CONTRIBUTED BY TAMMY TAYLOR

Thursday night was a matchup to see which teams reigned the court on Stoney Creek with a three-game matchup between the Hunter Tigers and Unaka Rangers.

Although flu and strep seemed to cause some players and Coach Peters to miss the game, the Hunter Tigers didn’t let that slow them down with a three-game win.

The night opened with the Junior Varsity boys’ game. Hunter’s Mason Wilson opened the game hitting a bucket from the elbow.

Immediately the Tigers began pressing the Rangers, causing several turnovers right after the tip. Coach Josh Deyton made changes during a timeout that seemed to help the Ranger team get the ball down the court with little problems.

At the end of the half, only a mere two points separated the two teams.

However, the second half proved to the turning point for the Tigers, as Brynin Repass, Mason Wilson, and Elijah Stines opened their offense collectively scoring 15 points in the third quarter and 13 in the 4^th quarter.

The game ended with Hunter taking the win 40-16.

Unaka’s Austin Lambert tried to get the offense for the Rangers going scoring 10 points alone, but it was no match for the Tigers. Leading the Tigers were Mason Wilson and Elijah Stines with nine points each and Brynin Repass capping off the win with 10 points.

The Hunter Lady Tigers dominated the girl’s game from the tip. Coach Pearson’s girls proved exactly why they are Conference Champions with the performance they put on Thursday night.

Within the first minute of the game, Hunter had scored three straight buckets to lead 6-0.

Coach King called a quick time out to adjust the Rangers press breaker, but unfortunately for the Lady Rangers, the Lady Tigers pressure defense proved to be too much allowing them a lead at the end of the first quarter 16-0.  

Post players Julie Tolley and Mattie Salyer continued to crash the boards offensively and defensively as they lead both teams with rebounds.

Guards Haley Taylor, Emma Taylor, and Hannah Yontz used their quickness to steal several passes from the Lady Rangers and turn those into buckets for the Tigers.

Several players from Coach Pearson’s Lady Tigers contributed offensively coming away with the win 48-10. Julie Tolley led all scorers with 12 points followed by Haley Taylor, Emma Taylor, and Jill Faust each collecting eight points.

Mattie Salyer had six points while Hannah Yontz, Keylee Russell, and Keyona Hague each collected a bucket. Callie Hardin and Sadie Williams each scored four points for the Lady Rangers. 

The boys’ varsity game between Hunter and Unaka is always one for the books.

Hunter stepped onto the floor with something to prove since their loss to the Rangers earlier in the season.

Winning the tip, the Tigers set the momentum of the game. Mason Wilson jump-started the Tigers offense scoring two from the elbow followed by a steal and another bucket.

Hunter’s zone press immediately caused turnovers from the Rangers causing Coach Deyton to burn a timeout to settle his team.

After several loose balls and turnovers, the Rangers seemed to settle down with Jaycob Nidiffer scoring two quick buckets.

However, the Rangers would lose momentum after Mason Wilson popped two three-pointers and Marcus Shomaker controlled the boards for the Tigers.

Ending the first quarter, the Tigers led 21-6. The Unaka boys would not lay down though pushing through on the offense of Nidiffer and the quick defense from Lewis and Benway, who held the Tigers to only seven points in the second quarter and third quarters.

However, the Tigers would go on to prove that they would dominate the game on their home court with a 12-0 run against the Rangers which led to Hunter’s victory over the Rangers with a 55-33 final.

Leading offensively against the Rangers was Mason Wilson who scored his game-high of 18 points followed by Marcus Shomaker with 14 points and Elijah Stines with 13.

Jaycob Nidiffer led the Rangers with 14 points for the night before fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter.

 Thursday’s games were the final regular-season games for both teams. Tournament play will begin this week followed by the Sectional Tournaments.