By: Adam Freeman
The Tucker County boys basketball team had a last-minute addition to their regular season as a matchup came about with Trinity Christian. Trinity came to Tucker ranked in the top 10 in the Single-A power rankings.
Tucker got on top early, holding a narrow 12–8 lead at the end of the first period. TCHS continued to pound away and built the lead to seven at the half, holding a 26–19 advantage. Trinity made a run in the third period, outscoring Tucker 15–12 and cutting the lead to four at 38–34. Tucker then turned the tables on Trinity in the fourth period, doubling up the Warriors and outscoring them 19–8 to take the win, 57–42.
Cummings 21 Pts, 3 Reb, FT 2-2; Dearborn 14 Pts, 7 Reb, FT 2-2; Mitchell 7 Pts, 3 Reb, FT 1-2; Marks 5 Pts, 1 Reb, FT 1-2; Arnold 4 Pts, 3 Reb, FT 2-2; Simmons 2 Pts; Black 2 Pts, 4 Reb; Lambert 2 Pts, 8 Reb
3 Point Field Goals 3-22
Dearborn (2) Cummings (1)
Tucker then stayed home to host the Paw Paw Pirates in the first round of postseason regional play. The Mt. Lions pounced on the Pirates early, jumping out to a 21–8 lead at the end of the first quarter and building a sizable advantage by halftime, leading 47–23. Tucker really put the game away in the third period, leading 68–33, and finished the game off with a final score of 95–48. Every player for TCHS found their way into the stat book, with all 10 players scoring.
Marks 18 Pts, Cummings 17 Pts, Arnold 15 Pts, Lambert 12 Pts, Simmons 9 Pts, Mitchell 5 Pts, Black 4 Pts, Ricottilli 4Pts, Davis 4 Pts, Dearborn 2 Pts
3 Point Field Goals
Marks (3) Mitchell (1) Arnold (1) Cummings (1)
With the win, it sets up the third matchup of the season with the Pendleton County Wildcats, with the Wildcats taking the first two meetings. Tucker will travel to Franklin with a trip to Charleston on the line on Wednesday, March 11, with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.