by Rusty Ellis
The Clay County Bulldogs took down District 7A rival Pickett County in the district championship on Tuesday, while Gordonsville defeated Red Boiling Springs in the consolation game to finish in third-place.
A battle early, the Tigers separated themselves from the Bulldogs with a three from Brayden Holliman to end the frame, giving Gordonsville an 18-5 lead heading into the second quarter.
RBS found some consistent offense in the second, but couldn’t get enough stops to keep Gordonsville from extending the lead at 34-15 at halftime.
Gordonsville continued rolling in the second half, outscoring RBS 21-9 to blow the game open and take a 55-24 into the fourth. There, the Tiger defense locked down and held the Bulldogs to just three points and rolled to a 69-27 win in the consolation game.
Holliman exploded for a game-high 23 points to lead Gordonsville, while Cole Harper scored nine points. Chris Hackney led RBS with seven points.
For head coach Greg Bibb, the buy-in from his team at the defensive end of the floor was one of the highlights of the night for him.
“We played with confidence and played well together,” Bibb said. “It’s really important to play well going into the region tournament…there were some doubts in the guy’s mind after last game, but after doing what we did tonight, hopefully we feel good going into Saturday.”
The start to the game proved to be a key in the win, as Bibb said just finding some consistency early allowed his team to find their rhythm.
“It’s so important against RBS because they’ve got guys that can score,” Bibb said. “Colton Copass is one of the best kids in this district, and I think Will Dudney did a great job on him…we had to put Peyton Climer on Aubrey Link, and he did a great job. I think we just need to build a little onto tonight. There’s still some things we can do better, but we’re feeling good right now.”
The district championship game saw the Bulldogs continue their recent dominance over Pickett County, as Clay County took home a 59-39 win over the Bobcats.
The first quarter proved to be detrimental to the Bobcats, as they only mustered up 10 points against Clay County’s defense, as the Bulldogs put together a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Pickett’s defense picked up some steam in the second by limiting Clay to just nine points, though the offense was still a struggle. By the time halftime rolled around, a Lance Burchett corner three at the horn gave the Bulldogs a 33-19 lead at the break.
Pickett managed to outscore Clay County 16-14 in the third, cutting the deficit down by two, but the offensive struggles finally caught up to the Bobcats in the fourth, where even after Eli Reagan’s three at the 3:28 mark of the frame, Clay held a 57-39 lead.
The Bulldogs then cruised to the finish line in a 59-39 district championship win, as it has now been over five years since Pickett last beat Clay County (Jan. 26, 2018).
Bryce Bailey led the way with 14 points, and Keaton Arms added 12 points of his own. Reagan and Jacob Amonett each scored 10 points to lead Pickett County.
Head coach Rob Edwards was pleased with the defensive effort as a whole, knowing how Pickett can light up the scoreboard when they’re firing on all cylinders.
“These guys have really bought in to being a defensive team, and it’s shown especially in the last month, ” Edwards said. “I’m proud of these five seniors. They’ve come in from football, and they’ve turned into basketball players…I don’t really have to do a ton of coaching at this point in the season because those guys are getting it done.”
Now as many coaches point out, the fun begins with the region tournament where every game means a bit more.
“These guys are a great group to coach,” Edwards said. “There’s always stuff we can work on…offensively, I’d like to shoot the ball a little bit better, but I think we are who we are. I’d like to see these guys keep competing and win some more games.”
The Region 4A Tournament will begin this Saturday, with Clay and Pickett each hosting their first game. Gordonsville and Red Boiling Springs will have to go on the road.
