Panthers sweep Bulldogs in district doubleheader

By Randy Arrington

SHENANDOAH, Jan. 31 — The Page County Panthers swept the Bulldogs of Luray in a Bull Run District basketball doubleheader on Tuesday night at Page County High School. Both victories tighten up the standings in the middle of the pack in the Bull Run for both the boys and girls programs. Each team has three games left in the regular season, which will wrap up next week before the Bull Run District Tournament starts the week of Feb. 13.

PCHS 52, LHS 42

In the boys matchup that lead-off Tuesday’s doubleheader, Page County opened up a 10-1 lead early in the first four minutes and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor in the first quarter. The Panthers hit six three-pointers in the first half and build up a 14-point lead over Luray heading into halftime, 30-16. Freshman Caden Combs and junior Seth Cloude each hit two shots from beyond the arc in the first half, as the Panthers outscored the visitors 16-10 in the first frame and 14-6 in the second.

Luray only hit three shots from the floor in the first period and two in the second, when the Bulldogs shot 2-for-14 (14 percent). Senior Bailey Graybeal hit back-to-back three-pointers in the first quarter and lead all Luray scorers at the half with six points.

The third quarter was evenly matched as Page edged Luray 12-11 over the eight-minute period and increased their lead to 15 points heading into the fourth quarter. Cloude and senior Hayden Plum provided some key baskets during this stretch for the home team. Luray got a couple of baskets from junior Christian Lentz, while junior Landon Vile hit a timely triple that cut the Bulldogs deficit to 10 at one point.

The Bulldogs grabbed a little momentum in the fourth, outscoring Page 15-10 behind two more baskets from Lentz and the final six points from Graybeal. However, Luray would get no closer than seven late in the fourth as Page County got strong fourth-quarter showings from senior Brett Paul Campbell, Cloude and Plum and closed out the 10-point district win, 52-42.

The Panthers were lead by Plum with a game-high 15 points, followed by senior Jacob Williams with 11 and Cloude with 10. Combs and Capmbell both added eight points on the night.

The Bulldogs were lead by Graybeal with 14 points, followed by Lentz with 12.

With the win, Page County moves to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the Bull Run District. The Panthers will now travel to Central (6-12) on Friday night, before closing out the season next week with two home games — Mt. View on Monday and East Rockingham next Friday. Page is potentially looking at a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Bull Run tourney.

With the loss, Luray falls to 6-13 overall and 5-8 in the Bull Run. Next up, Luray will host East Rockingham on Friday before closing out the season next week by traveling to Strasburg on Tuesday and hosting Clarke next Friday. The Bulldogs are likely looking at a No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the Bull Run tournament.

For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.

•••

The PVN Sports broadcast crew selected

Hayden Plum and Bailey Graybeal

as the Blue Ridge Bank “Players of the Game“.

Plum posted a game-high 15 points, while Graybeal lead Luray with 14..

•••

PCHS 41, LHS 39

The Jan. 31 matchup between these two rivals mirrored the first meeting on Jan. 4 in many ways — except for the ending. While Page County got out to an early lead in both games and held it for most of the game, Luray’s buzzer-beater was not to repeat itself on Tuesday night.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the two girls varsity squads squared off and delivered another nail-biter that remained a two-possession game most of the way.

Senior Alexis Frymyer and freshman Ali Purdham delivered a pair of three-pointers in the opening minutes that gave Page an early 8-3 lead. However, Luray would also get a pair of triples from junior Emily Donovan and senior Jaidyn McClung to keep the Bulldogs close as they trailed 13-8 at the end of the first quarter.

While both teams hit about 40 percent of their shots in the opening eight minutes, they would only hit a combined five shots from the floor over the next eight minutes (5-for-20, or 25 percent). Junior Adryn Martin hit a couple of baskets in the sluggish second quarter for Page, while Luray was lead by senior Lindsey Bly. Both Martin and Bly lead their respective teams in rebounds and proved pivotal in the paint. The Bulldogs edged out the home team 7-6 in the second quarter, but Page still carried a 19-15 lead into the half.

Purdham and junior Bailee Gaskins had a strong third quarter to lead Page to 12-9 run over Luray. The Bulldogs got another three-pointer from Donovan and four points from McClung, but overall only hit 30 percent of their shots in the third. Page County carried a seven-point lead, 31-24 into the final eight minutes.

McClung played the roll of a senior leader and wrestled the momentum away from the home team in the fourth quarter, hitting two three-pointers and totaling nine points in the frame. Luray would outscore Page 15-10 in the fourth, but it wasn’t quite enough.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to two, 41-39, with :28.6 left on the clock when McClung hit her third three-pointer of the evening. Despite the Panthers going 0-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 21 seconds, Luray could not capitalize and continued to be plagued by the turnover bug. The Bulldogs committed about a dozen turnovers on the night.

Purdham lead Page with 12 points — all from beyond the arc — while Gaskins scored 11 and Martin had nine.

McClung posted a game-high 18 points — half of those in the fourth quarter — while Donovan had 10 and Bly added nine.

With the win, Page County moves to 10-9 overall and 7-6 in the Bull Run District. The Panthers will host Central (11-7) on Friday night, before closing out the season next week with two road games — at Mt. View (3-15) on Monday and at East Rockingham (8-10) next Friday. Page could be looking at a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Bull Run tourney.

With its second-straight loss, Luray falls to 12-6 overall and 8-5 in the Bull Run. Next up, the Bulldogs will travel to East Rockingham (8-10) on Friday, before winding up the season next week by hosting Strasburg (13-5) on Tuesday and traveling to Clarke (15-3) next Friday. Luray will end the season by playing the top three teams in the district. The Bulldogs are probably looking at a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the Bull Run tournament.

For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.

•••

The PVN Sports broadcast crew selected

Ali Purdham and Jaidyn McClung

as the Blue Ridge Bank “Players of the Game“.

Purdham lead Page with 12 points — all three-pointers (4) — while MClung scored nine of her game-high 18 points for Luray in the fourth quarter.

•••

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