Hardwood Heroes
Vinton County narrowly escapes loss to Nelsonville-York
By: Bryce Tinson, Cade Williamson
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The Vinton County boys squared off against Nelsonville-York. The Vikings needed this game to get right after losing to Chillicothe. The Buckeyes were looking to pull the upset without their sixth and seventh man.
The game started tight as the two teams went back and forth. VC guard, Eli Radabaugh, took over, scoring eight points in the first. NY wasn’t going to give up, though. They hustled harder and fought for more loose balls than VC and managed to keep the deficit at five as they entered the second quarter. Braylon Damron was held in check, only getting up one shot in the first eight minutes.
The transition game worked for the Vikings, helping them extend their lead early. Radabaugh did it in a different way in the second. He dished out four assists and crashed the boards nabbing three rebounds. Zayne Karr was able to get whatever he wanted at the rim going three for four in the second quarter. Braylon was able to get more shots up, but he couldn’t find his rhythm. Buckeyes guard, Drew Carter, was slicing up the VC defense with precision passes. The Vikings took a 38-30 lead into half-time. Nelsonville-York played this game much closer than was anticipated, especially being shorthanded.
Coming out of the half it was the Radabaugh and Damron show. They were hitting everything. On the other side Carter was trying his best to keep the Buckeyes in the game. It wasn’t enough as the Vikings went into the fourth quarter up 17, 60-43.
The fourth quarter was a completely different story. Turnovers hampered Vinton County’s ability to close this game out. Carter and company took advantage of these mistakes and cut the lead to as little as five. The Vikings inability to hit free throws down the stretch kept NY in this one late, but the Buckeyes just couldn’t find the offensive firepower to snag the win.
Carter played all 32 minutes for NY totaling 16 points and eight assists. Vinton County had three players in double figures. Radabaugh finished with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. Karr had 16 points and Damron had 11.
The Vikings are now 9-5 overall and 4-1 in conference. The Buckeyes stand at 5-9 overall and 1-5 in the conference.