CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Despite trailing for nearly 30 minutes of Tuesday’s matchup against Doddridge County, Robert C. Byrd was always within striking distance.
As the Eagles pulled closer down the stretch, they elevated their game on both ends of the court, with the home team outscoring the previously unbeaten Bulldogs 16-7 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 58-55 victory.
“I give our kids credit,” Eagles’ head coach Basil Lucas said. “They’re gritty. This is indicative of how we’ve played all season.”
The result allows RCB (4-1) to finish off a successful and confidence-building 72-hour stretch that began Saturday with a 61-56 win over Fairmont Senior.
While the Eagles played their best basketball during the third quarter against the Polar Bears, it was the fourth and final frame that made the difference against Doddridge, which fell to 6-1.
Trailing 48-42 to start the final period, RCB’s deficit grew to eight when the Bulldogs’ Jayden Solomon scored inside.
It was still eight at 52-44 before Camryn Newsuan scored three points to pull the Eagles to within five. That marked the start of a game-deciding spurt that stretched more than 5 minutes and featured seven straight points from Logan Boyce, who scored from close range and then tied it at 52 with a three-pointer from out front at the 2:30 mark.
“What a big shot Logan Boyce hit with the three to tie it. We went to something a little different that they hadn’t seen at that point in time and they didn’t come out on it correctly,” Lucas said. “He gave us all the momentum with that shot and I thought at that time, this is our game now. That was the first time in a long time, I could say that out loud.”
Doddridge 52, Robert C. Byrd 52, 2:10 4th qtr
Boyce 3 has Eagles even. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/2Do2G9Zzrh
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) December 30, 2025
Boyce then came up with a critical offensive rebound and follow-up basket with just inside 1 minute left to break the 52-all tie, and the Eagles doubled their lead not long after when freshman Elijah Holmes went 2 of 2 on free throws.
Go-ahead basket from Logan Boyce with inside 1 minute remaining that put Robert C. Byrd on top for good in 58-55 victory against Doddridge County.
This marked Eagles’ first lead since 3-2.#wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/kMPMqV1ce3
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) December 31, 2025
Josh DeHaven scored inside with 19 seconds remaining to end a lengthy drought for the Bulldogs, who then trailed by two.
DCHS got the ball back with a chance to tie or lead late, and out of a timeout, Landon Thomas was fouled when he got free off an inbound play. With 4.7 seconds to play, Thomas missed the first foul shot and made the second, leaving the Eagles with a one-point lead and possession.
Newsuan made two foul shots with 3.9 seconds left for a three-point margin, and RCB wrapped up the victory when Jerod Trent was whistled for an offensive foul before he could get off a desperation three.
That was the last of Doddridge’s 26 turnovers, six of which came in the fourth quarter and 16 of which occurred in the first half.
“Six costly turnovers, a lot of them were when we still had the lead,” Bulldogs’ head coach Paul Burnside said. “But hats off to RCB. They made plays down the stretch and we came up on the short end of the stick tonight.”
The Bulldogs were dominant defensively in the opening frame and limited the Eagles to 1-for-11 shooting from the field. After Rylee Dickerson accounted for the game’s opening bucket, the Eagles did not make another one until Jeremih Williams’ corner jumper to start the second-quarter scoring, which cut the Doddridge lead to 16-8.
The Bulldogs were in front the remainder of the half, including at 26-18 following consecutive close range baskets from Heston Hayes and Will Adams.
Doddridge settled for a 30-23 halftime lead, largely made possible by its 26-8 rebounding advantage.
“It’s funny to say this, but I felt like at the beginning of the game that we were a step slow, but when we got the ball, we were moving too quick,” Lucas said. “It was polar opposites on each side of the ball.”
The Eagles were far better on the boards after halftime, and after Solomon scored the first four points of the second half to give the visitors the largest lead of the contest, the Eagles answered with Newsuan’s triple and a Boyce jumper to close the gap to 35-30 with 4:20 left in the third quarter.
RCB got paint baskets from Carson Bennett and Holmes late in the third to cut an eight-point deficit in half, before Hayes made two free throws to leave his team in front by six with 8 minutes left.
Boyce scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half, while Manny Holmes and Williams contributed nine points apiece in the win. Three other RCB players scored at least six points — Newsuan (8), Bennett (6) and Elijah Holmes (6).
“It’s hard to guard a team when you don’t know who is going to take the next shot and make it,” Lucas said. “We have a lot of talent on this team, but they continue to share the ball.“
Solomon led all players with 15 points and Hayes scored 11 in defeat.
Doddridge did not make a three.
The Bulldogs had a 42-26 rebounding edge, but turned it over 11 more times than the Eagles.
“We’re not going to be successful turning the ball over 26 times — I don’t care who we play,” Burnside said. “RCB’s a good ball club, and they take those 26 turnovers and turn them into points. The rebounding advantage is negated when we’re giving them points off of our turnovers.”