Avery Falls Victim to Late Heritage Surge, Rallies on Road to Defeat Rival Mitchell

The Avery varsity boys basketball team found itself in a pair of conference battles as it continues to gain respect from teams across the Western Highlands Conference. The Big Red hung tough with a talented and deep Mountain Heritage Cougars squad Wednesday night January 13^th, only to see the tandem of Steven Wilson and John Cannon carry Heritage to a 71-63 victory.

On Friday night in Ledger the Vikings fell behind Mitchell early and rallied to take a lead before halftime, but fell behind again by as many as seven points in the second half. A late surge, bolstered by a 30-point, 11 rebound, eight assist effort from junior Dustin Clarke was enough to erase a deficit and carry the Vikings to a 69-66 win over its southern rival.

In Wednesday night’s game it was the Cougars who pounced on an early lead. Junior 6’11” center John Cannon scored nine points in the quarter and Avery had difficulty finding answers for the Division I recruit’s size advantage. Cannon also blocked a number of shots defensively, helping the Cougars establish a 19-14 lead after eight minutes.

Mountain Heritage cooled off shooting from the field while the Vikings found their touch. Dustin Clarke netted ten points in the frame as Avery cut the Heritage lead to a single point at 35-34 at halftime.

The two teams remained close on the scoreboard through the entire third quarter. The duo of Cannon and senior Steven Wilson accounted for 15 of the Cougars’ 19 points in the stanza. Avery’s Joey Potter got free offensively during the period for six points and teammate Dylan Eppley pitched in with a couple of field goals to keep Avery within three points at 54-51 after three quarters.

Avery cut the Heritage lead to as little as two points at 57-55 with 4:45 left to play in the game, but eight points from Wilson and another six points from Cannon proved to be just enough. Avery was 0 for 6 from the three-point line in the final quarter, hampering any chance to draw close in the game’s final stages.

The Vikings were paced by 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and five assists from Dustin Clarke, with 11 points and four rebounds from Dylan Eppley and nine points from Joey Potter. Cannon finished with a game-high 28 points, 11 rebounds, and nine blocks for Heritage, with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists from Wilson.

“Was that not a fun game to watch?” Avery head coach Bo Manis said immediately after the game. “I was excited about the love the kids on the floor showed for the game of basketball. They gave everything they’ve got. The breakdowns and problems we had in crucial moments we can fix, but we played hard and played well against a good team tonight.

As the team matures together, it still seeks to iron out areas which still occasionally raise up during the course of a game.

“It’s like we discussed last week, we need to keep a consistent intensity on offense, especially in key moments of the game. Those things will get us over the hump,” Coach Manis stated.

In Friday’s showdown at Mitchell, the Vikings found themselves playing catch-up from the early moments. Avery fell behind early as it shot 4 of 17 from the field in the quarter. Mitchell meanwhile shot 60 percent from the field, leading by as many as nine points in the opening period.

Thomas Buchanan paced Mitchell with seven points, but Avery scored six of the final eight points of the frame, including a Dustin Clarke fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, to cut Mitchell’s advantage to 15-10 after one quarter.

Avery rallied early in the quarter as four points each from Dylan Eppley and Spencer Blackburn sparked an Avery run. Mark Polsgrove drained a jumper to tie the game at 24-24 with 1:34 to play in the first half. Mitchell showed its offensive prowess for the rest of the half, however, as a 6-0 run closed the quarter with the Mountaineers leading 30-24 at intermission.

The Vikings worked to narrow the gap as Joey Potter scored seven points in the third quarter. Mitchell’s Logan Jensen came to life in the second half as he tallied three field goals, including a thunderous alley-oop slam dunk which ignited the partisan Mountaineer crowd. By the start of the final period, Mitchell had momentum and a 46-41 advantage.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the Avery club refused to fold up the tent. Dustin Clarke, whom Mitchell keyed on defensively with a box-and-one setup, torched the Mountaineers defense over the final two periods and played as a man on a mission to spark the Big Red. The junior was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the closing stanza and was 4 of 5 from the field as part of a 17-point fourth quarter.

Midway through the final quarter the Mountaineers extended a one point advantage into a seven-point lead at 60-53. Avery roared back to take the lead when two Clarke free throws with only 29 seconds remaining in the game put the Vikings on top 67-66.

Mitchell had a final possession to take the lead, but Avery’s Timmy Stewart rebounded a missed Mountaineer shot attempt, fired an outlet pass down the floor. Dylan Eppley could not convert the layup attempt, but an offensive rebound and put-back by Clarke gave the Big Red the three-point with 2.6 seconds on the clock. Mitchell came up short on its final desperation shot, sending the visitors from Newland home happy.

Clarke turned in his best overall performance to date this season, with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Potter added 12 points and three rebounds, while Eppley chipped in with eight points, 11 rebounds, and three steals. Thomas Buchanan paced Mitchell with 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

“Dustin stayed calm and didn’t force anything on Friday like I feel he did a little on Wednesday. He took what the defense gave us and worked from there,” head coach Bo Manis said after the win. “We saw some weaknesses in their box-and-one and we took advantage of them. A point of emphasis in practice has been for other players needing to step up. Joey hit some big shots in the second half and stepped up when we really needed him. Friday night was a great way to win on the road and get over the hump. Our team never gives up and I can’t say enough about the love for the game and the kind of character those guys have.”

Avery improves to 4-7, evening its record to 2-2 in conference play.

The Vikings upended Owen 58-54 on Tuesday night to move to 3-2 in conference play, and will hit the road for a pair of games later in the week, journeying to Miller’s Creek to take on West Wilkes on Thursday and going to Thomas Jefferson Academy on Friday evening. A full recap of all three games can be found in next week's print edition.