The Avery Lady Vikings handled the Owen Warlassies 69-60 in Swannanoa on Wednesday night to push its current win streak to seven straight games. Avery scored the first eight points of the game and put Owen behind by 18 points after one quarter, as the Vikings scorched the nets for a 24-6 lead. The Warlassies slowly cut into the Viking margin, however, narrowing the gap slightly to 14 at 35-21 at halftime.A 10-point third quarter from Avery senior Sara Wiseman paced the Big Red attack as the Lady Vikings extended their lead to 53-34 with eight minutes to play.
Down but not out, the Warlassies mounted a rally to narrow the lead to nine points at 58-49 after a Shae Frizzell three-pointer with 2:26 to play. Owen then strategized to send the Lady Vikings to the line, a move that backfired on the Warlassies as Avery calmly sank 14 of its 19 free throws in the final period and 31 of 42 shots (73%) overall.
Lauren Avery was sent to the line on six separate occasions in the final stanza, making 10 of 11 free throws to rebuild the Avery margin to a dozen points. Owen fought hard but the Vikings withstood a final rally and captured the nine-point win.
Wiseman scored a total of 20 points with six rebounds and three steals before fouling out with just over three minutes left to play. Lauren Avery ended the night with 19 points and six rebounds, while Katelynn Eudy added 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks. Mercedes Bentley chipped in with eight points, with eight assists and six steals coming from Elyse Perry.
Avery forced Owen into 33 turnovers in the contest and held the Warlassies to 40 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Vikings improve to 18-2 overall, with a 10-1 mark in Western Highlands Conference play.
The Avery varsity boys and Owen put on a show for the crowd on Senior Night in Buncombe County. Owen jumped out to a 24-14 lead after one quarter. For the Vikings, the only offense for much of the first half came from conference player of the year candidate Dustin Clarke, who scored 13 of Avery's 14 points in the quarter.Clarke continued to fire on all cylinders as the second quarter ensued with some help from teammate Timmy Stewart. Stewart hit three baskets, including a three-pointer from the wing, to cut the Owen lead to 36-30 in the final 30 seconds of the half. A three-point shot at the buzzer from Owen's JD Chaplain rebuilt some of the lead lost, giving the Warhorses a 39-30 at halftime.
Avery was kept in the contest by Dustin Clarke's 22 points, while the frontcourt duo of Tony Halvorson and Ben Marett had their way on the low block, scoring a number of baskets on offensive rebounds and putbacks.
During halftime the Avery coaching staff made number of adjustments, moving Timmy Stewart from a forward defensive position to that of a guard to cover talented Owen point guard Bruce Wallace. Clarke, meanwhile, was moved to the forward position on defense to help with covering the Owen trees and help the Avery frontcourt to offset the duo of Marett and Halvorson.
The coaching strategy proved to be a stroke of genius. Offensively a supporting cast of scorers emerged for the Big Red in the third quarter, including Dylan Eppley and Joey Potter, who helped Avery to an 8-2 run to start the second half and cut the Owen lead to three points. A three-point play from Eppley tied the score at 41 midway through the period. A Clarke jumper gave Avery its first lead of the second half at 45-44, but Owen answered with a 9-0 scoring run to close the stanza, sparked by two additional three-pointers from Chaplain to propel Owen to a 53-45 lead after three quarters.
Owen scored the first bucket of the final stanza to lead by ten, but the Vikings found its second wind with a 12-0 run to regain the lead at 57-55. After being held to only two baskets in the third quarter, Clarke again found space and made the Warhorses pay in the final eight minutes.
The two teams traded baskets for much of the latter portion of the final quarter. A Clarke layup gave Avery a four point lead at 61-57 at the 3:27 mark, but Owen rallied and eventually tied the contest at 63-63 on a Marett basket and free throw. Clarke sank key free throws to put the Vikings back up by a pair. On Owen's final meaningful possession, a shot attempt from Chaplain was rebounded by Kody Hughes. The Avery junior was fouled and sank two huge free throws to provide the for the final margin in a thrilling 67-63 win.
Dustin Clarke finished a career night with 36 points, 12 rebounds, 8 steals, and 5 assists. Dylan Eppley netted ten points, with seven points from Joey Potter. Chaplain finished with 15 points for Owen, while the combination of Halvorson and Marett combined for 35 points.
The Avery boys improve to 10-8 overall, with an 8-3 conference mark.
Avery travels this afternoon to Burnsville to take on Mountain Heritage. The JV girls contest will start at the special time of 3:30 p.m. in advance of a coming winter storm.
