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TWIN VALLEY’s big Matthew
Baldwin (#42) goes up high and over the top of Clarke County
defender Christian Waters to score two of his 13 points just
before halftime of Saturday’s Group A state championship game in
Richmond. Baldwin was one of three Panthers in double digit
scoring, but it wasn’t enough as Clarke County came back from a
late deficit and scored the winning bucket with 12.6 seconds
remaining to claim the title. (Staff photos/Sam Bartley.)
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Panthers See State Title Slip Away
Clarke Co. Scores Final Seven Points to Claim Group A
Championship, 51-49 |
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by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
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Moments on a game clock that
will remain forever frozen in time for all the wrong reasons for a
great Twin Valley team that was seconds away from a state crown.
A series of steals and
deflections by Clarke County in the final three minutes denied the
Panthers a state title and helped the Eagles defeat Twin Valley,
51-49, in the Group A state finals Saturday afternoon at the
Siegel Center at VCU in Richmond.
Clarke County scored the final
seven points of the game, got the go-ahead bucket after a steal by
Christian Waters and a three-point play by Chandler Rhoads with
12.6 seconds remaining and preserved its victory with great
defense.
Twin Valley had inbound plays
at the 12.6, 4.3 and 1.0 second-mark, but got just one shot, a
desperation heave from halfcourt by Garrett Horne at the buzzer.
Clarke County knocked the ball
out of bounds under the basket with 4.3 seconds remaining and
deflected it to mid-court and finally out of bounds with exactly
one second remaining, leading to the Panthers’ final, desperate
try.
“Aside from anything
traumatic, that was probably the worst 21 seconds of my life,”
said Twin Valley Coach Brian Moore, whose club owned the ball and
a 49-48 lead with 21.6 seconds left.
“They made a couple of
great defensive plays when they had to, and we were probably one
pass away from a state championship,”
Just a sophomore, Rhoads
finished with a game-high 25 points, 52 points in two final four
games and tournament MVP honors.
Jeremiah Lester scored 17
points and hauled in 16 rebounds, Matthew Baldwin added 13 points
and Logan Shortridge scored 12 for Twin Valley, which had a state
championship within its grasp despite being 1-of-12 from
three-point range and 8-of-16 from the free throw line.
“Free throws have been a
nemesis all year,” Moore said. “We missed a lot of free throws and
we missed a lot of easy baskets inside, especially in the first
half.”
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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Haysi's
Compton
Duo Earns
Top
Honors on
All-BDD
Girls
Squad |
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Whitney Compton and her father Ron garnered top honors on the
All-Black Diamond District girls basketball team for the 2005-2006
season.
A four-year multi-sport standout who
has been heavily recruited by college scouts in both basketball
and softball, Compton led the Lady Tigers to two state tournament
berths the last three years.
Ron Compton was named BDD Coach
of the Year for guiding the Lady Tigers to state for the sixth
time in the past 12 years. After Haysi’s heartbreaking loss at
top-ranked Floyd County in the state quarterfinals March 3,
Compton announced that he was stepping down as coach at Haysi
after 19 seasons.
Haysi placed four players
and Twin Valley and Council each placed three on the All-BDD first
team.
In addition to Compton,
seniors LaRae Boyd, Kendra Rowlett and Dana Edwards made the first
unit from Haysi.
Twin Valley placed
seniors Brittany Maxwell and Tiffany Watson and junior Samantha
Vandyke on the first team. Council placed seniors Ashley
Stroehlein and Samantha Breeding and freshman Stephanie Cornett on
the first unit.
Rounding out the
first team are freshman Paige Tiller and sophomore Jaimie
McGlothin from Honaker.
Seven players
received honorable mention.
The 2005-2006
All-BDD Girls Basketball Team:
First Team:
Whitney Compton, Haysi, sr.
Brittany Maxwell, Twin Valley, sr.
LaRae Boyd, Haysi, sr.
Tiffany Watson, Twin Valley, sr.
Ashley Stroehlein, Council, sr.
Kendra Rowlett, Haysi, sr.
Paige Tiller, Honaker, fr.
Jaimie McGlothlin, Honaker, so.
Dana Edwards, Haysi, sr.
Stephanie Cornett, Council, fr.
Samantha Vandyke, Twin Valley, jr.
Samantha Breeding, Council, sr.
Honorable Mention:
Council -- Amber Viers, Haley Arrington.
Haysi -- Brittany Stanley.
Honaker -- Taylor Perkins, Billee Jo Mullins.
Hurley -- Sarah Justus.
Twin Valley -- Janie Belcher.
Player of the Year: Whitney Compton, Haysi.
Coach of the Year: Ron Compton, Haysi.
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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