Lumberjacks Beat East Hardy In H.I.T. Finale

Tucker Cain led five Valley Lumberjack double-digit scorers with 18 points to help guide the Lumberjacks to a 76-58 victory over East Hardy in the finale of the Hometown Invitational Saturday, Feb. 15.
With Valley the only area team to make the trip to Summersville to participate in the event, this game was the feature contest of the day. The Hundred Hornets and Paden City Wildcat matchups were cancelled or postponed because of the weather.
Cain and Triston Kocher evenly split 10 markers in the opening period. In the second frame, Trey Streets and Jack Wells each knocked down a pair of three-point baskets to give Valley a comfortable 36-29 lead at the break.
Valley doubled up East Hardy in the third with a 16-8 count, with balanced scoring, led by Joey Preat’s deuce and threeball, gave Valley a 52-37 advantage with eight minutes remaining in regulation.
In the final period, both teams combined to score 45 points, with the ‘Jacks on top with 24 markers. Kocher sank a pair of deuces and tickled the twine four straight times from the charity stripe, while Street, Cain and Preat each connected on a pair of two-point baskets. Cain sank two from the free throw line, while Streets connected one of two tosses.
Cain had a team-high 18 markers for Valley, while Kocher netted 16 and grabbed seven boards. Kocher also hijacked two basketballs to earn him the MVP award for Valley. Streets followed with 13 points, including a pair of long-range bombs, while Wells contributed a dozen markers that included a pair of threeballs. Preat finished with 11 tallies, while Lathe Ueltschy sank a basket from downtown. Taylor Bates added a deuce and Hayden Lancaster made good on a free throw.
“The boys’ put on a nice show for the crowd and played team ball,” said Valley Head Coach John Kocher. “It was sad that they had to cancel almost all the other games because of the weather. I’m just glad we got to play. I hope we can build off this victory and finish the regular season the same way.”
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The Valley Lumberjacks have stumbled a bit since all the bad weather, losing 75-49 to Richwood; 67-52 to Trinity; and 47-36 to Tygarts Valley.
Against Richwood, the ‘Jacks’ Jack Wells sank a team-high 13 markers, including a pair of bonus bombs, while Joey Preat tacked on 10 points. Tucker Cain and Triston Kocher each recorded eight markers, while Trey Streets netted seven and Alex Midcap put up three points.
In the loss to Trinity, Valley was down big in the first half, but rallied to make the game respectable. Cain went off, scoring a game-high 18 points, while Streets netted 11 to lead the way offensively.
Kocher contributed nine points and pulled down eight boards, while Preat tacked on eight points. Wells was held to three markers, while Taylor Bates added a deuce and Dylan Irvin a free throw,
In the loss to Tygarts Valley, the Lumberjacks led 12-5 after one and were holding on to a 26-19 advantage at the break. However, Tygarts Valley outscored the ‘Jacks 28-9 in the second half to claim the nod.
Streets paced Valley with nine points that included a triple, while Preat knocked in eight markers and Cain netted six points. In addition, Hayden Lancaster returned to the lineup after a long leg injury and scored five points, while Kocher and Wells each contributed four points.
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The River Pilots’ lone senior, Eric Dierkes, tallied all 12 of his game-high points in the second half to lift River to a 47-34 OVAC consolation victory over the Valley Lumberjacks Feb. 11 inside R.L Potts Gymnasium.
Parker Caretti followed with eight markers, while Ryan Indermuhle, Cole Isaly and Joey Flannery each knocked in six points to lead the Pilots to victory.
Jarred Ramsier tallied four points, while Jarrett Armann sank three and Blaze Amos hit a deuce. For the Lumberjacks, Triston Kocher and Trey Street each sank eight markers to lead Valley, while Hayden Lancaster followed with six points. Jack Wells and Joey Preat each tallied five markers, while Tucker Cain was held to a deuce.
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Clay-Battelle used a 19-10 first quarter run and held off a gallant comeback from the Valley Lumberjacks to claim a 58-47 victory in Blacksville, Feb. 17.
The ‘Jacks Tucker Cain tallied a team-high 14 points, while Jack Wells scored a dozen points, with both adding a pair of threeballs. Joey Preat tallied 11 markers, while Trey Streets dialed in on three long distance bonus balls. Triston Kocher was held to a charity toss.