JV Basketball Victorious; Varsity Falls to Mitchell

Border rivals Avery and Mitchell squared off in basketball action at Viking Gym on Thursday night in a rescheduled night of action due to bad weather.

Both Avery junior varsity teams were winners in hoops action. The JV girls won a 49-33 contest against the Lady Mountaineers. Mercedes Bentley led the Avery attack with 29 points, with six points, five rebounds, and three steals from Shayna Vance and five points from Logan Johnson.

The JV boys team won by a final score of 48-41. Alex Villanueva scored 15 points in the Big Red victory, with that same point total tallied by Spencer Blackburn. Taylor Potter chipped in with five points and Dustin Clark added four points.

In varsity girls action, the Mitchell Lady Mountaineers took a 15-point lead over Avery, then withstood a furious Avery rally to hold on for a 65-61 win. Lauren Avery scored 16 points with six rebounds in the loss for the Lady Vikings, with 16 points and 12 rebounds from Katie Ellis. Samantha Shook added 13 points and five rebounds, with 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals by Allison Vance. Autumn Thompson and Laken Norris each scored 19 points for Mitchell.

The final game of the night saw the Mitchell Mountaineers varsity boys defeat Avery by a final score of 80-61. Avery led 14-13 after one quarter, but a 20-7 scoring differential in favor of Mitchell gave the Mountaineers 33-21 lead at intermission.

Mitchell led by the same 12-point margin at 52-40 after three quarters, then outscored Avery 28-21 over the final eight minutes for the win.

Dustin Clarke led the Avery attack with 29 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Jared Ward added 14 points, with eight from Joey Potter.

Three Mitchell players scored in double-figures, led by 27 points from Austin Burleson, 11 points from Corey Greene, and 10 off the bench from Logan Jensen.

Avery travels to Madison on Friday night to take on the Patriots before hosting Polk County on Monday, February 9th and Mountain Heritage on Tuesday, February 10th.

Mitchell at Avery still on for Thursday night

Despite the recent inclement weather, Avery's conference games with Mitchell scheduled for this evening will take place as scheduled. JV girls action begins at 4 p.m., followed by JV boys, Varsity girls, and varsity boys.

Avery travels to Madison on Friday evening, then takes on Polk County at home on Monday evening in a make-up game from last Tuesday's postponement.

CHS Showdown with North Greene Delayed

Thursday nights showdown between Cloudland and North Greene has been delayed a day to Friday due to road conditions. For more information, please stay tuned to the Avery Journal-Times Sports blog.

Polk Game for Tuesday Postponed; Games Rescheduled

Avery's basketball games at home against Polk County have been postponed for Tuesday evening. Those games have been rescheduled for Monday, February 9th. The Mitchell games that were originally scheduled for Monday evening have been rescheduled for this Thursday, February 5th at Viking Gym. Avery's games at Madison on Friday are still going on as scheduled.

Be sure to check here at The Blog for any further changes to the schedule for either Avery or Cloudland High School athletics!

AVERY BASKETBALL GAMES POSTPONED FOR MONDAY NIGHT

Tonight's scheduled games between Avery and Mitchell at Avery High School have been postponed for this evening. Games will be rescheduled for a later date, which will be posted once it is made available.

CLOUDLAND GAMES POSTPONED FOR THIS EVENING

Tonight's Cloudland High School boys and girls basketball games have been postponed due to inclement weather. The Lady 'Landers were scheduled to host Sullivan North tonight in Roan Mountain, while the boys were scheduled to travel to South Greene High School. No reschedule date and time has been set at this time.

Avery Wrestling Takes on Mitchell; Competes in Conference Tournament

On Friday evening the Avery Vikings took part in the Western Highlands Conference Tournament held at Madison High School. Avery ended the evening in a tie for fifth place overall, but boasted a conference champion in Brock Yackey at the 112 pound weight class.

Yackey won his first match by first period pinfall over Polk’s Ethan Moore, then captured a 7-1 decision victory over Jarrett Ipox of Madison. In the championship match, Yackey avenged a pinfall loss the previous Friday to Owen’s Austin Edwards by defeating him in a 14-5 major decision to capture the championship.

Other Avery wrestlers wrestled hard, but fell by pinfalls and were unable to garner wins during the tournament. Jacob McKinney represented the Vikings at 119 pounds, while Bryan Moody competed at 130 pounds, Forrest Sickler wrestled at 135 pounds, and Nathaniel Buchanan took the mat at 215 pounds.

In the 189 pound weight class, Lucas Lecka won his opening match over Garret Metcalf of Madison by a narrow 8-7 decision. Lecka then took on Jacob Williams of Polk in the championship semifinal and fell short in a 2-6 decision defeat. Lecka then wrestled a third match and was eliminated with a defeat to Mitchell’s Josh Peterson.

Besides Yackey, the pair of wrestlers who have been most consistently in the win column came away with third place finishes at the conference tournament. Anthony Varacalli captured third in the 145 pound weight class. The senior won his first match by a 5-2 decision over Madison’s Travis Rice, but lost by a 3-5 decision over Jesus Figueroa of Owen.

In the consolation bracket Varacalli got back on the winning track with a first period pinfall over Mountain Heritage’s Jon Fender, and then won the consolation finals when he outlasted Hendersonville’s Grant Paris in a 1-0 decision victory.

Another Avery senior, Jose Munoz, took home third place at the 152-pound weight class. Munoz started his night with a pinfall loss against David Johnston from Mountain Heritage, but did not let the initial defeat deter him. Munoz won a 6-1 decision over Owen’s Logan Newhouse, and then won a rematch with Johnston in the consolation finals by a 6-3 decision for third place.

Avery did not have enough victories to qualify for the state duals which take place this week, so the Big Red will be back in action at the 1A/2A Western Regional held at North Henderson High School on February 13-14. Top four finishers in each weight class at regional will qualify for the state wrestling championships the following weekend in Winston-Salem.

Special thanks to Skip Sickler and Skip's Shots for providing so many terrific wrestling photos throughout the season that he has graciously shared with the local media. A number of Skip's wrestling photos are currently on display at The River Dog Coffee House, located at the intersection of Highway 181 and 221 near Linville.

Lady Vikings Dominate Hendersonville; Varsity Boys Drop Conference Matchup with Bearcats

The Avery Lady Vikings basketball defeated the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats 85-57 last Friday evening in Hendersonville.

Avery found little trouble scoring points, using a 22-6 scoring run to take the early advantage. The Lady Vikings found great success inside, as the trio of Katie Ellis, Sara Wiseman, and Katelynn Eudy dominated the shorter Hendersonville squad.

Avery led 25-13 after one quarter and 40-26 at halftime. Wiseman carried the Viking offense in the half with 11 points and nine rebounds. Eudy scored ten for the half.

As the second half Avery dictated tempo and seemingly scored at will from in the paint. Katie Ellis scored only four points in the first half, but exploded for 17 points in the final two quarters for 21 points in all. Ellis also pulled in an astounding 20 rebounds off the glass and added four assists and a pair of steals.

Wiseman flirted with a triple double in the game, scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds and blocking 7 shots, all despite fouling out with over four minutes left in the game.

Despite its obvious disadvantages on the floor, Hendersonville trailed by only 16 at 60-44 after three periods. Lydia Stoney scored 17 points for the Lady Bearcats, with 16 from teammate Brooks Walz and eight points and ten rebounds from Sofia Lilly.

Avery finished the game with gusto as 25 additional points while holding the Bearcats to only a 13-point total. Lauren Avery scored four of her eight total points for the Vikings in the fourth quarter, and every Lady Viking in uniform scored points in the game.

“They’re a good basketball team,” Hendersonville coach Mike Norman said. “But we made a lot of progress. Up there we lost by 40 and didn’t score but 36 points, and tonight we played with a little more confidence.”

Eudy added 14 points and four blocks for Avery, with nine points, six steals, and four assists from Allison Vance. Samantha Shook added nine points, with eight points and seven rebounds from Lauren Avery, and five points and four rebounds from Sara Singleton.

Despite the improvement from the Lady Bearcats, seven Avery players had four or greater rebounds as they dominated the shorter and overmatched Hendersonville club. Avery improves to 12-7 overall, with a 6-1 conference record.

After their loss on Thursday night to the Cloudland Highlanders, the Vikings varsity men’s team looked to pull off an upset in Hendersonville over the Bearcats, a team who had lost its last two conference games but who soundly defeated Avery in their prior meeting in Newland.

Avery fell behind early to Hendersonville and was had no answer for its speed, athleticism, and full court pressing defense as the Bearcats prevailed 78-49.

Hendersonville utilized its height advantage early and often during Friday's contest. Tory Sitton tallied nine points for the Bearcats with six from teammate Desmond Whiteside to build a 23-13 lead after one period.

“I want our defense to spark our offense. It gives us our layups and our easy transition shots and really sets our pace,” Hendersonville head coach Rob Strong said after his team's win.

Avery played hard to keep up with the speedy Hendersonville club. Colton Blackburn was the most effective rebounder for the Big Red, as the sophomore collected ten rebounds for the game and scored ten of his 12 total points through the first two quarters. Kody Hughes chipped in with six first-half points for the Big Red, with five points from Dustin Clarke.

The Bearcats received a balanced scoring effort through two quarters, as Sitton scored 14 first-half points. A trio of Hendersonville teammates registered eight points each as the Bearcats led the Vikings 47-28 at halftime.

Avery could not find an answer all evening for Sitton, as he sparked a 10-3 Bearcat scoring run to open the second half. Hendersonville took advantage of 28 Avery turnovers, and Sitton in particular hurt the Big Red with ten points in the third quarter as part of a 24-point, ten rebound overall performance.

Dustin Clarke tallied three baskets in the stanza, but Hendersonville held a commanding 65-42 lead after three quarters and went on to the victory. Clarke led Avery with 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Kody Hughes scored eight points, with five points apiece from Joey Potter and Chase Watson.

Avery's boys fall to 3-15 overall and 1-6 in Western Highlands Conference play. The Big Red will look to improve their records this week against a trio of conference foes. The Vikings host Mitchell and Polk County in games early in the week, then travel this Friday to Madison for a Western Highlands contest against the Patriots.