CLARKSBURG – The Tucker County Boys’ basketball suffered their first loss of the season in a close game at section opponent Notre Dame 62-53 last Monday Dec 16th.
The Irish held an early lead after the first quarter 11-8. In the second quarter Tucker County’s Ian Nichols carried the team as he scored 13 of the Mt. Lions 15 points in the quarter, but Notre Dame still led at the half 26-23.
In the third quarter the Irish extended their lead with a 17-14 advantage in the quarter to take a 43-37 score into the fourth quarter. Tucker County would not go away as they stayed close to the Irish down the stretch, but key free throws by Notre Dame at the end gave the Irish the home win 62-53.
The Mt. Lions were led by Ian Nichols with 31 points and Mitchell Mason added 8 points. Tucker County was led in rebounding by Owen Evans with 7 boards. The Mt. Lions JV team picked up a win in the first game 68-65
HAMBLETON – On Thursday Dec 19th the Tucker County Boys’ basketball team hosted an old “AA” rival in Petersburg. The Mt. Lions used a great defensive effort and balanced scoring to get the win 64-51.
Tucker County took the early advantage in the first quarter to lead 14-10 after one. The Vikings outscored the Mt. Lions in the second quarter 18-17, but the home team still held a 31-28 lead at the half.
The defense for Tucker County stepped up in the third quarter as Petersburg only managed 6 points in the quarter and the Mt. Lions scored 12 points to extend the Tucker County advantage to 43-34 after three. A 21-17 edge from the host in the fourth quarter would finish the game off and give Tucker County the 64-51 win.
Tucker County placed 4 players in double figures. Austin Zirk paced the Mt. Lions with 16 points, while Ian Nichols added 15, followed by Mitchell Mason with 14 and Derek Zirk finished with 13 points. Owen Evans had 10 rebounds for Tucker County followed by Nichols with 9 boards. The Mt. Lions out rebounded the Vikings 31-21 in the game. Tucker County got the win in the JV game 54-49.
HAMBLETON – The Mt. Lions ended the week with a PVC contest against East Hardy on Friday Dec 20th. The contest however was not a contest as Tucker County cruised to victory 79-40.
The Mt. Lions exploded to the lead and took a 43-10 advantage into the locker room at the half. Things did not get better for the Cougars as Tucker County continued their dominance and led 59-21 after the three. The Mt. Lions scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to pick up the win 79-40.
Tucker County placed 4 players in double figures again. Ian Nichols led the Mt. Lions with 16, followed by Austin Zirk with 11; Chase Alkire added 11 and Mitchell Mason collected 10 points. Seth Evans had 8 rebounds and Mason added 7 boards. The JV team won also 54-16. Tucker County(3-1) will play in the Elkins Holiday Mixer on Friday against Philip-Barbour at 6pm. The Mt. Lions will then play Elkins on Saturday at 7:45pm. Both games will be at Elkins High School. For more info go to
