In a school year that has produced a lot of new experiences, Madison County and William Monroe’s boys basketball teams unearthed one more unlikely scenario Monday night as a basketball game was called for inclement weather.
With a winter storm turning into an onslaught of sleet outside, and travel home for both squads becoming concerning, administrators called the game with just over five minutes to play with Monroe winning 62-38 over the Mountaineers.
The Dragons jumped on Madison early on with a 24-point first quarter and a 15-point lead. Logan Barbour led that assault with three first quarter 3-pointers while Troy Jones notched three field goals for six points.
“We shot the ball really well and I was very pleased with how we ran the court and shared the ball,” said Monroe coach Brett Maynard. “We had some nice kick outs.”
The Mountaineers simply couldn’t stop the bleeding early on and couldn’t find enough answers on the offensive end. Barbour finished with a game-high 13 points while Jones and Tucker Shifflett had 11 each. Ja’Quis Carpenter chipped in eight off the bench and Franklin Lindsay had another nine in a balanced scoring effort from the Dragons. Shifflett knocked down three 3-pointers throughout the game and Carpenter buried one of his own in the second quarter.
“We were a little fresher today, it wasn’t back-to-back games,” Maynard said. “We had a lot of contributions from our guys off the bench.”
Madison started to get on track just before the game was called, with Jackson Taylor, Wade Fox and Leroy Yates all knocking down 3-pointers in the third quarter, but the Mountaineers couldn’t make a dent in the Dragons substantial lead.
Taylor Fincham led the Mountaineers with 13 points while Taylor added 11 and Fox chipped in seven.
Monroe will host Manassas Park Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. while Madison will look to bounce back Tuesday night when they’re slated to host Strasburg, though a school closing will likely impact that game. The Mountaineers are also slated to host Stonewall Jackson Thursday.
