By Carl Holcomb
The Class A No. 2 Tucker County Mountain Lions feasted on the Class AA Yellow Jackets with a 70-40 victory in the Hive last Thursday.
Trevan Bonner recorded a game-high 20 points for Tucker County, followed by Ethan Cummings with 11 points and Cole Carr with eight points.
Moorefield was paced by Shawn Reed with 15 points and Cyrus Kump with 12 points.
Bonner notched eight markers in the first period to elevate the Mountain Lions to a 15-7 advantage and the momentum continued to blossom for a 23-7 lead three minutes into the second stanza.
Moorefield’s Shawn Reed collected a rebound and dished to Cyrus Kump for a basket in the paint at 4:56 to end the scoring drought 23-9.
Tucker County answered with a jumper from Cole Carr.
Reed drew a foul and made both free throws, then Diego Taylor snatched a defensive rebound and fed Reed for a layup as the Yellow Jackets cut the deficit to 25-13 at 3:25.
Bonner garnered two free throws on the next series, then both teams had shots go awry.
Moorefield’s Guyan Kahangirwe corralled a defensive rebound and found Taylor for a perimeter basket at 2:08, 27-16.
The Mountain Lions added a pair of Bonner free throws on the ensuing possession..
Kump knocked down a jumper and drew a foul making it 29-18.
Tucker County closed the second period on a 7-1 run for a 36-19 advantage at halftime which included a 3-pointer from Cummings.
Kail Greenwalt recorded the lone Yellow Jackets point during the final minute of the half.
Tucker County gained more separation in the third period with a 13-4 scoring advantage and edged out the Yellow Jackets 21-19 in the final stanza.
The Mountain Lions threw the ball away to start the third period, but Mikey Mitchell stole it back leading to a layup by Bonner off an assist from Cayden Arnold.
Over the next three minutes, Tucker County got field goals from Sam Marks and Mitchell, plus a 3-pointer by Bonner for a 45-19 lead. The Yellow Jackets committed three more turnovers during that stretch.
Moorefield stopped the onslaught with a jumper by Kump at 3:53.
Kump collected a defensive rebound, then the Mountain Lions forced a five-second violation turnover and Bonner hit a jumper.
Arnold swiped the ball and dished to Bonner for a breakaway layup extending the lead To 49-21 with 2:41 left in the third period.
Kahangirwe made a steal and attempted a leaping behind the back pass from the paint to the perimeter, but it went awry to the bench.
Reed ended the third period with a putback for the Yellow Jackets trailing 49-23.
Moorefield started the fourth period with two free throws by Reed and a minute later added a jumper off a turnover for a 50-27 score.
The Mountain Lions brought in substitutions with 5:16 remaining and a minute and a half later Moorefield emptied the bench.
Kump made a jumper and Reed added two free throws for the Yellow Jackets before the subs entered, 55-33.
The Mountain Lions lit up the perimeter in the final four minutes with five shots (Carr 2, Cummins 2, Dearborn 1) for a final of 70-40.
Moorefield’s Dawson Arbaugh recorded a layup with 1:46 remaining and Jackson Helmick added a 3-pointer on the next possession and one free throw to make it 67-40 before the final Tucker County perimeter bucket for the 70-40 final.
