The Madison County boys basketball team has scored at least 60 points in all but one of its games this season. So when the Mountaineers found themselves unable to hit shots from the perimeter, something they so often do in order to emerge victorious, one might have thought the visiting Strasburg Rams were going to hand them their first loss of the year.
Then Dylan Breeden happened.
The 6-foot-6 junior poured in 17 points, including a huge three-point play with 1:51 left in the game and dominated the glass on both ends of the floor, leading Madison to a 47-39 win over Strasburg and keeping the Mountaineers perfect on the year at 12-0.
Madison, a team which often generates so much of its offense from the outside, did not make a three-pointer on the evening, going 0-for-12 from beyond the arc. Both teams shot a combined 0-for-11 in a first quarter after which Madison clung to an 8-6 lead. The Mountaineers took control in the second with a 10-3 run that featured a pair of putbacks by Breeden. During that stretch, Madison held the Rams to just one field goal in a span of nearly five minutes en route to a 22-12 halftime lead.
“You’re going to have nights like the one we had, so you have to find other ways to produce on offense,” Madison coach Ben Breeden said. “[Strasburg] was really clogging the lane, but I thought our bigs did a good job of being gritty down low.”
After Strasburg quickly cut that deficit in half to open the third quarter, Madison put its foot right back on the gas, getting a pair of baskets from Dre Twyman and two more from Isiah Smith, who had 13 points. His second basket in the run pushed Madison’s lead to 33-19, its largest of the game, with three minutes remaining in the quarter.
“Normally our shooters are knocking down shots,” Dylan Breeden said. “But everything doesn’t work out the way you want it every night. We put up good shots, got good bounces and boxed out. We’ve been working on that in practice.”
The Rams made one final push, getting the lead back down to seven on a free throw by Jordan Stump with 2:42 remaining, but on Madison’s next possession, Breeden bullied his way past his defender, sinking a layup with the foul to get the lead back to double-digits and effectively seal the game. Madison made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to put it on ice.
“Dylan was a lot more consistent for four quarters with his energy level,” Ben Breeden said. “He knows he’s going to have to stay focused even when his guy isn’t in the post.”
Strasburg was led by Mekhi Hendricks, who scored 15 points. He was the only Ram in double figures.
Madison returns to action on Saturday when it steps out of Bull Run District play for a tilt at Orange County.
