ELKINS – The Tucker County Boys’ Basketball team faced off against Tygarts Valley in the Sectional Semi-Finals at Elkins High School on March 4th and took home the victory 62-34.
Harman and Notre Dame started the evening with a 5:45pm game that was won by Notre Dame 82-43. Tucker County and Tygarts Valley took to the floor in the nightcap and the Mt. Lions showed no signs of a letdown as they jumped out to a 23-8 lead after one quarter. The offense continued to roll for Tucker County in the second quarter as they outpaced the Bulldogs 15-7 to push the lead out to 38-15 at the half.
The Bulldogs showed a little fight in the third, but the Mt. Lions wasn’t letting a comeback happen as they led 49-25 after three. Tucker County got some reserve players into the game in the fourth and got the victory 62-34 to set up the rematch with Notre Dame.
Ian Nichols had 14 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Mt. Lions. Landon Dillard scored 11 points and Mitchell Mason added 10 points followed by Derick Zirk with 8 points.
ELKINS – The Mt. Lions and the Fighting Irish from Notre Dame played for the 3rd time this season on Thursday March 6th for the Sectional Championship at Elkins High School. The Mt. Lions had a shot at the end, but Notre Dame held on to the victory in a defensive game 37-35.
The gym was packed with Tucker County and Notre Dame fans and both teams did not disappoint as these teams battled all night. In the first quarter the lead changed hands 4 times as the Mt. Lions held a slim lead 10-9 after one. Tucker County scored 7 more points in the second quarter compared to 6 points for Notre Dame and the Mt. Lions led 17-15 at the half.
The third quarter was action packed as both teams exchanged leads 4 times in the quarter and the game was tied 4 times in the third. The Irish outscored Tucker County in the wild third quarter 15-12 to make the score 30-29 Notre Dame after three. Defense was the theme in the fourth quarter as neither team could produce much offense and the Irish maintained a slim lead throughout the quarter. The Mt. Lions had a chance late in the game as they had the ball down 37-35 with 10.8 seconds left in the game. Ian Nichols then drove to the right side and took the shot, but it would not fall and time ran out giving Notre Dame the big Sectional Championship win 37-35. This was the first time the Tucker County Boys’ had lost in a Sectional Final since 2000 against Petersburg.
Ian Nichols scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Tucker County.
Tucker County(16-6) will still have a chance to qualify for the State Tournament tonight as they travel to Moorefield for a Regional Final game that will send the winner to Charleston next week for the WV State Basketball Tournament. Game time is scheduled for 7pm. The game will be broadcast on WELK 94.7fm. For more sports info go to TuckerCountySports.Com.
