Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
NAUGATUCK Class AAA No. 10 Logan jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a hot shooting first half from the 3-point range.
Logan led for nearly 30 minutes of Saturday night’s contest on its way to a 67-55 win over Class A No. 3 Tug Valley at Tug Valley High School.
The Panthers led 2-0 following a pair of free throws from Ashton Davis with 7:55 to play. Logan tied the game at 2 on Cole Blankenship’s basket and took the lead for good on Julius Clancy’s jumper with 6:40 to play in the opening quarter.
Blankenship and Matt Hatfield knocked down back to back 3’s to give Logan a 10-2 with 5:15 to play in the first.
Logan’s lead would reach as many as 14 points in the first half, 23-9, on Blankenship’s 3 with 7:07 to play in the second quarter.
With Logan leading 29-16, Tug Valley would go on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 29-23, on Kaden Hale’s jumper with 1:59 to play before halftime.
Devin Maynard and Blankenship would knock down back-to-back 3’s to give Logan a 35-23 halftime lead.
Blankenship, who led Logan with a game-high 25 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 4 of 7 shooting from 3, had three 3-pointers and 14 points in the first half.
The Wildcats shot 50% from the field in the first quarter and 60% in the second quarter and was an impressive 6 of 9 from 3-point range in the first half.
Logan’s lead would reach 15 points when Blankenship hit his fourth and final 3-pointer to start the third quarter, but Tug Valley would cut the lead to 10 points, 44-34, on Carson Newsome’s 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
Hale’s 3-pointer with 1:07 to play in the fourth quarter brought Tug Valley to within seven, 62-55, but the Wildcats would score the final five points to avenge an earlier season overtime loss to the Panthers.
Logan snapped a two-game losing streak and handed Tug Valley its third loss in its last five games.
Hale led Tug Valley with 19 points and Newsome added 14 points. The Panthers shot 20 of 62 from the floor and were 7 of 20 from 3-point range.
Blankenship was one of four Wildcats to reach double figures. Hatfield finished with 12 points and Clancy and Zayden Sherod each had 10.
Logan cooled off in the second half, but still managed to make 23 of its 47 shot attempts from the floor and was 8 of 16 from 3 and converted 13 of 15 free throw attempts.
Clancy added eight rebounds and five assists to his stat line as Logan improved to 9-9 on the year.
Tug Valley fell to 14-4 with the loss and will be back in action Tuesday night at sectional rival Man. On Thursday, the Panthers travel to Van and will travel to Class A No. 1 Tucker County on Saturday before closing the regular season on February 20 at Class AA No. 8 Westside.
Logan hosts Winfield on Tuesday and Class AAA No. 8 Sissonville on Friday. The Wildcats close the regular season with a pair of road games at Lincoln County on February 21 and Mingo Central on February 22.
Logan 67, Tug Valley 55
Logan Wildcats (9-9)
Clancy 3-13 3-4 10, Hatfield 4-9 2-2 12, Blankenship 7-12 7-7 25, Sherod 5-7 0-0 10, Ilderton 3-5 1-2 7, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Maynard 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 23-47 13-15 67.
Tug Valley Panthers (14-4)
Elia 1-3 0-0 2, Ferris 3-16 2-3 9, Brewer 0-0 0-0 0, Newsome 5-8 1-1 14, Marcum 3-8 1-3 7, Davis 0-10 4-4 4, Hale 8-17 0-0 19. Totals: 20-62 8-11 55.
Logan 20 15 9 23- 67
Tug Valley 9 14 11 21- 55
3-point field goals_Logan 8-16 (Clancy 1-3, Hatfield 2-4, Blankenship 4-7, Sherod 0-1, Maynard 0-1), Tug Valley 7-20 (Elia 0-1, Ferris 1-2, Newsome 3-3, Davis 0-6, Hale 3-8). Fouled out_None. Rebounds_Logan 22 (Clancy 8), Tug Valley 17 (Marcum 6). Assists_Logan 12 (Clancy 5), Tug Valley 13 (Ferris 6). Total fouls_Logan 19, Tug Valley 18. Technicals_None.