“I think we did some positive things in the second half,” coach J.D. Strange said of his young Mountain Lions. “A team like us, you take two or three positive things and it can change your whole demeanor (going into the post-season).”
Pineville trailed by as many as 18 early in the fourth quarter before a pair of baskets from freshman forward Byron David Asher sparked a late rally. The Lions turned up their defensive pressure and started forcing turnovers.
Senior forward Shawn Madon scored inside then Asher stole the inbounds pass and laid the ball in to cut the Williamsburg lead to 12.
Madon went to the floor to secure a loose ball and passed it to Brandon Hollingsworth for a layup. Moments later Asher’s putback brought the Lions to within 45-35 with 3:06 to play.
Asher scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter while Madon added seven to finish with 12 and Hollingsworth scored six of his nine.
The Lions got as close as eight points on another Hollingsworth basket but the Yellow Jackets hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to pull out the 11-point win.
Steven Taylor, Daniel Pettit and Derek Lovett scored ten points apiece to lead Williamsburg while CeJay Jones and Jared Barton added nine each.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half.
Lovett hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to lead all scorers as the Jackets took a 9-6 lead after one.
Madon, Tyler Tuttle and Asher each made a basket in the first to account for Pineville’s scoring. The Lions were held to just two points in the second, a basket by Asher while Williamsburg got threes from Taylor and Jones to take a 17-8 lead into the half.
Hollingsworth hit a 3 to get Pineville off to better start in the third quarter. Freshman center John Simpson and Madon also scored three points each in the period for the Lions. Williamsburg got four points each from Jones, Lovett and Pettit as they stretched their lead to 33-19 after three.
It was the final home game for Pineville seniors Madon, Tuttle, Mark Combs and Dalton Simpson. Their careers are highlighted by back-to-back 13th Region All ‘A’ championships and a district title.
“It’s always a special time on senior night for them. These guys, you look back over their four years and there have been a lot of pluses,” Strange said. “You hate to say goodbye to them but you have to recognized the accomplishments they’ve made in their time here and hopefully they’ll have success down the road.”
Both teams have now completed their regular season. Pineville (4-16) will play Barbourville Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the 51st District Tournament at Knox Central while Williamsburg (10-17) plays at Corbin Monday to start the 50th District Tournament.
“Obviously our won and loss record isn’t something we desired this year but at the same time we played extremely hard in the last half of our last regular season game,” said Strange. “Right now we’re starting over at 0-0 and looking forward to playing Barbourville Tuesday night. It was a three-point game the first time we played them, we’ve got a few days to get ready and we’re excited about it.”
— — —
Williamsburg 9 8 16 21 — 54
Pineville 6 2 11 24 — 43
WILLIAMSBURG (53): Steven Taylor 10, Daniel Pettit 10, Derek Lovett 10, CeJay Jones 9, Jared Barton 9, Corey Fleenor 2, Cameron Smoak 2, J.P Payne 2, Chad Terry 0.
PINEVILLE (43): Byron David Asher 16, Shawn Madon 12, Brandon Hollingsworth 9, John Simpson 3, Tyler Tuttle 2, Mark Combs 1, Dalton Simpson 0, Travis Napier 0.
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