Wildcats Defeat EastMont, Fall To Waynesboro
The Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team split a pair of home games last week, defeating Eastern Montgomery 60-52 on Thursday before falling to Waynesboro in 54-44 in the Shenandoah District opener on Friday.
In a back-and-forth battle against Eastern Montgomery, the Wildcats (2-1) pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs (1-2) led 50-47 early in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats then went on an 11-0 run, making shots and defensive stops, to put the game away.
“We’ll take wins,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield. “We’re a group that needs to learn how to win. We’ve got a lot of new faces that are playing a lot of new minutes.”
Winfield added that it showed that the Wildcats had only practiced one day last week due to snow on Monday, but he noted that the Mustangs and other teams were in the same position.
Brayden Camden led the Wildcats with a career-high 22 points and grabbed two rebounds and a steal, while Bradi Ziegler scored 20 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, while pulling down three rebounds and grabbing one steal. Also stepping up for RC was Avery McDaniel with a career-high 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Fisher Newhall chipped in three points and four rebounds, while Jaxon Johnson had two points, four boards and a block.
Leading the Wildcats defensively was Jonathan Soriano Caceres with two steals, playing aggressively to put pressure on EM’s offense. “He’s got to learn his way, learn his tempo, but he can come in and change a game,” said Winfield. “He’s the one kid we’ve got that can change the game defensively, and he did that.”
Kellan Stewart paced the Mustangs with 16 points, while Owen Clatterbuck added 14 points, but both players were much more effective in the first half. Cyrus Underwood and Marshall Tate each contributed 11 points.
The Wildcats got off to a strong start in their home opener, taking a 15-9 lead after the first quarter. EM gradually battled back to take a 26-25 lead late in the first half and went up 32-28 at halftime.
The Mustangs maintained a small lead for most of the third quarter until McDaniel hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 37 and Ziegler scored on a putback to give RC a 39-37 lead. EM was up 42-41 by the end of the quarter and stayed ahead until the Wildcats’ big run in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats committed 18 turnovers, while the Mustangs had 15.
WHS 54, RC 44
Unable to erase a 17-point halftime deficit, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered a 54-44 home loss to Waynesboro on Friday night in Lexington.
Waynesboro (1-1) started strong, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 21-14 lead. From late in the first quarter to almost the end of the first half, the Wildcats went cold, and the Little Giants went on a 19-0 run to stretch a 16-14 lead to a 33-14 advantage. Ziegler finally ended the run with an inside basket just before halftime to cut the deficit to 33-16.
The Wildcats got their offense going in the third quarter, as Brayden Camden made back-to-back 3-pointers, and RC got an inside basket from Johnson and a pair of free throws from Ziegler to cut Waynesboro’s lead to 35-26. The Giants answered back, though, taking a 43-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
RC gradually trimmed Waynesboro’s lead, cutting it to 47-42 on a 3-pointer from Ziegler midway through the fourth quarter. The game would get no closer, though, as the Giants then went on an 11-0 run, with the Wildcats missing five consecutive free throws. Waynesboro converted from the free throw line and maintained a doubledigit lead the rest of the way.
Ziegler led the Wildcats with 19 points, sinking five 3-pointers. Camden scored 16 points, making three triples. The Wildcats’ third top scorer was Johnson with four points, and Fisher Newhall chipped in three. Johnson contributed five rebounds and McDaniel pulled down three. Newhall had two rebounds, two steals and two blocks; Camden collected two boards and two steals. Jakob Bailey grabbed two rebounds and Moore had two blocks.
Deonta Brown paced the Giants with 22 points. Isaiah Goldsmith added 11 points, sinking three 3-pointers, and LaMari Nowell chipped in nine points. The Giants got extra scoring chances by consistently grabbing offensive rebounds.
RC committed eight turnovers while Waynesboro had 14 turnovers.
Reviewing his team’s effort, Winfield said, “We got after it. We were just a little flat. You want the excuses of back-to-back games, we’re not in school today, we got out of rhythm. That stuff doesn’t help, but it’s my job to make sure they’re prepared to play. We didn’t come out prepared to play. … I take full responsibility and full blame for that. I’ve got to do a better job making sure they’re ready to play because that’s a team that’s a good team, but that’s a team we can win against.”
WILDCAT JUNIOR guard Bradi Ziegler takes the ball outside the 3-point line as Eastern Montgomery’s Marshall Tate leaps to pressure him. Ziegler scored 20 points, making five 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds and one steal. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
The RC coach added that the Wildcats rely on two players, Ziegler and Camden, to lead the offense, and they didn’t shoot as well on Friday. “At the end of the day, it is a make-or-miss game,” he said. “There are some things we can do better offensively to help them out. I think sometimes our movement’s a little lackadaisical.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Stuarts Draft last night and will continue district action at Staunton on Thursday before playing host to Buffalo Gap on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 6 p.m. Before Christmas, they’ll travel to face nondistrict rival Turner Ashby on Monday, beginning with the JV game at 2 p.m. The following Monday, Dec. 29, they’ll play host to local rival Parry McCluer. The JV boys tip off at 2:30 p.m., followed by the girls’ varsity game at 4 p.m. before the day concludes with the varsity boys’ game at 5:30.
RC SOPHOMORE forward Fisher Newhall goes up for a shot over a pair of Mustangs. Newhall scored three points and pulled down four rebounds. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
