HINTON – Greenbrier West swept their season series with Summers County Thursday night defeating the Bobcats 70-59. The Cavaliers had defeated Summers County 74-53 earlier this season in Charmco.
Elijah Perkins scored the first seven points of the game getting the Cavaliers off to a fast start. The Bobcats would battle back to within two on a Duke Dodson foul-line jumper before a Chase McClung three-pointer would interrupt the short Summers County run. Perkins would add to his big opening quarter with an assist from Kadin Parker to build the lead back to seven before the Cavaliers stretched their lead to 10, when Ty Nickell drilled a three from the corner. Brayden McClung would keep the lead at 10 when he knocked down both ends of a one-and-one. Chase McClung would try to add to the Cavalier lead with an off-balance three at the buzzer, but his attempt would fall short. The Cavaliers led 19-11 and the end of the first.
Brayden McClung lengthened the lead to 11 at the outset of the second quarter, sinking two free-throws before the Bobcats would begin to chip away at the Cavalier advantage. Peyton Miller got the Bobcats back on track with a three from the right wing followed up by a Dodson layup. Ethan Erenberg made it seven straight for Summers County with a short-range jumper off the glass, before Michael Kanode interrupted the Bobcat run with a putback of a Perkins miss. Bryson Keaton worked his way through the heart of the Cavalier defense for a short-range jumper, then elevated to tip-in Cruz Testerman’s missed three to tie the game at 23.
The Bobcat run would wake up the Cavalier offense. Chase McClung and Nickell would immediately nail back-to-back three-pointers to take the lead back to six. Brayden McClung would be perfect from the line again for an eight-point lead. Dale Boone would find an open lane in transition for a layup that would give West a double-digit lead before Ferrell Mann got Summers County back in the scoring column with a lay-in from the left side. The Bobcats would have one last chance at a first-half bucket, when Brandon Isaac tied-up the basketball with 10.5 seconds remaining in the first half. Chase McClung would steal the outlet pass but turn it over as his flailing attempt to send a pass to Parker would be intercepted by Isaac. Isaac tried to hook up with Peyton Miller in the corner, but Miller couldn’t handle the errant pass as time expired with the Cavaliers leading 33-25.
The Cavaliers would begin to run away in the second half. A ragged opening sequence set up by a West turnover gave Summers County an opportunity to cut into the Cavalier lead. Three separate Bobcats missed shots at the rim as Isaac, Erenberg, and Dodson all left the ball short. A scramble for the loose ball rebound ended up in Nickell’s hands. West was off on a two-on-one break that ended with a Parker layup and a Testerman foul. Parker completed the three-point play and the lead was back up to 11. Testerman would answer with a long perimeter jumper to cut the lead to nine, but Kanode would lay a five-foot jumper off the glass to maintain the Cavalier advantage. Both teams traded scoreless possessions before Chase McClung got a transition basket followed by a Parker steal and an uncontested Brayden McClung layup.
If not for eight third quarter points from Testerman, the Bobcats would’ve completely faltered. Keaton was 0-3 shooting threes, and Miller would add the only other Summers’ basket on a last-minute layup. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Brayden McClung would sink a three at the third quarter buzzer for a 52-35 advantage.
Perkins and Kanode would begin the fourth with back-to-back layups followed by a Chase McClung three for a 7-0 run. Keaton would momentarily stop the bleeding with his only three-pointer of the game, but Boone would respond with a 15-foot straightaway jumper. After extending the lead to twenty-four, the Cavaliers would have it cruise control for the remainder of the game. The lead was 65-45 with three minutes remaining and Nickell kept the advantage at 20 with his third, corner three-pointer of the night. Perkins, who began the night with the first seven points of the game, closed the Cavalier scoring with a layup and a 70-50 lead. Coach Robertson would clear his bench with about a minute left in the game.
Greenbrier West improved to 10-5 with the win. The Bobcats dropped to 5-8. Perkins set a career-high with his 16-point performance, going 7-8 from the floor and was named the Oldies 93,WKCJ, Rick Allen Nationwide Insurance Player of the Game. Perkins added 7 rebounds in the win.
GW (10-5) 19 14 19 18 – 70
SC (5-8) 11 14 10 24 – 59
GW – Elijah Perkins 16, Brayden McClung 14, Chase McClung 11, Ty Nickell 9, Kadin Parker 8, Michael Kanode 8, Dale Boone 4.
SC – Cruz Testerman 13, Sonny Whitt 9, Bryson Keaton 7, Duke Dodson 7, Peyton Miller 7, Brandon Isaac 6, Ethan Erenberg 6, Ferrell Mann 2.
3-pointers – GW: 4 (Chase McClung 3, Brayden McClung); SC: 4 (Isaac, Keaton, Miller, Testerman, Watt)
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