Sports
Nelsonville-York Struggles From The Field, Falls To Vinton County
By: Abbey Carnivale
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For the second time this season, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes (6-5, 1-3) fell in a physical matchup against Vinton County (5-5, 2-1), this time by a final of 55-45.
This game was plagued by fouls and missed opportunities that would prove for a hard-fought battle between two TVC-Ohio foes.
N-Y entered the court confident, as they led at the end of the first quarter 15-10, but traded points off and on with the Viking offense. Their defense held strong, as shown by a 10-second call and the possession they gained from it.
Vinton County took charge of the court in the second quarter, with a 12-0 run and 22 points for their total. Helping them out were the Bucks’ 12 turnovers. N-Y’s previous lead was short lived, as Josh Fayette would have three straight turnovers, paired with Cannon Kilbarger’s three fouls.
Kilbarger, Fayette and Colt Adams were responsible for all of N-Y’s 15 turnovers.
Buckeye anchor Fayette went 1-for-14 from the field, uncharacteristically low for the veteran. Fayette still added to the brown and orange totals by going 8-of-9 in free throws.
N-Y struggled in the second half, as they tried to capitalize on Vinton County’s 14 turnovers, but were unable to because a consistent swing-motion defense and poor shot selection.
Although walking away with the win, the Vikings had a total of 18 turnovers throughout the 32 minutes.
“Nelsonville plays really hard, aggressive defense,” said Vinton County head coach Matt Combs. “They tend to cause a few more turnovers than a team normally would. It seems like whenever we get together, it’s a pretty physical, hard-fought game.”
Continuing with the aggressive play, Kilbarger fouled out with little time left in the game and much of the last minute went back-and-forth as both teams either attempted to close or extend the lead Vinton County had achieved.
“We’re playing with a little more confidence, and that’s something that comes with some games under your belt,” said Combs. “We’re starting to get there, I don’t know if we’re there yet, but there’s definitely been an improvement over the last week or so.”
Vinton County plans to match their confidence in a pair of matchups against Alexander, starting tomorrow and then repeating on Jan. 24.
The Buckeyes will try and regroup tomorrow when they host the Trimble Tomcats.