Thursday, March 16,  2006

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         Twin Valley’s Jeremiah Lester and Haysi’s Kevin Viers top the All-Black Diamond District boys basketball team for the 2005-2006 season.
          The two seniors were named Co-Players of the Year in the BDD as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
          Waylon Hart, in his first year as coach at Honaker, was named BDD Coach of the Year.
          The 6-foot-3 Lester was a four-year standout for the Panthers. He averaged some 18 points and 11 rebounds per game in helping Twin Valley reach the Group A state finals.
           Viers also averaged around 18 ppg and established himself as one of the top point guards and three-point shooters in southwest Virginia over the past four seasons.
           Twin Valley placed four players, while Haysi and Honaker each put three players on the first unit.
           Council had two and Hurley had one player named to the 13-man All-BDD first team.
           In addition to Lester, the Panthers placed senior guard Kent Goodman, junior center Matthew Baldwin and senior guard K.T. Vandyke on the first team. Haysi also placed senior Ryan Jones and junior Lance Compton.
         Honaker placed senior Jacob Shortridge, junior Justin Newberry and sophomore Matthew Shortridge on the first unit. Rounding out the first team are Council seniors D.J. Barton and Caleb Epling and Hurley junior Eric May. Four players earned honorable mention.

The 2005-2006 All-BDD Boys Basketball Team:

First Team:
Kevin Viers, Haysi, sr.
Jeremiah Lester, Twin Valley, sr.
Kent Goodman, Twin Valley, sr.
Matthew Baldwin, Twin Valley, jr.
Ryan Jones, Haysi, sr.
D.J. Barton, Council, sr.
Eric May, Hurley, jr.
Jacob Shortridge, Honaker, sr.
Caleb Epling, Council, sr.
Justin Newberry, Honaker, jr.
Lance Compton, Haysi, jr.
Matthew Shortridge, Honaker, so.
K.T. Vandyke, Twin Valley, sr.

Honorable Mention:
Logan Shortridge, Twin Valley, sr.
Shane Shelton, Hurley, jr.
Josh Childress, Hurley, jr.
Justin Honaker, Honaker, sr.

Co-Players of the Year:
Jeremiah Lester, Twin Valley;
Kevin Viers, Haysi.

Coach of the Year:
Waylon Hart, Honaker.

Panthers Win Battle of The 'Twins' to Advance to Group A State Finals, 59-52

by Lloyd Combs
Sports Reporter
          Twin Springs gave Twin Valley a case of déjà vu and the Panthers went on the defensive.
          Twin Valley used a second-half rally to earn a state finals berth with a 59-52 win over the Titans in the Group A semifinals Thursday night at the Siegel Center at VCU in Richmond.
          Twin Springs, which defeated the Panthers three times on its way to last year’s state championship game, shot 60 percent in the first half and took a 28-26 halftime lead.
         But this was Twin Valley’s year to move on, and the Panthers, which defeated the Titans for the Region D title the previous week, rallied behind its defense, and 23 second-half points from Jeremiah Lester and Kent Goodman.
          Goodman’s two free throws gave the Panthers a 37-36 lead at the end of the third period. Lester hit a three-pointer to give Twin Valley a 46-41 edge with 4:50 remaining in the contest.
         “We knew Twin Springs would play us tougher this time around,” Twin Valley Coach Brian Moore said.
          “Jeremiah and Kent stepped up and hit some big shots when we needed them.”
           Two free throws by Keith Warner got Twin Springs (18-10) within 48-45 at the 3:26 mark. Goodman answered with a three out of a timeout to double the Panther lead to 51-45 with 2:16 left. The Titans never recovered.
           “Goodman hit a big shot,” Warner said. “That was probably the turning point of the game. We knew we were going to have to play our best to beat them.
           They’re a great team.
           “I thought we played pretty well, but we went a little brain dead (in the fourth quarter).”
           Lester finished with 19 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals.
           “We thought we did a pretty good job defensively on Goodman and (Matthew) Baldwin,” Twin Springs Coach John McCrary said. “But Lester kind or wore us out in the second half,”
           Goodman finished with 13 points. Warner scored nine of the Titans’ first 12 points and tied Lester for game-high honors with 19. Pance Kecev added 12 points for Twin Springs.
 

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.

           Cody Jackson dashed home with the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth as Council edged Grundy, 8-7, in the season opener for both Buchanan County baseball teams Monday evening at Willie Sullivan Field.
           The non-district contest was called in the sixth inning due to darkness.
           Grundy snapped a 4-4 tie and pushed three runs across the plate in the top half of the sixth using four stolen bases and an RBI single from Cody Billiter.
           Council came back in the bottom of the final frame with the aid of four walks and singles by Daniel Lester and Natasha Wilson.
            Lester’s single tied the game at 7-7 with two outs.
          With the bases loaded and daylight at a premium, Jackson scored two pitches later and the game was called by the home plate umpire.
          The late rally made a winner of Shane Compton, who scattered eight hits over six full innings. The senior righthander overcame four errors by the Cobras and
struck out 13 batters.
           Lester finished 2-for-3 at the plate for Council (1-1), which was held to one hit in a 19-0 non-district road loss Tuesday at Patrick Henry.
            Jerami Bartley was 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI for Grundy. Bartley singled and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a rundown play in the top of the sixth, Andy Stiltner was 3-3 with two 2 RBIs, while John Hagy had a triple for the Golden Wave. Hagy took the loss in relief of starter Jimmy Ashby.
            Council hosts Clintwood in non-district play this afternoon (Thursday).

Monday’s Game
Council 8, Grundy 7
Grundy 112 003—7 8 1
Council 000 224—8 5 4
Ashby, Hagy (5) and Billiter. Compton and Lester.
W—Compton (1-0). L—Hagy (0-1). HRs—none.
 

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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