SUTTON, W.Va. — Before his team welcomed unbeaten Doddridge County, Braxton County boys basketball coach Josh Lunceford let his displeasure be known with the Eagles’ performance Wednesday in a 20-point loss at Nicholas County.
“We came off a rough one Wednesday at Nicholas and I didn’t feel we played well,” Lunceford said. “We went through the motions a little bit. This one, there was a little extra motivation with it.”
The Eagles certainly played with an added edge Friday against the Bulldogs.
Braxton scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to create separation after the contest was tied through three frames, and the Eagles got balanced scoring from their starting five to go with 11 three-pointers in an impressive 72-54 victory against Doddridge.
“Their attitude and demeanor was completely different,” Lunceford said.
BCHS (9-3) played a strong first half to lead 31-23 at the intermission, and that advantage grew to be 41-30 when Logan Baldwin canned a triple with 4:30 to play in the third quarter.
Yet starting with a top of the key three in response from Will Adams, DCHS (11-1) outscored the Eagles 14-3 over the final 3:30 of the third to draw even.
The Bulldogs were successful defensively over the final half of the third by utilizing a three-quarter court trapping defense that also helped create transition opportunities.
Adams added a conventional three-point play with 34 seconds left in the third to make it a one-point game, before Heston Hayes made 1-of-2 free throws to send the contest to the fourth knotted at 44.
That’s when the Eagles put together their best and most important stretch of the outing, getting a Brady Toler trey to start the fourth-quarter scoring, before Baldwin added a triple of his own for a 50-44 lead.
“We went into that press in the third quarter and it got us back in the game,” Bulldogs’ head coach Paul Burnside said. “The start of the fourth quarter, they were able to get loose for a couple more threes. I don’t know how many they made, but it felt like 100. Hats off to them. They took care of business and executed on both ends of the floor and we struggled this evening.”
After Ryken Rutherford made a pair of free throws, the Eagles got a conventional three-point play from Stephen Boggs to lead by 11.
“That’s a different basketball team than what I’ve seen and that’s us playing to our potential,” Lunceford said. “That’s what we can be. I liked seeing the focus. That’s the most complete game we’ve played all year. For us to not and lose that mental focus for four quarters, it was pretty awesome to see.”
Josh DeHaven scored inside for the Bulldogs’ first points of the fourth with 5:20 remaining, but out of a timeout, the Eagles produced their only bench points of the night — an Owen Lowther three for a 58-46 lead.
Toler and Baldwin each hit a three not long after to make it five threes in the period and 11 in the game for Braxton, which led 64-48 after Baldwin’s fifth and final triple.
“Any time you can make eleven threes, that helps,” Lunceford said. “But we have guys that shoot it like that. I don’t want to say that’s an anomaly, because it’s not. Are we going to shoot it like that every night? Absolutely not. But we’re capable of it.”
The Eagles led 10-7 through one quarter before upping their offensive production the rest of the way, starting with a 21-point second quarter in which the home team made 9-of-17 field-goal attempts.
Rutherford scored eight first-half points, while Baldwin and Toler accounted for seven apiece and James Nettles added six.
While BCHS was 13 for 29 from the field through 16 minutes, the Bulldogs made only 8-of-28 shots over the first two quarters.
The Eagles’ balance continued throughout the second half and Baldwin led four double-figure scorers in the win with 19 points. Toler added 17 and a game-high five assists, Rutherford scored 14 and Nettles contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Boggs, the only starter to not score in double figures, may have had the biggest impact on the outcome as he finished with seven points and 16 rebounds.
“He’s a monster,” Lunceford said, “and we’re just scratching the surface with Steve Boggs.”
Doddridge shot 20 for 59 and hurt its cause with 15 turnovers and an 8 of 19 effort on free throws.
Thomas led DCHS with 15 points. Adams and Trent scored 10 apiece in defeat and Jaden Solomon led the Bulldogs with eight rebounds.
“Ultimately, all of our goals are still in front of us. We need to learn from this game,” Burnside said. “That’s the most points we’ve given up all year. Defensively, we were not in check tonight and we struggled to finish at the rim and at the free-throw line. Those three things combined are a recipe for disaster and we came up on the short end of the stick.”