Thursday, January 12,  2006

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by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter

       Twin Valley likes to run its offense from the inside-out, which is exactly the way Panthers have turned opponents of late.
      The Panthers trounced Grundy, 79-45, in non-district play Thursday night at Riverview Elementary-Middle School.
      Twin Valley, which defeated Richlands, 60-50, last Tuesday, pounded the Golden Wave inside and out.
        Panther post players Matthew Baldwin and Jeremiah Lester each had double-doubles, while its three perimeter starters combined for six three-pointers and 13 assists.
        All five starters scored in double figures for Twin Valley, which was playing its first game since struggling its way to a 60-50 come-from-behind victory Tuesday over Richlands.
         “I was proud of the way the guys played,” Twin Valley Coach Brian Moore said. “That was probably as well as we’ve played as far as four quarters. We’ve had a big quarter or two, but we were more consistent.”
       Twin Valley used runs of 8-1 in the first quarter and 11-3 in the second to extend an 11-8 lead to a 39-22 advantage at the break. The Panthers scored the first seven points of the third period and led by as many as 37 points in the second half, thanks, in part, to a solid defensive effort.
        “That was one of our better efforts defensively,” Moore said. “I thought K.T. Vandyke did a good job on Theo Justus, and Baldwin and Lester did a good job inside.”
         Vandyke led the Panthers early, scoring all of his 16 points in the first half. That opened up the inside for the 6-foot-7 Baldwin, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, and the 6-3 Lester, who added 11 points and 13 boards.
        “I was proud of the way K.T. stepped up,” Moore added. “Our plan was to establish the inside game with Baldwin and we were to reverse the ball and get it inside to Jeremiah, too. Jeremiah was a monster on the boards.”
         Logan Shortridge dropped in 15 of his game-high 17 in the second half, while Kent Goodman added 12 points and five assists for Twin Valley (8-2). Vandyke and Shortridge each had four assists.
         “We didn’t have anybody size-wise who could match up with Baldwin inside,” Grundy Coach Greg Rife said.
          “Then, if you double down on him, they can all shoot well from the perimeter, so it makes it very- difficult to defend them.”

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.
 

Lady Wave Splits Pair of SWD Games; Shepherd Scores 1,000th Career Point

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter

       The Lady Wave mirrored the Grundy boys in all three outings last week, including the split it gained in Southwest District play.
        Grundy made one key run in each half and opened SWD play with a 64-53 win over Tazewell Tuesday night at Riverview-Elementary-Middle School.
        Brooke Shepherd reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in the first half, when Grundy took a lead, but Carroll County rallied for a 56-49 victory over the Lady Wave Saturday evening in Hillsville.
        Grundy fell behind 16-7 early in Tuesday’s triumph before Elizabeth Lindsay and Kaitlyn Riley keyed an 18-3 run to help the Lady Wave built a 29-25 halftime advantage.
       Tazewell opened the third quarter with an 8-2 spurt that staked the Lady Bulldogs to a short-lived, 33-31 edge.
        Grundy responded quickly as Shepherd and Samantha Rice keyed a 15-4 run divided into seven and eight-point runs to give the Lady Wave a working margin that held up in the final period.
         “It seems like we’re always on and off,” Grundy Coach Bill Christian said. “We work hard and get a seven or eight point lead and we get comfortable and back off defensively. We can’t always get away with that. And we can’t go 15-of-30 at the free throw line, either.”
         Shepherd scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half. Riley had a double-double despite constant foul trouble, adding 10 points and 12 rebounds to go with three blocks.
         Lindsay finished with 10 points, while Rice, Allison Fletcher and Ashley Cook combined for 20 points for Grundy (8-3, 1-1 SWD).
         Allison Hunter hit five three-pointers and led Tazewell with a game-high 21 points. The Lady Bulldogs also got 10 points apiece from Samantha Shepherd and
Whitney Muncey.
          Grundy, which fell to Twin Valley, 53-50 in overtime on Thursday, built a 24-18 halftime lead at Carroll County. The Lady Cavs took the lead late in the third period.
 

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter

       Twin Valley has already made its non-district foes stand up and take notice.
       In its first district outing, it served notice to the rest of the BDD in a big way that the road to the championship must go through Pilgrim’s Knob.
       The Panthers roared to an incredible 50-point lead and settled for a 77-52 victory over Council in Black Diamond District play Friday night at TVHS.
       Twin Valley opened with a 14-3 run and shut the Cobras down for three quarters. Runs of 9-0, 10-4 and 9-2 led to a whopping 49-17 halftime advantage. The Panthers outscored Council 21-3 to open the second half and led 70-20 by the final minute of the third period.
      Twin Valley dominated inside, but took a commanding lead from the perimeter. Logan Shortridge, Kent Goodman and Jeremiah Lester combined to connect on eight of their first ten three-point tries in the first half.
        “It started at Grundy and it just carried over into this game,” said Twin Valley Coach Brian Moore, whose club won at Grundy the previous night by 34 points.
        “Council wasn’t shooting the ball very well and we took advantage of it, and everybody seemed to have the hot hand for us.”
       Shortridge finished with three treys and a game-high 21 points, while Goodman had four threes and 18 points. Lester added 10 points, while Matthew Baldwin scored 13 for Twin Valley (9-2, 1-0).
         Baldwin and Lester also combined for nine blocks as Council (7-4, 0-1) struggled to get good shots inside and failed to shoot very well outside. While Twin
Valley shot a red-hot 61.5 percent (24-of-39) from the field through three quarters, the Cobras were a miserable 7-of-35 and scored just 22 points in the first three periods.
          “We just didn’t come ready to play and Twin Valley did,” Council Coach Neil Rasnake said. “They’ve got a heck of a ball club and we’ve just got to regroup.”
          D.J. Barton scored 17 points and Jan Jindra scored 12 for Council, which outscored the Panthers 30-7 in the fourth quarter.
 

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.
 

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