By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
It’s been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde season for this year’s Moore County Raiders basketball squad.
On January 24, they fought for a 55-52 win against Huntland and then dropped a district game to the Hornets, 55-48, on February 9. On December 8, they lost 83-39 to Summertown only to come back on January 27 and beat them by four, 66-62.
On Saturday, in a Region 5A Quarterfinal game, Moore County came out flat before coming alive in the second half. By then, it was a little too little a little too late as the talented and well-coached Richland squad had pulled away.
Saturday’s game marked the first meeting of the two Raiders teams since the 2021-22 season when they played each other in the Region 5A Semifinal game at Wayne County. Moore County lost that game 64-46.
Raiders trail 32-8 at the half
Richland came out swinging – putting up 12 points while holding Moore County to just two points with a basket from Peyton Martin and two from the line from Dawson White in the first period. Richland shooters got hot from behind the perimeter in the second period – adding four treys to their total. They would go on to make 18 points from behind the line. White and Sawyer Parks added Moore County’s lone second period scores. The Raiders went into the halftime break trailing Richland 32-8.
Possibly sensing that the Richland game could be their final in a Raiders uniform – two seniors Dawson White and Alex Copeland tried to carry the team on their collective Columbia blue backs in the second half. White score nine and Copeland scored seven of Moore County’s 25 second half points.
The future is also bright for Moore County as both sophomores Gavin Wise and Tristyn Gray both contributed in the fourth period.
Dawson White leads with 13 points
Senior Dawson White led for Moore County with 13 points followed by fellow senior Alex Copeland with seven points. Peyton Martin scored five and Gavin Wise added four more. Tristyn Gray came off the bench and added two in the fourth period. Clark Edwards led for Richland with 21 points.
Moore County ended their season with a 6-17 overall record and a 1-5 District 9A record. They finished third in district standings headed into the post season. They graduated six seniors Alex Copeland, Dawson White, Wes Clifton, Emery Bryan, Sawyer Parks, and Logan Hegwood. Their student athletic trainer Neleh Dickey will also graduate in May. •
{Community newspapers like The Lynchburg Times serve an important roll to high school athletes. Players use links to our articles in college applications and the TSSAA keeps up with Moore County star athletes through our coverage. That leads to more awards and recognition. Please consider supporting our work by subscribing. Click this link to sign up.}