Seventh-grade tournament kicks off at Happy Valley Middle

Published 12:10 am Wednesday, February 12, 2020

By Nic Miller

BY NIC MILLER
STAR CORRESPONDENT
HAPPY VALLEY – With postseason play for many elementary and middle school basketball teams around the region winding down, Monday brought yet another tournament to the table for these schools.
The seventh-grade tournament at Happy Valley Middle School kicked off with four games including both boys and girls contests.
The first game saw the Unaka Rangers take on the Little Milligan Buffaloes, and it was a game dominated by the Rangers on both sides of the ball in the first half.
The second half, however, was when the Buffaloes closed the gap. But it wouldn’t be enough as Unaka went on to win by a score of 32-28.
In the win, the Rangers were led by Austin Lambert with 15 points followed by Jackson Deyton with seven points while John Hardin and Aiden Walsh scored six and three respectively.
In the Buffaloes losing effort, Tuff Robinson led the team with nine points followed by David Potter with seven points.  Bryce Fagan added six points with Christian Lee, Chase Davenport, and Austen Hartner each scoring two points each.
The second game of the night was a girls contest and featured the Lady Knights of Providence and the Unaka Lady Rangers.
It was a back and forth contest with the defensive efforts of both teams shining bright but after it was all over it was the Lady Knights who stood their ground against the Lady Rangers, 26-16.
Bella Caldwell, Emma Honeycutt, and Kirsten Drum each led the Lady Knights with six points apiece while Lacey Barnett and Aerin Hicks contributed with four points each in the win.
For the Lady Rangers, Callie Hardin and Sadie Williams knocked down 6 points each in their team’s effort with Sarah Stout and Hannah Thomas both putting up two points.
The third game of the night was a contest between the Central Comets and the Providence Knights boys squad.
It was yet another defensive battle as point totals throughout the game were lower than expected.
After the final buzzer hit zero, it was the Central Comets walking away with the win, 33-31.
Matt Murray and Gunner Pohto each had 10 points in the Comets’ win while Ron Parker finished with six, Zane Parker scored four points, Billy Howell contributed two, and Sidney Hoilman finished with one point.
In the Knights’ losing effort, Clay Rowland led the team with 12 points followed closely by Austin Price with 10 while Ian Meade, Charlie Lawson, and  JJ Poff finished with four, three, and two points, respectively.
The final game of the night was an intense matchup between the University School Buccaneers and the Bulldogs from Hampton.
In a contest that was back and forth for most of the game, it would eventually be the Buccaneers that would pull away for the 31-21 win over Hampton.
Jayden Stanucci and River Kindle led the Bucs in the win with 10 points apiece while Nolan Kittrell and Sam Duncan finished with four points each. Caden Rogers collected two points with Chapman Lipscomb picking up one point.
In the Bulldog effort, Troy Berry led Hampton with eight points. Noah Nichols followed with five points of his own while Maddux Wilson netted four points.
Ezra Tolley and Tyler Blevins finished with two points each.

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