The Walker Valley Mustangs improved to 18-2 overall with their fourth straight win at Red Bank’s Susan Ingram Thurman Gymnasium Tuesday night, but they came thisclose to losing before prevailing in overtime by a 72-67 final.
It was a classic battle between two state-ranked teams and it was for sure worth the price of admission, but the Mustangs found a way to win when all odds were against them in a big game away from home.
Walker Valley coach Will Campbell was visibly tired when this one ended, but he was all smiles as his team overcame a frantic comeback by the Lions to win.
“I’m really tired, so please let me sit down,” Campbell began shortly after the final horn sounded.
“We started out on fire and really punched them in the mouth, but we also knew that Red Bank is a well-coached and disciplined basketball team and that they weren’t going away,” he continued.
“Things didn’t go our way most of the night, but we made some key free throws down the stretch and we made some mighty big plays when we had to have them. They killed us on the boards with a lot of offensive rebounds, but I don’t think they got a single one in overtime.
“We got a breath of fresh air at the end of regulation and were able to take advantage, but I’m sure the folks who were here got their money’s worth,” he added with a smile.
Red Bank coach Nick Fike saw two big factors as reasons his Lions lost for only the fifth time in 20 games.
“We can’t dig a crater-sized hole like we did in the first quarter and we can’t go 13 of 30 from the free throw line and expect to win against a good team like Walker Valley,” Fike expressed as the gym continued to clear out.
“Defense has always been our calling card, but I don’t think they missed a 3 as they shot really well at the start. We gave up way too many points in the first half and spent the rest of the game catching up.
“I like this team a lot as they have a lot of fight and determination, but we need to put together four strong quarters to win a game like this and tonight we didn’t,” Fike nodded.
Jaylen Rice got the Lions off and running at the start with a putback in the first minute, but the Mustangs then reeled off 13 straight points in the next two minutes before Fike called his first timeout.
Walker Valley’s biggest lead of the game was 18 points in the final minute of the opening stanza following a layup by Graham Campbell.
The difference was 27-12 at the first break and the Mustangs were still ahead 41-27 at intermission. The Walker Valley lead was still 11 points at 50-39 when the fourth quarter began, but the Lions were far from finished as they kept battling and battling as good teams do.
The Lions never regained the lead in regulation, but Kobey Jones sank the first of two free throws with 23.2 seconds to knot the score at 63.
The Mustangs called a timeout with 8.7 seconds to play, but the ball went back to Red Bank after Campbell was called for a walk.
Drayden Collier drove toward the bucket as the clock wound down and missed a late shot, but a foul was called against the Mustangs and Collier went to the line with 0.3 second left with a chance for a Red Bank win.
He missed both, setting up the four-minute overtime.
The Lions went up 65-63 on a jumper from the wing by D.J. Wilbur with 3:40 to play but the Mustangs regained the lead at 67-65 on a drive down the lane by Tucker Campbell and two free throws from Graham Campbell.
Jones converted a layup with 2:10 to play to knot the score again at 67, but the Lions didn’t score again as Walker Valley scored the final five points, including three of four free throws by Turner Clayton in the final 29 seconds to put the game out of reach.
Zach Davis scored 19 points to lead four Walker Valley players in double figures. Graham Campbell was next with 17 while Landon Shirk and Clayton finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Rice scored 22 points to lead the Lions while Jones followed with 19 and Wilbur with 16.
Both teams unofficially had 35 rebounds. Tucker Campbell had nine and Davis eight for the Mustangs while Rice topped Red Bank with 13.
WALKER VALLEY GIRLS 52, RED BANK 51: Journey Holloway won the battle, but the Lady Mustangs won the war as a six-point advantage in the third quarter was the difference in a one-point win.
Things got interesting near the end before Maliyah Woods and Sariyah Cox hit back-to-back layups in the final minute to put the Lady Mustangs up 52-46.
Red Bank rallied with five points at the end, but simply ran out of time before getting any closer.
Kaitlynn McDonald scored 24 points to lead the winners before fouling out late and most of her points came at the charity stripe where she connected on 14 of 16 attempts.
Cox was next with 13 points as the Lady Mustangs improved to 5-14 with the comeback win.
Holloway was tops for Red Bank with 33 points.
GIRLS SUMMARY
WALKER VALLEY 10 11 15 16 -- 52
RED BANK 13 13 9 16 -- 51
WALKER VALLEY (52) – Sims 1, Kaitlynn McDonald 24, Argauer, Trew, Woods 5, Lindsey 4, Young 2, Hernandez, Sariyah Cox 13, M. McDonald 3.
RED BANK (51) – Journey Holloway 33, Johnson 6, Davis, Burton, Houston 5, Tatum, Ervin, Bullock, Odom 7.
3-POINT GOALS: Walker Valley 1 (M. McDonald); Red Bank 1 (Holloway).
BOYS SUMMARY
WALKER VALLEY 27 14 9 13 9 -- 72
RED BANK 12 15 12 24 4 -- 67
WALKER VALLEY (72) – T. Campbell 8, Zach Davis 19, Keeton, Green, Coates 2, Sausville 3, Turner Clayton 10, Landon Shirk 11, Graham Campbell 17.
RED BANK (67) – D.J. Wilbur 16, Collier 2, Kobey Jones 19, Jaylen Rice 22, Mitchell, McDuffie 2, Hambrick, Alex 4, Allen.
3-POINT GOALS: Walker Valley 7 (Shirk 3, G. Campbell 2, Clayton, Sausville); Red Bank 2 (Wilbur, Rice).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)