Vinton County came back to defeat Wellston, 57-48
By: Louis Marko
Posted on:
McARTHUR, Ohio (WOUB) — The Wellston Golden Rockets (4-17; 3-8 TVC-Ohio) went on the road to face the Vinton County Vikings (11-9; 9-3 TVC-Ohio) in a TVC-Ohio matchup where they fell, 57-48.
It was senior night for Vinton County and the opening tipoff was special as the Vikings gave the ball to injured Senior Hayden Edwards who unfortunately could not play this game.
After that moment, this game would turn into an absolute dogfight as both teams went back and forth for the entire first half. Players such as Vinton County’s Cobra Sharp, Nash Yates, and Josh Montgomery went shot for shot with Wellston’s Justin Jackson and Wes Briggs, with Jackson starting six for six from two.
The first quarter ended with an and-one buzzer beater from Rylan Long, and the second quarter ended with Cobra Sharp nearly making a miraculous buzzer beater from half court. This chaotic first half ended 25-24 in Wellston’s favor heading into halftime.
At the start of the second half, Wellston continued their momentum by increasing their lead to six within the first few minutes. But the Vikings were quick to respond, going on a 13-0 run and suddenly leading by seven. But Wellston wasn’t one to give as well, hitting another quarter-ending buzzer beater and cutting the Vikings’ lead to four as the score was 43-39 heading into the fourth.
In the final minutes, Vinton County put this close game to bed as they locked down the Wellston offense and came away with the 57-48 victory.
Vinton County Senior Cobra Sharp was outstanding, scoring 21 points, recording 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals in his final home game.
And though Wellston was defeated, the performance of Justin Jackson can’t be overlooked as he did not miss a single shot from two, going nine for nine, and he was their leading scorer with 26.
After the game, Vinton County Boys Head Coach NJ Kight commented on his team’s comeback. “They’re resilient. It’s a tough group, they do things the right way, we got good leadership, and it’s one of those things where we had the belief in ourselves,” Kight said.
After one more conference game against Nelsonville-York, Wellston will go on to a play-in game as a 17th seed against the 16th seeded West Union on Monday in the Southeast 1 Division V bracket.
For Vinton County, after a non-conference game against Zane Trace, they go to the playoffs as a nine seed against the eighth seeded Hillsboro on Thursday in the Southeast 2 Division IV bracket.