Appalachia Battles For Victory Over J.I. Burton

APPALACHIA, Va. – The game began as a blowout.

It featured a heroic comeback, possibly the two best point guards in the Lonesome Pine District battling man-to-man and the return of what might be Appalachia’s key to a long, postseason run.

But in the end, last night’s district battle between Appalachia and John I. Burton served as just the latest in a long line of heartbreaking, single-digit losses for the Raiders, as the Bulldogs scraped out a 56-50 LPD win at home.

“[Burton coach] Stan Wilson’s had some bad luck here lately,” Appalachia coach Pat Jervis said. “We’ve been winning on defense, and as long as our defense holds up we can win these ugly games.”

The Bulldogs sure didn’t look ugly in the early going.

Four different players scored at least four points, as Appalachia jumped to an early 21-9 lead after the first quarter.

But Burton’s defense went to work from then on, forcing the Bulldogs into 18 turnovers the rest of the way.

The result was a 20-9 Burton advantage in the second quarter, and after trailing by 12 points after eight minutes, the Raiders were down one heading into halftime.

“Our defense got us back in it,” Wilson said. “There was a lot of frustrating calls on both sides – a rough game, I don’t like to see it that rough – but sometimes that happens.

The Bulldogs continued to lead for most of the game, but Burton grabbed the lead, 44-43, when a Jaycob Coleman steal led to an easy Daniel Deaton layup.

“We relaxed after we got the big lead,” Jervis said. “We quit running our sets and just started running.”

But after surrendering their long-held lead, Appalachia responded with a 7-0 run.

The Bulldogs’ 2-3 zone caused the Raiders confusion in the final quarter, as Burton passed around defenders and gave up multiple open shots.

Attacking the zone was made even more difficult by the absence of Timmy Goins, Burton’s best shooter and a no-show on Friday night.

And although Appalachia left the door open for yet another comeback by missing 3 of 5 free throws in the final quarter – the Bulldogs finished 5-of-14 from the charity stripe for the game – no Raider could provide enough offense for a second charge.

Friday night’s game provided another showdown between Appalachia’s Forrest Stuart and Burton’s Jaycob Coleman, the top-two scoring guards in the LPD.

And while Stuart had more in the points column at the game’s end – he finished with a game-high 21 – Coleman was no slouch himself.

The senior spearheaded the Raiders comeback by picking up six steals and eight rebounds to go along with his 10 points.

“It’s fun to play against Jaycob,” Stuart said. “It’s a real challenge because he’s really good and he’s really smart. I just wanted to see how I could play up against him.”

Also playing was the Bulldogs’ 6-10 center, Marvin Fechtner. Sidelined by a knee injury over the past few weeks, the Germany-native scored 7 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and swatted four blocks in his return.

Fechtner helped Appalachia (16-1, 5-1) slow the pace by anchoring the team’s 2-3 zone, and the Bulldogs ran out the clock to stay tied for first place in the LPD.

“We’ve got the ingredients to have a postseason team that can go along way,” Jervis said. “But we’re going to have to play better and we’re definitely going to have to shoot better.”

BURTON (50) – Jaycob Coleman 10, Hensley 2, Daniel Deaton 14, Hunnicutt 6, Devin Talley 10, Steele 4, Daniels 2, Large 2.
APPALACHIA (56) – Tyler Hall 11, Forrest Stuart 21, M. Stuart 6, Boyd 2, Allen 4, Morelock 5, Fechtner 7.
Burton 9 20 13 8–50
Appalachia 21 9 13 13–56
3-point goals – Burton 2 (Deaton, Talley); Appalachia 4 (F. Stuart 2, M. Stuart 2).

Burton 49, Appalachia 39

Although the Lady Raiders finished the game with a double-digit win, staying undefeated in the LPD wasn’t easy.

With Ra’Shelle Miller, the district’s leading scorer, suffering from tendinitis in her knee, the Lady Raiders struggled to separate from the Lady Bulldogs all game.

Appalachia trailed by only two points at 34-32 with 7:32 remaining in the final quarter, before Miller scored seven points in the last seven minutes to give Burton (16-1, 6-0) its 16th win of the season.

“That was a daggum boxing match,” Raider coach Mike Goforth said. “I thought the fourth quarter we showed some poise. We came together as a team, and we battled it out.

“Appalachia played hard and they threw everything they had at us. Luckily, we were able to sustain [our lead] and pull away at the end.”

Miller finished with a game-high 22 points and was the only Raider to finish in double-digits.

The Lady Bulldogs (9-9, 3-3) were led by senior Brittany Craft. After scoring only five points in the two teams’ Jan. 10 match up, Appalachia’s leading scorer rebounded on Friday night by notching 12 points against the Raiders.

BURTON (49) – Hensley 1, M. Stallard 8, S. Woods 6, I. Hill 5, Ra’Shelle Miller 22, B. Stallard 5, A. Hamilton 2.
APPALACHIA (39) – Mullins 6, Chandler 3, Boyd 9, Brittany Craft 12, Estridge 5, Boggs 4.
Burton 10 17 7 15–49
Appalachia 8 13 8 10–39
3-point goals – Burton 1 (B. Stallard); Appalachia 1 (Craft).