Faltering to the finish
Jamie Shell / (sports@averyjournal.com)
Deep and talented basketball teams are difficult to stop.
Avery’s varsity boys basketball team learned that lesson twice last week, when it butted heads with a pair of purple-clad foes. AHS welcomed Mitchell last Tuesday, Feb. 7, on Senior Night, losing by a final score of 71-58, then faced Ashe County in Jefferson the following evening, dropping a 71-38 contest to close out the regular season schedule.
AHS honored its senior players prior to its home finale against Mitchell, as Austin Lyons, Hunter Shields, Timmy Stewart and Alex Villanueva appeared in their final regular season home basketball contest. The adrenaline from the evening’s festivities carried the Vikings through much of the first quarter, playing shot-for-shot with the Mountaineers. Shields scored seven in the frame, with five from Villanueva and four from Stewart as AHS trailed by only three points at 21-18 after one period.
Mitchell responded in the second quarter, as head coach Daron Williams liberally substituted throughout the half in an effort to tire the thin Avery roster. Mountaineer guard Lawson Norris drained four three-point baskets in the second stanza as Mitchell used a 13-1 scoring run in the final two minutes of the first half to pull away from the Big Red by a 45-30 margin at halftime.
Avery outscored Mitchell 18-16 in the third quarter, as sophomore Luke Wotell chipped in five points and Villanueva added three field goals to remain within striking distance at 61-48 with eight minutes to play. From there, the teams played even basketball. Villanueva fouled out of the contest early in the fourth period, as Mitchell’s Ben Smith added eight of his team-high 21 points in the fourth period to help spur the Mountaineers to the win.
Shields led Avery with 15 points, with 14 points from Stewart and 13 points from Villanueva.
Avery returned to action the following evening in Jefferson to take on Ashe County.
The Huskies (21-2) opened the game with a 12-2 scoring run, taking a 17-6 lead after eight minutes of play. AHS regrouped in the second period, however, matching Ashe’s 13 points in the frame to stay close at 30-19 at halftime.
Ashe, ranked No. 7 in the state by N.C. Preps this week, utilized senior Zeb Richardson’s height advantage as he tallied 10 points in the first half.
“We had some good points,” said Ashe head coach Marc Payne. “Maybe my expectations are a little higher. We didn’t get into the flow. At halftime, we had forced them into 10 turnovers and we had three.
“When we do our shot charts, layups are what we call off the page. They’re not in the floor area of the chart. And I didn’t feel we had enough shots ‘off the page’ at halftime. I felt in the second quarter we slowed down.”
Ashe outscored Avery 19-10 in the third period to effectively put the contest out of reach, leading 49-29 with eight minutes remaining. Another 12-2 Ashe scoring run quelled any hope for a Viking comeback.
Avery managed only seven field goals in the final two periods, while Ashe knocked down 15 shots in the same span en route to the win.
Villaneuva led Avery with 13 points, with three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Lyons added six points and five rebounds, with five points and six rebounds from Stewart. Ty Polsgrove added five points with a season-best 11 rebounds.
AHS (5-19) played undefeated Hendersonville on Monday, Feb. 13, to open Western Highlands Conference tournament action. A full report on Avery’s tournament performance and potential state playoff fate can be found in next week’s edition.
Avery’s varsity boys basketball team learned that lesson twice last week, when it butted heads with a pair of purple-clad foes. AHS welcomed Mitchell last Tuesday, Feb. 7, on Senior Night, losing by a final score of 71-58, then faced Ashe County in Jefferson the following evening, dropping a 71-38 contest to close out the regular season schedule.
AHS honored its senior players prior to its home finale against Mitchell, as Austin Lyons, Hunter Shields, Timmy Stewart and Alex Villanueva appeared in their final regular season home basketball contest. The adrenaline from the evening’s festivities carried the Vikings through much of the first quarter, playing shot-for-shot with the Mountaineers. Shields scored seven in the frame, with five from Villanueva and four from Stewart as AHS trailed by only three points at 21-18 after one period.
Mitchell responded in the second quarter, as head coach Daron Williams liberally substituted throughout the half in an effort to tire the thin Avery roster. Mountaineer guard Lawson Norris drained four three-point baskets in the second stanza as Mitchell used a 13-1 scoring run in the final two minutes of the first half to pull away from the Big Red by a 45-30 margin at halftime.
Avery outscored Mitchell 18-16 in the third quarter, as sophomore Luke Wotell chipped in five points and Villanueva added three field goals to remain within striking distance at 61-48 with eight minutes to play. From there, the teams played even basketball. Villanueva fouled out of the contest early in the fourth period, as Mitchell’s Ben Smith added eight of his team-high 21 points in the fourth period to help spur the Mountaineers to the win.
Shields led Avery with 15 points, with 14 points from Stewart and 13 points from Villanueva.
Avery returned to action the following evening in Jefferson to take on Ashe County.
The Huskies (21-2) opened the game with a 12-2 scoring run, taking a 17-6 lead after eight minutes of play. AHS regrouped in the second period, however, matching Ashe’s 13 points in the frame to stay close at 30-19 at halftime.
Ashe, ranked No. 7 in the state by N.C. Preps this week, utilized senior Zeb Richardson’s height advantage as he tallied 10 points in the first half.
“We had some good points,” said Ashe head coach Marc Payne. “Maybe my expectations are a little higher. We didn’t get into the flow. At halftime, we had forced them into 10 turnovers and we had three.
“When we do our shot charts, layups are what we call off the page. They’re not in the floor area of the chart. And I didn’t feel we had enough shots ‘off the page’ at halftime. I felt in the second quarter we slowed down.”
Ashe outscored Avery 19-10 in the third period to effectively put the contest out of reach, leading 49-29 with eight minutes remaining. Another 12-2 Ashe scoring run quelled any hope for a Viking comeback.
Avery managed only seven field goals in the final two periods, while Ashe knocked down 15 shots in the same span en route to the win.
Villaneuva led Avery with 13 points, with three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Lyons added six points and five rebounds, with five points and six rebounds from Stewart. Ty Polsgrove added five points with a season-best 11 rebounds.
AHS (5-19) played undefeated Hendersonville on Monday, Feb. 13, to open Western Highlands Conference tournament action. A full report on Avery’s tournament performance and potential state playoff fate can be found in next week’s edition.