine turnovers, while Page had seven. The game was extremely even and Coach Huff recognizes how fortunate the Bulldogs are to come away with a win.
“[The Panthers] battled all night…they fight and claw and scratch…it’s twice now we’ve played ’em where really we haven’t shot the ball very well. So I’m, going to credit that to them playing good defense,” Coach Huff said. “They fought and scratched all night, we just came up down the stretch and made one more play than they did.”
Luray was lead by senior Blake Jenkins with 12 points, followed by Hilliard with 11. Owens finished with eight, senior Jae Frye had six, and both Haddock and junior Riley Benson added five.
Page was lead by Combs, who posted a game-high 14 points, followed by Foltz with 13. Campbell posted eight points, while junior Dawson Richards had six and sophomore Thomas Louderback added five.
The potential exists that Luray (16-6) and Page (13-9) could meet a third consecutive time in the quarterfinal round of the Region 2B tournament, but for now, each coach is focusing on the 6 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in the Bull Run District semifinals at Central. The No. 1 Falcons (19-3) will host No. 4 Strasburg (10-9) at 7:30 p.m.
Athletic Directors in the Bull Run are “trying out” a tournament format that remains in one location (the top seed). The district championship is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 20 at the highest remaining seed, with the junior varsity championship at 6 p.m., and the varsity title game to follow at 7:30 p.m.
“We need to get healthy,” Coach Huff said after Friday’s rivalry win. “Some of our guys are still sick, some guys still laboring with the flu…myself included…trying to fight through it…and hoping the guys can get healthy and stay healthy down the stretch.”
Both coaches will be looking to fine tune things before Tuesday night.
“We need to make some adjustments on boxing out, they killed us on the boards tonight,” Coach Parker said. “It has to do with effort… maybe our legs weren’t there, maybe we were just too tired, I’m not sure, we’ll go back and regroup and talk about it as a team, collectively. They threw everything they could at us defensively. They tried to shut Caden down all night with a box-in-one. We’ll make our adjustments on that, and we’ll see them again Tuesday.”
Despite a 31-point loss at Strasburg on Monday, 76-45, and a heartbreaker to Luray on Friday, Coach Parker believes his team has the potential to turn things around when it matters most.
“I like our chances going forward, like I said…if we have to play the way we played tonight, and me not coach the way I should be coaching and representing this school like I should, if it takes all that to stack up against us to beat us…I’m okay with that because we can do better,” Coach Parker. “I know tonight we lost this game, they didn’t beat us…if we make the adjustments and do the things we know we can do, I seriously like our chances going forward…and that’s with anybody, not just Luray.”
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Panthers capture fourth-straight Bull Run victory, 62-48, over visiting Clarke
Bulldogs win back-to-back Bull Run matchups
Panthers post season-high 73 points in district win over rival Bulldogs
Panthers fall at home to Strasburg, 60-43
Bulldogs handle Clarke on off night, 55-48
Panthers drop district opener to Madison, 56-45
Be the first to comment