Unbeaten MCHS advances to Region B semis

In front of a packed house at Madison County High School, junior Logan Terrell and the Mountaineers held on to defeat George Mason in the opening round of the Region B Division 2 tournament on Wednesday, 59-44.
Terrell led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Madison will now face Buckingham County in the semifinals at home on Friday night.
Head coach Tim Taylor and the Mountaineers have a simple goal — bring home the school’s first state title since 1977 — and as Taylor will tell you, it’s a one-game-at-a-time process.
“This time of the year, it’s not about winning pretty or playing well, it’s about
winning,” said Taylor, who went to a zone defense for much of the game, which is not in the team’s usual repertoire. “It’s survive and advance.”
The visiting Mustangs (8-15) came out firing, taking an early 7-2 lead to momentarily quiet the eager crowd, but Terrell and his teammates rallied to take a one point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Then came the second frame, one that Mason coach Chris Capannola wishes he could get back. Madison out-scrapped and out-hustled the visitors, putting a clamp on the Mustangs’ offensive attack. When all was said and done, the Mountaineers enjoyed a 12-point lead at halftime, out-scoring George Mason 13-2 in the period.
“We wanted to give [George Mason] a different look, we played them man-to-man in two straight games,” Taylor said of the defensive switch. “That second quarter was the difference in the game.”
George Mason’s Joel Chandler led the Mustangs with 23 points, as his team managed to cut the lead to 10 with just over four minutes to play, but the Mountaineers closed the game on a 13-8 run to pull away.
Madison senior guard Sam Utz finished with eight points on the night, and Bull Run District player of the year Jerel Carter had a quiet night in the scoring column, but had a large hand in the Mountaineers’ 25th consecutive victory. The 6-foot-3 junior finished with just five points, but grabbed eight rebounds and dished out some big assists as well.
“The thing about [Jerel] is, he’s so unselfish,” said Taylor. “He handles the ball, he plays defense, he averages 12 points a game but he gets six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and he’s just a complete player.”
The Mountaineers (25-0) will be seeking revenge in Friday’s region semifinal, as it was Buckingham that knocked Taylor’s squad out in the first round of last year’s tournament. Taylor knows that it will be a rowdy environment when the two teams face off, and also hopes to contain the one-two punch of D.J. Jones and Taylor Boyers.
“Jones is a stud, and so is the Boyers kid,” admitted Taylor. “This place will be a zoo, it’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re excited about getting another home game, it’s a tough environment to come play in.”
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. and a win guarantees a spot in the region finals, as well as in the state tournament, something Madison hasn’t accomplished in 13 years.