Van 76 Big Creek 71 OT

[GMan 3,569]

Roller-coaster battle ends in Van's favor

 

By GARY DOVE

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

WAR — The fable is as old as competition itself; it isn’t how strong you start, but how strong you finish.

 

The Van Bulldogs proved that axiom twice Friday night against the host Big Creek Owls to take a 76-71 overtime win in boys basketball.

 

The Owls, playing the role of a hare, jumped out a 26-9 lead with 5:37 remaining in the opening half, only to have the tortoise, played by Van, come back to go ahead 38-36 with 3:58 gone in the third stanza.

 

The remainder of regulation saw the Owls go up by as many as six points, only to see Van keep plugging away.

 

The Boone Countians actually led 63-62 with seven seconds remaining, but Brandon Johnson connected on 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game and sent it into overtime.

 

To start the four minute extra period, the Owls scored five quick points to go up 68-63, before Van rallied to take the victory.

 

Still trailing by five, the Bulldogs got a 3 from senior exchange student Roberto Scampini, from Brazil, to cut the deficit to two with 2:07 showing, and then Scampini converted a third consecutive Big Creek turnover with another 3-pointer to stake his club to the lead for keeps.

 

Justin Davis led a quartet of Van double figure scorers with 20, followed by Jonathan Simms’ 19. Jeremy Gannon added 16 and Scampini finished with a dozen.

 

Revealed a disappointed Big Creek head coach Roger Hale, “We’re improving, but our inexperience showed with the turnovers and our inability to hold a lead.”

 

Junior Ronnie Benton led all scorers with 23 points for the Owls, while David Muncy added 17 points and corralled a game-high 21 rebounds. Johnson tossed in 11 points.

 

After falling behind 3-2 to open the contest, Big Creek went on a 9-0 run that extended to a 22-7 lead at the opening chapter’s end.

 

Johnson had eight of his 11 points in the opening period for the Owls.

 

Turnovers started to plaque Big Creek in the second, when they had 10 of a total of 32 in that eight-minute span.

 

The Bulldogs started in a 2-1-2 zone before shifting to a man-to-man in the second period. That switch saw Benton attack the basket with one-on-one play, but left his club searching for offense when he went to the bench with his third personal foul with 1:42 showing before intermission.

 

After that 26-9 lead, Van outscored their hosts 21-8 the remainder of the half to trail on 34-30 at the break.

 

Simms, who had 20 rebounds, scored seven points and grabbed the same number of boards in the second quarter. A pair of ties and two lead changes in the third saw Big Creek holding a 48-45 advantage going into the fourth.

 

That lead stood at 62-56 with 1:30 to play, before a seven-point run by the Bulldogs put them ahead 63-62 before Johnson’s tying foul shot to send the game into overtime.

 

The Owls, now 0-9 on the season, shot 42 percent from the field, while outrebounding their guests, 57-51. Van, now 3-5, connected on 38 percent (31-82) from the field.

 

Big Creek will entertain Meadow Bridge next Friday night.

 

The Owls did win the junior varsity contest 54-46. Chris Hale led Big Creek with 18 points, while Antonio Shelton added 14.

 

VAN (3-5)

Simms 9 1-2 19, Scampini 6 2-4 12, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Gannon 7 1-5 16, Davis 7 4-6 20, Cox 2 0-3 4, Pickett 0 1-2 1, Runyon 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 9-24 76.

 

BIG CREEK (0-9)

Benton 10 3-5 23, Rutherford 3 0-0 8, Johnson 4 1-2 11, Epperson 4 1-4 9, Hicks 1 1-2 3, Muncy 5 7-12 17, Foster 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 13-27 71.

 

Van...............................7 23 15 18 13 — 76

Big Creek.........................22 12 14 15 8 — 71

 

3-point goals: VN 5 (Scampini 2, Davis 2, Gannon 1); BC 4 (Rutherford 2, Johnson 2). JV—BC 54-46.

[RenegadeFan 10]

wow, that's a pretty amazing story there.

especially in the fact that Van nor Big Creek is two teams you ever really hear much about in the world of sports message boards or even in the world of sports itself.

 

i actually almost forgot both schools still had basketball programs, lol.

 

how soon is a deal to be made on the construction of the Homer Hickom (sp?) High School, that will bring Big Creek and Iaeger together in consolidation and when is the school expected to be open?

[Neondion1 10]

My understanding is the new school will be ready late 2008 or early 2009. The programs in all sports at Big Creek are not what they used to be. That really explains why Big Creek's name is not as widely spread, plus the fact they haven't had a big quality win. The baseball team was a known powerhouse in the region for many years but it too has also become average. The numbers of kids interested in sports seems to have diminished along with the general numbers for student enrollment. Not to mention the facilities & equipment there is dated accept for the new football field which took over the baseball field. I hope this helps in painting the picture.

[beaverbaseball 10]

the population decrease killed the strenght of sports at Big Creek.....25 years ago Big Creek was just like Bluefield..If not bigger and better