By WAYNE PHILLIPS
Sports Editor Emeritus
The defending Region 1-AA champion Chuckey-Doak Lady Knights are off to a 2-0 start to the Blue Ridge Conference season, while the Chuckey-Doak boys won their fourth straight game as the Knights took a doubleheader from homestanding West Greene Tuesday night.
The Lady Knights looked solid in rolling to a 69-45 victory over the Lady Buffs, while the Chuckey-Doak boys held off the hustling Buffs 79-62.
Chuckey-Doak's girls, in what is supposed to be a rebuilding year, improved to 4-3 on the year, 2-0 in the Blue Ridge, while the Lady Buffs lost their first league contest of the season and dropped to 3-5 overall.
The Knight boys are also 2-0 in the BRAC and are 5-2 overall, while West Greene falls to 0-8, 0-1.
Both teams are back in league action on Friday. West Greene remains at home to take on another league and county foe in South Greene, while the Black Knights hit the road to Cumberland Gap. Chuckey-Doak is back at home Saturday to face North Greene.
LAMB, RIDDLE PACE C-D GIRLS
Sophomore Andi Lamb had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Hannah Riddle also scored 17 as the Lady Knights bumped the cold-shooting Lady Buffs.
Junior Hailey Taylor hit double figures with 11 points. Freshman point Kerri Ricker had five assists and three steals. Sophomore Katie Lawson came off the bench to score eight and grab seven boards.
Junior Baylee Jarrell led the Lady Buffs with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Senior Charlotte Murphy scored 12 and raked in 14 rebounds, but had to sit out several minutes in foul trouble.
Chuckey-Doak started strong, up 6-0 early, but West Greene stormed back to get even at 10-10 before the Knights, behind 10 points in the quarter by Lamb, pulled ahead 20-13. Murphy, West Greene's 6-1 post, collected two personal fouls in the opening quarter.
The two squads battled to almost a dead heat in the second, with the Knights holding a 38-29 halftime advantage.
But the third quarter was the clincher as West Greene made 11 turnovers and Chuckey-Doak took advantage. The Knights gained some breathing room, moving from a 41-31 advantage with 4:40 left to score seven straight points and gain control of the game. Murphy sat down with four fouls with 4:28 left in the third.
Trailing 53-36 at the third quarter horn, West Greene could not make a serious rally as Chuckey-Doak's advantage grew to 20 points and they coasted to the finish line.
Chuckey-Doak made 26-of-54 shots from the floor, while the Buffs managed only 15-of-48 and committed 17 second half turnovers.
SWINNEY SCORES 25
Chuckey-Doak senior Cory Swinney came armed with his shooting touch, knocking down five 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point performance, and the Chuckey-Doak boys won 79-62.
Sophomore guard Garrett Johnson added 13 points and four assists. Josh Lamb led on the boards with eight.
West Greene got a big night from senior Tyler Earley, who pumped in 21 points. Caleb Julian scored 12 and had eight rebounds. Freshman guard Cole Christopher had four steals.
The winless Buffs made things interesting through the first half, with their hustling play keeping them in the game. They were down 16-14 after one quarter, then closed to within one point before the Knights rallied late in the half to take a 41-33 advantage to the locker room.
But the Buffs couldn't contain Swinney in the third canto. He hit three 3-pointers in the quarter, and a 16-4 run over the first four minutes of the half had the visitors ahead 57-37 and in control.
West Greene never quit. They were down 67-46 at the third quarter horn, then proceeded to score the first seven points of the fourth to give the WG faithful some hope as they closed to 67-53.
Tyler Earley scored nine during the late rally. But the Knights never waivered, and they were able to close out the Buffs with reserves mopping up in the final two minutes.
