By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
The hole was too big and the comeback, although furious, was too little and as a result Braxton County walked away with a 56-41 victory over Calhoun Friday night in Flatwoods.
The Red Devils stayed with the eighth-ranked Class AA Eagles early on and were within five midway through the second quarter when fouls to starters Justin Gerwig and Kyle Keesler sent them to the bench. When that happened Braxton went on an 8-0 run and a close game was a 13-point Braxton lead, 30-17.
Calhoun kept things close in the third quarter and in the final period put on a comeback charge that brought it to within eight with about two minutes remaining. But that's when Calhoun had to go to fouling the Eagles to stop the clock, especially since Braxton was spreading the court while trying to slow things down.
As a result Braxton was able to camp out at the free throw line and slowly pulled away to the final margin.
Calhoun, 3-5, was led by Zach Moore with 14 points and 11 rebounds, He also had three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. He did all this despite not scoring in the first half. Kyle Keesler added 12 points and Justin Gerwig 10. The Red Devils also got two apiece from Chuck Kendall and Tyler Bennett and one from Anthony Richards. Bronson Clark, Brandon Sampson, Daniel Sims, Randy Fluharty and Caleb Schoolcraft all played but did not score.
Trey Chapman led the Eagles with 21 while Jordan Lacy added 11.
Braxton also won the junior varsity game by a whisker thin 42-39 margin.
The Eagles trailed late in the fourth quarter when they started going to the free throw line scoring six of their last eight points from the charity stripe.
For Calhoun, now 0-6, Brandon Sampson led the way with 11 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Daniel Sims chipped in with 10 points in his two quarters of play. He also had three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
They were backed by Ricky Hall with five, Quentin Murphy and Trent Phillips with four each, three by Stuart Fitzwater and two by Bennett. Schoolcraft, Derek Dawson, Caleb Richards and Luke Moore all played but did not score.
Austin Rhodes scored 17 to lead the 8-1 Eagles.
Calhoun will try to get back on the winning track Tuesday night when it is home to Clarksburg Notre Dame. Braxton is home to Oak Hill tonight.
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