Madison County had to figure out a different way to get it done Friday afternoon against Chatham.
“The long ball wasn’t falling tonight and we had a slow start to our offense,” sophomore guard Gaines Swink said.
Against a difficult four seed in the Cavaliers in Friday’s VHSL 2A State quarterfinal., the Mountaineers rallied from seven points down at halftime, relying on resilient defense to move past the Chatham 61-47 and grab a spot in the Group 2A state semifinals.
After winning the opening tip-off, the Mountaineers sprinted into the lead by putting up nine quick points. However, Chatham’s senior guard Tyler Fitzgerald kept the Cavaliers close behind with seven points in the first quarter.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, the Mountaineers’ offense stalled as more and more shots missed their mark.
Madison County shot 28.6 percent in the first half, struggling to put up 22 points while Chatham shot 44.4 percent for 29 points. Like Swink pointed out, outside of the paint Madison struggled to produce points, going 2-for-8 from behind the arc.
“In the second half we just tried to get the ball to different people on the court,” Swink said.
The Cavaliers came out of halftime with an upset on their minds, building their lead throughout the third quarter. Fitzgerald hit a deep 3-pointer to give Chatham its largest lead of the game with 3:38 left in the third quarter, making it 39-30. Then, in an attempt to slow down Cavaliers’ offense, Mountaineers coach Ben Breeden went to a press.
The full-court pressure shut down Chatham’s offense and opened up opportunities for Madison’s attack. At the end of the third quarter Chatham’s lead was cut to just four, 43-39.
Then, 50 seconds into the last quarter, Madison’s sophomore forward Elijah Lewis knocked down a 3-pointer, giving Madison a 44-43 lead.
“Elijah [Lewis] hit that three and our fans just erupted,” Breeden said. “We needed everyone to be on their feet today.”
Madison’s senior forward Dre Twyman took charge of the paint in the fourth quarter, earning two three-point-plays and drawing three offensive fouls. Twyman also stepped up offensively, scoring 11 points in the second half. Twyman finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and three drawn charges.
The Mountaineers dominated the fourth quarter as Swink knocked down free throw after free throw from Chatham’s desperate fouls. Swink finished with 14 points while Isiah Smith led the offensive attack with 19 points for Madison.
That was enough to power the Mountaineers into the state final four and a game away from a shot at the program’s third state title.
“Our community really supports us,” Breeden said. “We want to continue to give them something to be excited about.”
