Lions down Coal Grove

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 14, 2007

VANCEBURG, Ky. — It was a cold night outside, but things heated up inside.

The Lewis County Lions hit six 3-pointers and shot well the entire game as they beat the Coal Grove Hornets 69-48 Friday in a non-league game.

“Lewis County was unconscious all night and couldn’t miss. We could have rolled over, but our guys wouldn’t quit. To their credit, they hit the shots. To our credit, we didn’t quit,” Coal Grove coach Mike Waller said.

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Tyler Branch led the Hornets with 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Hornets (0-15). Zach Murphy had 13 points while Adam Bare grabbed 8 rebounds and Chris Dirling pulled down 6.

“Tyler had a nice game and our kids battled the whole game,” Waller said. “But then, they’ve battled all year.”

Frankie Witten and Marty Ruggles 13 points each to lead Lewis County (4-14).

Ruggles hit a pair of 3-pointers as he scored 8 points in the first quarter. Seven different players scoring in the opening quarter for the Lions as they took a 23-8 lead.

Murphy scored 8 of Coal Grove’s 9 points in the second quarter, but Witten had 5 points as Lewis County went up 35-17 at the break.

Branch had 6 points and Bare 5 in the third quarter. Still, it wasn’t enough as Lewis County extended its lead to 52-30.

Branch scored 7 more points in the fourth quarter while Murphy got 5 and Simon Hall 4 and Coal Grove outscored the Lions 18-17, but it was too little too late.

Coal Grove891318=48

Lewis County23121717=69

COAL GROVE (0-15): Zach Murphy 4 1 2-4 13, Chris Dirling 1 0 0-0 2, Zach Sloan 0 0 0-0 , Tyler Branch 8 1 0-1 19, Adam Bare 3 0 3-7 9, Wayne Sparks 0 0 1-2 1, Austin Willis 0 0 0-0 0, Simon Hall 2 0 0-1 4. Totals: 20-52 6-15

48. 3-pont goals: 2-9. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 24 (Bare 8, Branch 8, Dirling 6). Assists: 2 (Bare, Dirling). Steals: 3 (Hall, Sparks, Bare). Turnovers: 31. Blocked shots: 8 (Hall 3, Bare 3).

LEWIS COUNTY (4-14): F. Witten 5 1 0-0 13, Owens 1 1 0-3 5, Enix 0 1 0-0 3, Dermon 1 0 0-0 2, Cavert 0 0 0-0 0, Ruggles 2 3 0-0 13, Britt 3 0 2-4 8, Lykins 3 0 2-2 8, Shaw 1 0 0-0 2, Colvin 0 0 0-0 0, Clark 4 0 1-2 9, B. Witten 3 0 0-1 6. Totals: 23

6

5-12

69. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None.