Thursday sports roundup: Draft boys rally for win; Robinson leads Wilson girls

Draft wins with impressive second-half rally

FISHERSVILLE — Early in the third quarter Thursday, Stuarts Draft found itself trailing by 16 after Wilson Memorial's Chase Snyder hit one of his six 3-pointers on the night.

Draft rallied though, starting with back-to-back buckets by Landon Graber and Derrick Moore that ignited a 17-0 Stuarts Draft run that gave the Cougars their first lead of the night. Draft finished strong in a 78-72 Shenandoah District boys basketball win.

"It started defensively," Stuarts Draft coach Brad DeWitt said. "We definitely picked up the defensive intensity which led to good offense which let us have some open shots in the second half."

With his team trailing by 15 at halftime, DeWitt challenged his team in the locker room. He said Wilson won most of the 50-50 balls in the first half and he wanted to see his team be more aggressive in the second. Draft responded.

Derrick Moore scored 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter, including a layup in transition that put Draft in front 54-53 with 3:11 remaining in the quarter. Wilson finally found some offense, getting a 3 from Keyvon Jones an a free throw by Max Vess to lead by 3 before Harley Frame hit a game-tying 3 with 28 seconds left. Frame finished with a team-high 18 points in the win.

Jones hit another three right before the end of the third to put Wilson back on top, but only temporarily as Stuarts Draft begin the fourth with a 15-0 run, sparked by a Graber 3. Izaiyah Ale Bell's layup with 2:51 left in the game ended the run and put Draft in front 72-60, its largest lead of the night.

Wilson got within five twice in the closing minutes, but Draft found a way to respond every time the Hornets tried to make a run to pull off the win.

"We talk every day about being mentally tough," DeWitt said. "We've had some games, like the Central game where we were down four with 40 seconds left, made a 3, got a stop and finished right at the end. Tonight, again, we just showed mental toughness."

In addition to Frame and Moore, Donovan Jenkins (15), Landon Graber (12) and Izaiyah Ale Bell (10) all finished in double figures for Stuarts Draft.

It was the seventh win in a row for Draft, which hasn't lost since mid December and is now 10-3 on the season. Draft is tied with Staunton at the top of Shenandoah District play with a 4-0 mark.

Chase Snyder led Wilson with 29 points. It was the second brutal loss in a row for Wilson at home. Last Friday, Staunton routed Wilson. Thursday, it looked like Wilson would bounce back until the second half push by Draft. The Hornets fell to 7-6 on the season.

Other boys basketball results

Bufalo Gap had to rally in the fourth quarter to beat Riverheads 46-44. Trailing by three heading to the final quarter, the Bison hit 7-of-9 from the free throw line and got a big three from Isaac Goff to pull out the win.

Kasey Fitzgerald scored six of his team hight 15 points in the decisive fourth and Logan Hewitt added four of his 11 points in the fourth to help Gap get the win. The Bison broke a four-game losing streak and improved to 8-8 on the season with the win.

Henley Dunlap led Riverheads with 16 points. It was the fifth loss in a row for Riverheads, which dropped to 4-11 on the season.

Staunton head coach Terrell Mickens recorded his 100th career victory for the Storm in his team's 106-80 win over Fort Defiance Thursday.

Durrell Hamilton led six Staunton players in double figures with 24 points in the win. Manny Chapman added 15 points, while Ky'Ree Scott finished with 14 and Michael Reed had 12 in the victory. Staunton's Joaqin Bell and Jack Jones both had 10.

Staunton is now 7-6 overall and 4-0 in the district. Fort is now 6-7 and 3-1 in district play.

Sam Garber led Fort Defiance with 24 points in the loss. Tripp Hanger had 12 for Fort.

Robinson leads Wilson girls to win

FISHERSVILLE — CC Robinson had 21 points and 19 rebounds in Wilson Memorial's 53-40 win over Stuarts Draft Thursday night. The junior scored five points, including a pair of inside buckets, during the second quarter to help Wilson open up a six point halftime lead.

Wilson finished the second quarter on a 5-1 run with buckets by Maggie Parrott and Robinson, then opened the third on a 9-2 run to give the Hornets some breathing room. Aaliyah Taylor hit a 3 and scored on a putback in the third-quarter run to put Wilson in front 31-19.

Wilson stretched its lead to as much as 23 in the fourth quarter before a late Draft rally closed the game to 13.

"Took us a little bit to get in gear," Wilson Memorial coach Jackie Bryan said. "We were just trying to be patient, get the cobwebs out from having three days off."

Snow and ice had kept Wilson, and all area teams, off the court with practices and games postponed the first three days of the week. Bryan just told her team that if they took their time it would eventually kick in.

"We just plugged away," Bryan said. "We told them at halftime it was a game we might just have to grind out because (Stuarts Draft) is feisty and they've got scoring ability. They're not a bad team."

Elise Bradley finished with 12 points and Aaliyah Taylor had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets.

Early on, Draft had its chances, forcing six first quarter turnovers but only coming away with five points out of those Wilson miscues.

"I thought we did a lot of good things defensively," Draft coach Chad Seibert said. "I thought we created some transition opportunities for ourself that we just failed to capitalize on."

Seibert said Robinson really hurt his team with second- and third-chance points.

"You expect her to get some," he said. "You don't expect her to get that many."

Madyson Mason led Draft with 12 points in the loss.

Wilson improved to 7-6 overall and 5-1 in the district, while Draft fell to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in district play.

Other girls basketball results

Hannah Coffman had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals to help Buffalo Gap beat Riverheads 47-19 to remain perfect in district play. The Bison are now 13-2 overall and 5-0 in Shenandoah District play.

Gap outscored Riverheads 20-4 in the second quarter with the help of 3-pointers from Coffman, Bailey Talley and Kayleigh Hemp. The Bison led 27-10 at the break.

Hemp finished with 11 points and four steals in the win while Chloe Emurian had four points, seven rebounds and five steals.

Kallie Poole had five to lead Riverheads.

Fort Defiance beat Staunton 51-39 Thursday. Fort is now 5-9 and snapped a two-game losing streak with the win. Staunton is 7-7 and has lost five in a row.

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Draft boys rally for win; Robinson leads Wilson girls: Thursday sports roundup