A rebuilding season came to an end for the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team, which suffered a 64-31 road loss to Shenandoah District rival Alleghany last Wednesday in Covington.
The Wildcats (4-19 overall, 2-14 district) had previously challenged the Cougars (17-5, 12-2) when the teams met in Lexington, with Alleghany fending off an RC comeback to earn a 63-53 win. In the rematch, however, the Wildcats were missing two starters and faced a large deficit early, from which they never recovered.
The Cougars, who would advance to the Region 3C tournament this week, jumped out to a 10-5 lead after the first quarter and outscored the Wildcats 24-10 in the second quarter to take a 34-15 lead into halftime. Alleghany extended its lead to 56-24 by the end of the third quarter to put the game away.
Bubby Entsminger led three Alleghany players in double figures, scoring 17 points. Teammate Jalen Raether scored 14 points, sinking two 3-pointers, while Desmond Jordan added 11 points. Chipping in seven points each for the Cougars were Kevin Worley and Talyn Elliott.
Bradi Ziegler paced RC with 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, but he was the only Wildcat to score in double figures. Sophomore guard Rowe Carter, moving up from the junior varsity squad, scored six points on two 3-pointers, while Fisher Newhall chipped in three points. In addition to Carter, the Wildcats got varsity experience for two of their other JV players, sophomores Parker Flint and Marshall Clements, who scored two points. Completing the scoring for RC were Brenden Staley with two points and Xavier Flowers with one.
