Wildcats Bounce Back Ziegler Scores 31, Hits Seven 3-Pointers To Lead RC Boys Over Gap
Led by a career-high 31 points by Bradi Ziegler, who sank seven 3-pointers, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team ended a busy week with a 57-45 home win over Shenandoah District rival Buffalo Gap on Friday night in Lexington.
With the victory, the Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak, bouncing back from district road losses to Stuarts Draft on Tuesday of last week and to Staunton on Thursday and evened their overall record to 3-3. It was the first district win for RC, now 1-3 in the district.
Ziegler, a junior guard, started out the game on fire, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter and making a layup for 14 points. He cooled down in the second quarter, and the Bison (1-3 overall, 0-3 district) battled back, cutting RC’s lead to 20-15, but a pair of baskets from RC sophomore forward Fisher Newhall and a 3-pointer from Ziegler helped the Wildcats take a 27-19 halftime lead. In the first half, Ziegler scored 17 points, making five treys.
“I started making the first, and I was feeling it,” said Ziegler of his 3-point shooting performance. He also had two rebounds and two steals.
Praising Ziegler and noting how valuable he is to the team, RC head coach Rob Winfield said, “I’d like to sit here and tell you that we don’t rely on his 3-point shooting, but we rely on his 3-point shooting. That’s a big part of our offense. That’s important to the things that we do. He’s got to make shots for us.”
The Wildcats went up by 10 points early in the second half when Brayden Camden hit a pull-up jump shot, but Gap then went on an 8-0 run, forcing four RC turnovers, to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 29-27.
The Bison took their first lead, 32-31, on a layup by Aiden Astarb with 2:26 left in the third quarter. Ziegler came to the rescue again, scoring on a turnaround shot and a jump shut to give the Wildcats a 35-32 lead. Gap then drew a couple of fouls and went up 36-35, but Ziegler made a 3-pointer at end of the quarter to give the Wildcats the lead back, 38-36.
RC opened the fourth quarter with a triple from Ziegler and an inside shot from Newhall to extend its lead to 4340. Astarb then knocked down a 3-pointer, but the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 51-40. Jaxon Johnson fueled the run with a pair of free throws and two inside baskets, one on a nice pass from Ziegler. The Wildcats maintained a double- digit lead the rest of the way, converting from the free throw line to finish the game.
Ziegler said keys to the win were that the Wildcats “did well on defense, and then we just really started to work together and not be selfish.”
Newhall, playing his first season at the varsity level, scored a career-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds and one steal. “He’s a young kid,” said Winfield of Newhall. “I think the four or five days [last week] we were off for snow kind of took him a step back a little bit. He’s just starting to get back to his rhythm, his flow. He is our most athletic kid and can make some plays on the basketball court we just don’t have a lot of guys that can make. He did it tonight. He played to his athleticism.”
Johnson added six points, all in the fourth quarter, while Camden chipped in four points, six rebounds and one steal. Jakob Bailey led RC with seven rebounds, while Christian Moore scored two points and had two rebounds and two steals.
Astarb led the Bison with 19 points, making three 3-pointers, while Brendon Brown, Isaac Goff and Nolan Ward each scored eight points.
RC committed 15 turnovers, while Gap had 16.
ABOVE, RC senior forward Avery McDaniel (21) and Buffalo Gap’s Carson Townsend (32) reach for the ball. McDaniel scored two points. AT RIGHT, With two Bison players guarding him, RC senior forward Jaxon Johnson takes the ball toward the basket while teammates Christian Moore (23) and Avery McDaniel (21) watch. Johnson scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats pull away and had one steal. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
RC suffered a 46-26 road loss to Stuarts Draft on Tuesday of last week.
The Cougars (3-2, 2-2) led 26-18 at halftime and then outscored the Wildcats 12-4 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 38-22. Draft outscored RC 8-4 in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Moore led the Cougars with 14 points, while Marko Veselinovic scored eight points, and Zakarre Hymes-Williams chipped in six.
Camden paced RC with 15 points, while Ziegler scored eight, hitting two 3-pointers, and Moore made one trey.
The Wildcats then traveled to Staunton (4-0, 2-0) on Thursday and suffered a 66-37 loss.
Winfield said that the Wildcats played “two good first halves” against Draft and Staunton, but they came out flat in the third quarter. “We’ve got to find a better way to come out of the locker room,” he said. “That’s on coach.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play a nondistrict game at Turner Ashby on Monday. After Christmas, they’ll play host to local rival Parry McCluer next Monday, Dec. 29. The junior varsity boys’ game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., followed by the varisty girls’ game at 4 and the varsity boys’ game at 5:30.
RC JUNIOR guard Christian Moore dribbles toward the basket. Moore scored two points and grabbed two rebounds and two steals. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
