MADISON — Less than 48 hours after a 25-point loss at the hands of William Monroe, the Madison County boys’ basketball team bounced back in a big way, thrashing visiting Rappahannock, 75-29, on Friday night.
Mountaineer coach Ben Breeden decided to shake up the starting five against a small Rappahannock team. After solid outings against William Monroe, big men Nick Paxton and Matt Temple were inserted into the lineup. Paxton and Temple used their 6-foot-6 frames to assert themselves in the post. The Madison frontcourt came up big against the Panthers with Temple and Paxton each finishing with 10 points and 6-4 Gage Berryman coming off the bench and scoring seven points.
“We had to take advantage of their size,” Breeden said. “They stayed close to the basket and did well for us tonight.”
The Mountaineers jumped on the Panthers early by scoring the first 11 points of the game. Madison kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for the first three minutes of play and Rappahannock ended the first quarter with more turnovers than points.
Leading by 19 at halftime, the Mountaineers continued to pad their lead their lead in the second half. Patrick Roebuck led a relentless defensive attack in the third quarter that produced eight Panther turnovers. Madison held Rappahannock to just two field goals in the third quarter and led by 40 with eight minutes to play.
The victory marked the seventh time this season that the Mountaineers have scored more than 70 points. Defensively, Rappahannock’s 29 points were the fewest that Madison has given up in a game since Feb. 3 of last year.
“We knew we had some things to work on after Monroe,” Breeden said. “Tonight was a good chance to challenge the guys in a certain way. We got a lot of good shots and we defended well.”
Travis Warren and Bobby Ford returned to form in Friday night’s win. After being held to season lows against William Monroe, Ford and Warren both scored in double digits. Ford led the Mountaineers with 11 points while Warren added 10.
“They keep everybody honest,” Breeden said. “They shot the ball well. When they do that, it creates for everybody else.”
Added Ford: “I was a little more comfortable tonight. My teammates fed me the ball and I got open tonight.”
The Mountaineers are now tied with Clarke County for third place in the Bull Run District. Madison has two more games before closing out the season against the Eagles. With only two weeks left in the regular season, the Mountaineers are taking it one day at a time.
“We need to focus on the things that we’re not good at right now,” Ford said. “We got to put it together for the rest of the season.”
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