Due to a backlog of games that had been postponed earlier, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team had the tall task of playing five Shenandoah District games in six games, including three road games.
The Wildcats started the week well, earning a 56-50 road win over Waynesboro to snap an 11 game winning streak, but they lost their next four games, suffering two close losses and a pair of blowouts.
On Monday of last week, the Wildcats (4-18 overall, 2-13 district) got their first win of 2026. With the victory, they avenged a 55-44 loss to Waynesboro (4-16, 2-12) on Dec. 12. Before last Monday, the Wildcats’ most recent win was a 57-45 home victory over district rival Buffalo Gap on Dec. 19.
The rematch with Waynesboro was close the entire game, with the Little Giants leading 17-16 after the first quarter. Waynesboro then outscored RC 16-10 in the second quarter to take a 33-26 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats picked up their offense in the third quarter, outscoring Waynesboro 16-8 to take a 42-41 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats carried the momentum into the fourth quarter to earn the victory.
Christian Moore led RC with 18 points, making two 3-pointers, while Bradi Ziegler scored 14. Fisher Newhall added 10 points for the Wildcats, while Brayden Camden chipped in eight.
Ka’Marion Martin and Jacob Horne paced the Little Giants with 11 points each.
RHS 58, RC 53
The Wildcats came up short 58-53 on Tuesday of last week at Riverheads (6-12, 4-11). When the teams met Jan. 9 in Lexington, the Gladiators won 50-49. Statistics were not provided from last week’s game in time.
BG 58, RC 53
On Thursday, the Wildcats lost 58-53 at Buffalo Gap (712, 3-10) to split the season series.
Ziegler led RC with 30 points, knocking down six 3-pointers, but no other Wildcat scored in double figures. Camden and Fisher Newhall each scored nine points.
Of the road losses, RC head coach Rob Winfield said the Wildcats played well, but added, “We’ve got to execute down the stretch. We just didn’t do a great job with that.”
FD 86, RC 64
After honoring their four seniors, the Wildcats team put forth a strong effort against a talented, sharpshooting Fort Defiance team, but the Wildcats suffered an 86-64 home loss on Friday night in Lexington.
The Wildcats recognized seniors Xavier Flowers, Jaxon Johnson, Price Lunsford and Avery McDaniel. All four players started and contributed valuable minutes. Johnson, a fourth-year player, led the seniors with seven points and grabbed two rebounds and a steal, while Lunsford and McDaniel each chipped in two points, and Flowers and Lunsford each pulled down three rebounds.
The Indians (12-8, 1-4) went to the 3-point shot early and often, lighting it up for 15 treys in the game, while the Wildcats hit nine triples.
Fort scored its first 12 points on 3-pointers, racing to a 12-5 lead before Ziegler hit a triple to cut the lead to 12-8. The Indians maintained a small lead for the rest of the first quarter, taking a 23-17 advantage into the second quarter.
Ziegler cut Fort’s lead to 25-22 by making a layup, and Brenden Staley trimmed it to 26-24 on an inside shot, but the Wildcats would get no closer, as Fort then went on an 11-0 run and took a 41-30 lead into halftime.
Continuing the shoot well from outside and capitalizing on RC turnovers, the Indians controlled the third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 25-13 to take a 66-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, both teams got in their reserves, and the Wildcats’ seniors played much of the final few minutes. A moment that received a lot of applause was when RC’s Maliq Corbin banked a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the game.
Ziegler led the Wildcats with 21 points, sinking four 3-pointers, and paced RC with four rebounds and three steals. Camden scored 16 points, making three treys, and grabbed two steals. Also contributing were Moore with nine points and Staley with four.
Leading Fort with 16 points each were Gio Armendariz Cruz and Jasigh Ransome, who hit four 3-pointers. Also scoring in double figures for the Indians were Tripp Hanger with 13 points,, including four triples, and Evan Braun with 11, while Ayden Thorton chipped in nine.
RC committed 22 turnovers, while Fort had 15.
WM 77, RC 44
Sometimes, the way things start can be just as important as how they finish.
Case in point: RC got off to rough starts in both the second and third quarters on Saturday in Lexington, and Wilson Memorial (18-2, 12-0) took advantage, rolling to a 77-44 victory to sweep the season series from the Wildcats.
Trailing 17-8 after the first quarter, the Wildcats committed four straight turnovers to start the second period. They lost the ball on six of their first seven possessions of the stanza, and WM’s lead ballooned to 25-12 with 3:27 left in the period when Micah Adams grabbed an offensive rebound and scored.
The second period did not end much better. The Wildcats went the last 3:07 without a field goal, and WM closed the first half with an 8-0 spurt, scoring after two more RC turnovers to carry a 33-16 lead into intermission.
To begin the third quarter, RC lost the ball on three of their first four possessions, and the Hornets opened the period with a 10-6 burst to push the advantage to 43-22. In total, the Wildcats lost the ball 34 times in the contest, leading directly to 34 WM points.
The Wildcats did get a jolt when McDaniel drilled backto- back 3-pointers to trim the WM lead to 35-22 with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Hornets closed the period with a 15-9 run and took a 51-31 lead into the final quarter.
Adams led the Green Hornets, who won their 18th straight game and had 13 different players reach the scoring column, with 20 points as the only WM player to reach double figures.
Camden and Ziegler scored 11 points each to lead the Wildcats, while McDaniel finished with eight.
RC will wrap up the season with a district game at Alleghany tonight, Wednesday, starting with JV action at 6 p.m.
A FORT Defiance player looks for an open teammate while Wildcats Christian Moore (23), Price Lunsford (34) and Xavier Flowers (42) play defense. Lunsford and Flowers were two of the seniors honored before the game. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
