Watauga survives Ashe County surge in ‘Senior Night’ rivalry game, 65-60

February 10, 2023

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Wyatt Keller (10) goes up for a tough basket inside the paint on Feb. 10, vs. Ashe County. Photographic image by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — They weren’t giving away gold, land or cryptocurrency at Watauga High School on Feb. 10, but by 4:30 p.m. parking was only available in the nether regions of the expansive school parking lot. No, it was rivalry basketball night in the High Country, as well as “Senior Night” at host Watauga — and the atmosphere was as electric as the play on the court.

BONUS: Senior Night photos at bottom of article.

A second half surge by Ashe County’s men’s basketball team all but swallowed up a 19 point halftime deficit. The Huskies’ Jake Grubb (17 points in the second half), Eli Lemley (12 points in the second half) and Harrison Langdon (11 points in the second half) reeled in the Pioneers but weren’t quite able to overtake their hosts. Watauga held on for a nail biter win that went down to the last few seconds, 65-60.

Nice touch! Watauga senior Davis Hunt made the most of his starting opportunity on Feb. 10, vs. Ashe County. He scored 7 points in contributing to the Pioneers’ ultimate 65-60 win. Photographic image by David Rogers

This was high school basketball at its finest. Sure, there were some boos and catcalls when one side or the other’s fans disagreed with an official’s call — or no call when the crowd thought a foul had been committed. And yet, there was nothing abusive heard from the packed grandstands on both sides of the court. It was fun. It was entertaining. It was special.

After Watauga lost a thriller at Ashe County just a couple of weeks ago, on Jan. 20, 70-59, in a game that was back and forth close until the Pioneers were forced to foul in the last seconds, this Northwestern Conference rematch had to have been circled on the entire Pioneer team’s calendars.

Twisting, turning, leaping… Watauga senior Cole Horine attacks the basket on Feb. 10 vs. Ashe County in Lentz Eggers Gym during the Pioneers’ 65-60 win to close out the regular season. Photographic image by David Rogers

And that is the way the Pioneers played in the opening two quarters to take a 39-20 lead into halftime. Seniors Grant Morrison, Wyatt Keller, Davis Hunt and Cole Horine poured in 9, 7, 7 and 6 points, respectively, in the first half and the team made just about every Husky shot difficult, defensively.

The only Ashe County scoring of note in the first half was by Grubb, whose 12 first half points when combined with a whopping 17 in the second half earned him game-high scoring honors, with 29 on the night, including five made baskets from behind the 3-point arc.

Morrison and Keller shared team-high honors scoring for the Pioneers, with 16 each, the only Watauga players in double figures on a night when there was good offensive production spread up and down the roster.

A couple of the guys in the Watauga student section aptly described themselves as ‘ions’. The ‘white out’ theme certainly contributed to the electric atmosphere with the grandstands packed on both sides of the court for the rivalry game vs. Ashe County on Feb. 10. Photographic image by David Rogers

“This was just good rivalry basketball,” said Watauga head coach Bryson Payne afterwards. “I am proud of how our guys finished.”

Watauga finished the regular season 12-12 overall and 5-5 in Northwestern Conference play. Ashe County ends the regular season 9-15 overall and 3-7 in the NWC. Both teams await the seeding decisions of the conference competition committee as they determine the pairings for next week’s Northwestern Conference tournament play.

SCORING SUMMARY