Boys Basketball Loses a Heart-Breaker On a Last Second Three Pointer to Mountain Ridge
by Emma Bernardoni
photos by Kirsten Brown
The Varsity boys basketball team closed out their 2016-2017 season with a heartbreaking 43-41 road loss against Mountain Ridge in the 2A West Region Section I semifinal game on Tuesday night.
Walkersville shot 44.2 percent from the floor, but struggled all evening from beyond the arc, making just 1 of 11 three point attempts.
Senior Kyle Daggett led all players in scoring, totaling 20 points. Daggett also grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished his senior season averaging 18.9 points per game.
“It was a disappointing end to the season,” Daggett reflected. “We had the lead and let it slip away with mistakes. It’s going to be hard getting over my last game in a Walkersville uniform the way that game ended.”
The Lions held a four point lead late in the game before seeing it slip away. Mountain Ridge’s Devan Smith hit a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining on the clock, securing the lead and sealing the win for his team.
“It was a great game but it was very upsetting to lose that way,” said junior Davis Kelley. “I’m going to miss all my friends and the bond we had as a team the most.”
Junior Jerimiah Sweet did a bit of everything for the Lions adding 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Junior Josh Polce had five rebounds and Zack Mathis had three assists.
“We played hard and sometimes things just don’t go your way. We played great defense and just didn’t hit shots. We’ll lose some key guys next year [but] I think we should have a pretty good team,” said Mathis.
The Lions will reflect on the many good things they accomplished this season and look to improve on the negatives in the offseason. They are already looking forward to next season.
