By Dave Helmick
TuckerCountySports.Com
CHARLESTON – The #1 Mt. Lions Boys’ Basketball team opened the State Tournament against #8 Huntington St. Joesph on Wednesday March 13th. Tucker County pulled away in the second quarter for the Quarterfinal win by the score of 66-41.
The Mt. Lions battled early as they would lead after one quarter 18-11. Tucker County then pulled away in the second quarter as they outscored the Irish 17-4 to take a commanding 35-15 halftime lead.
In the third quarter the Mt. Lions would continue to dominate as they outscored Huntington St. Joe 13-8 to build the Tucker County lead to 48-23. The fourth quarter was played even as both teams scored 18 points as Tucker County got the victory by the score of 66-41.
Ashton Lycliter led the Mt. Lions with 22 points, 13 rebounds and Trevan Bonner added 14 points in the Tucker County win. Garrett Wilfong chipped in with 13 points, 5 assists and Owen Knotts pulled down 8 rebounds for the Mt. Lions. Maddox Anderson also dished out a team high 9 assists for Tucker County in the victory.
CHARLESTON – #1 Tucker County continued State Tournament play in the Semi-Finals on Friday March 15th against #4 Webster County. The Mt. Lions dominated the second quarter to pull away for the 70-41 victory.
The game was close early as the first quarter ended with Tucker County ahead 17-12. The Mt. Lions then started to pull away in the second quarter as they outscored the Highlanders 18-7 to give Tucker County the 35-19 halftime lead.
The third quarter was also won by the Mt. Lions as they outpaced Webster County 18-11 in the third to blow the game open as Tucker County led 53-30 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter the Mt. Lions continued to build the lead as they won the quarter 17-11 to make the final score 70-41 Tucker County.
Trevan Bonner led the Mt. Lions with 23 points and Ethan Rosenau had 18 points. Owen Knotts chipped in with 12 points, 9 rebounds and Ashton Lycliter pulled down a team high 17 rebounds in the Tucker County win.
CHARLESTON – The #1 Mt. Lions would then play for a State Championship on Saturday March 16th against #2 Tug Valley. Tug Valley got a late steal to gain the lead and Tucker County was unable to answer as the Mt. Lions fell in an instant classic game by the final score of 35-32.
The Mt. Lions trailed early in the game 5-3, but Tucker County answered with a 7-0 run to have the 10-5 lead after one quarter. In the second quarter the Mt. Lions built a 15-9 lead midway through the quarter, but the Panthers fought back to take the quarter 13-7 to lead at the halftime break 18-17.
In the third quarter both teams battled as the Mt. Lions would edge Tug Valley in scoring during the quarter 11-8 to give Tucker County a slim 28-26 lead after three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter the battle continued as both teams exchanged leads. Tug Valley grabbed the lead 31-30 with 1:55 left, but the Mt. Lions took the lead back 32-31 after a layup by Ethan Rosenau with 51 seconds left in the game. Tucker County then got a steal with 16 seconds left in the game, but the Panthers would steal the ball back with 15 seconds left. Tug Valley then scored a layup off the steal with 12 seconds left to make the score 33-32 Tug Valley. The Mt. Lions had a couple possessions in the last 10 seconds, but they could not score as Tug Valley got the ball with 2.1 seconds left. The Panthers then made their foul shots to secure the win by the final score of 35-32.
Ashton Lycliter led the Mt. Lions with 12 points, 11 rebounds and Trevan Bonner added 6 points in the Tucker County loss. Maddox Anderson chipped in with 6 points and Ethan Rosenau had 5 points for the Mt. Lions. Tucker County placed 3 players on the All-Tournament list: Ashton Lycliter, Trevan Bonner and Ethan Rosenau. Ashton Lycliter was also selected as the MVP of the Class “A” Tournament.
Tucker County finished the season with a 23-3 record and Class “A” State Runner-Up for two seasons in a row. Special thanks to Seniors: Maddox Anderson, Ashton Lycliter, Ethan Rosenau, Owen Knotts, Justin Robeson, Kobe Bever. For more info go to TuckerCountySports.Com.