By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — The Raiders gave the Eagles all they wanted through three periods on Tuesday in Lynchburg, but Van Buren pulled ahead late to edge Moore County 61-50.
Last time the Raiders and the Eagles faced off, Moore County played without three players – Gavin Wise, Jay Sparkman, and Tucker Smith — who were benched for two games following their contributions to the post game brouhaha against Huntland. On Tuesday, they were at full strength and senior Gavin Wise seemed determined to contribute this time around. He made basket after basket underneath on the left side – refusing to be stopped.
Raiders trailed by three at the half
Moore County jumped out to a five-point first period lead. Van Buren County got on the board first when Cason Shadrick made the first of his four treys to give the Eagle three points. They followed with two layups from Eli Scoggin to earn an early 7-0 lead.
Peyton Martin put up Moore County’s first points with a left side layup. The Raiders forced a turnover then Gavin Wise put the offensive rebound back up for two. He scored again on the next play to pull Moore County with one point, 7-6.
Van Buren’s Callyn Sullivan scored two from the line then Wise and Martin scored on back-to-back possessions to gain the lead, 11-9. Van Buren answered to tie the game, then Wise and Martin again scored on back-to-back possessions to build a five-point lead, 16-11. Martin scored another trey with 22 seconds left in the period to pad the Raider lead to seven, 19-12. The Eagles scored two from the line in the last seconds to end the first period.
Moore County led Van Buren 19-14 at the end of the first. Peyton Martin (11) and Gavin Wise (8) combined for all 19 points.
The Eagles pulled ahead by three at the half. They put up 16 in the second period while holding Moore County to eight to go into the halftime locker room leading by three.
The two teams paced each other in the third. The Eagles scored 12 while the Raiders scored 11. Wise made a left side layup with around a minute to play to pull Moore County back within four at the end of the third period, 42-38.
Van Buren County scored two from the line in the beginning to stretch the lead to six, then Wise answered with points from a determined Wise. Jay Sparkman swished a jumper to make it a two-point game two possessions later.
Van Buren answered then Brantley Hill swished a perimeter shot to pull back within three. The Eagles piece together a six-point run in the final two minutes to edge the Raiders, 61-50.
Martin and Wise combined for 38
Peyton Martin led Moore County with 20 points followed closely by Gavin Wise with 18 points. Brantley Hill added seven. Jay Sparkman added four points and Tristyn Gray managed one from the line.
The Raiders will head to Franklin County on Friday for a rematch with Huntland on Friday. As most Raider fans likely remember, Moore County pulled away late in that game to hand the Hornets a 48-39 loss. Things boiled over after the game during the final handshake. A push led to a shove and a shove led to both benches emptying onto the floor with coaches, parents, and law enforcement trying to separate the two.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail on Friday, but the game could be a bit chippy. The Raiders will be playing to maintain second place in District 9A with a 2-2 record behind Eagleville with a 4-0 record. Fayetteville currently has a two and two district record and the Hornets are winless in district play.
Tip off will take place after the Raiderettes versus Lady Hornets game. •
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