January 28, 2018
#3 Panthers too much for Tolsia
Fort Gay, W. Va. — In a Region 4 Section 2 matchup with the #3 team in the state Tug Valley ( 8-4 ) it was the Panthers getting the win over rival Tolsia 86-64 at a packed out Rebel Arena on Tuesday night.
Tug Valley used their size and jumped out to 18-2 lead in the first quarter behind big man Mason Layne before the Rebels settled down to trail 27-16 after one.
In the second quarter the Rebels made some timely three pointers to keep the game within striking distance as the Panthers led 50-34 at intermission.
In the third period Tolsia made a run and things got interesting with the score 58-50 with just over a minute left before Tug Valley went on a 8-0 run to end the quarter and led 66-50 going to the final period.
Tug extended the lead in the 4th and went on to pick up the road victory over their rivals.
Tolsia placed three in double figures as senior Jared Switzer had 16 points including 2 three pointers, senior Jonathon Johnson tallied 15 points, Jacob Mollette finished with 14 points including 2 three pointers, Rob Cantrell had 9 points, Austin Salmons 5 points, William Spaulding and Tyler Johnson 2 points each.
THS hit 7 three pointers and 15-22 from the line.
Tug Valley was led by Mason Layne with 25 points. Tyler May had 19 points, Levi Davis 14 points, Jonathon Blankenship 10 points, Bryson Preece, Caleb May and Joby Sorrell had 6 points each.
TVHS hit 5 three pointers and went 5-9 from the line.
Tug Valley 27 23 16 20 – 86
Tolsia 16 18 16 14 – 64
Man 71 Tolsia 62 ( Friday )
At Rebel Arena on Friday night it was the Hillbillies picking up win number two over Tolsia this season as the Rebels battled foul trouble all game with four players eventually fouling out of the game.
Man jumped all over the Rebels and led 30-12 at one point before Tolsia stormed back and cut the lead to 9 on a Tyler Johnson 35 footer at the halftime buzzer.
In the third period Tolsia carried that momentum over and cut the lead to two points but never could get any closer as Man hit free throws down the stretch to close out the road win.
Man 20 16 15 20 – 71
Tolsia 8 19 12 23 – 62
The Rebels were led by Rob Cantrell with 17 points, Jacob Mollette finished with 14 points, Austin Salmons 11 points, Tyler Johnson hit 2 three pointers and finished with 10 points, Jared Switzer had 6 points, Jonathon Johnson and William Spaulding had 2 points each.
THS hit 4 three pointer and went 20-36 from the line.
Tolsia will host Lincoln Co. on Monday night and then make the trip across the river to face Lawrence Co. on Wednesday night at 6:00pm.
Tolsia Head Coach Todd Maynard
COACH’S COMMENTS
“… I thought our kids played extremely hard against Tug Valley. We got out to a slow start and were down 18-2 early in the first quarter. We continued to battle back throughout the game. Tug would make runs and we would close the gap and they make another run. If we don’t let them jump out to a 18-2 start I believe the ball game is closer at the end.”
“… Coach May of Tug Valley took advantage of our size with Mason Layne as he had 16 points first half and finished with 25. I thought we played Tyler May well with the scoring tear he has been on lately.”
“… Tug is one of the top teams in the state with a ton of experience and you won’t beat them if you make the little mistakes and spot them 20 points from the start of the game.”
“…The Man game was just like the Tug Valley game we started out sluggish and let them jump out to a lead. We only scored 8 Points in first quarter. We beat ourselves tonight missing 16 free throws and not rebounding well, plus giving them second and third chance points.”
“…We continued to battle throughout the game and cut it to 2 in the fourth and we had a lot of kids in foul trouble. Senior Jared Switzer fouled out with 4 minutes to go in the fourth and it hurt us. He was bringing energy in all aspects of the game tonight, Defensively and offensively.”
“… Overall effort is there we just need to clean up the little things and we will be on the winning end of some of these close games.”
