WJ runs away from Madison-Plains

By Chris Miles

Sports Editor

The Madison-Plains boys basketball team likes to get up and down the floor and play at a fast pace.

That plan backfired big time Wednesday when they ran into a red-hot West Jefferson squad during a meeting of Madison County squads.

The Roughriders (3-0) were happy to play at the quicker pace and pulled away in the second half for a 75-57 non-league win.

“They were a little low on the bench, we knew that going in and so we tried to keep the high pace going,” Roughriders coach Bob Hunter said. “You could tell by the middle of the third (quarter) that they just kind of wore down a bit.

“Credit to our kids that they just kept playing. Our seniors led the way tonight.”

West Jefferson jumped to a 18-9 advantage after one quarter and led the whole way.

The Golden Eagles (1-2) closed to within a point at 37-36 midway through the third quarter and had a chance to take their first lead, but a turnover led to a West Jeff layup and the game would get no closer.

“They beat us up on the boards,” Plains coach Jeff Spradlin said. “They had way too many second chance shots.

“Our kids played hard but it was just the little things that didn’t get done that killed us. We were short a couple guys and I think we really felt it.”

Kyle Rollins led all scorers with 21 points for the Roughriders. Ryan Love added 15 and Seth Casto came of the bench to score eight.

Hunter Butin led the Eagles with 14 points.

“We’re in a stretch of four teams that beat us last year,” Hunter said. “This was No. 1 on our list.”