By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Talk about “finishing,” this time the Watauga men’s basketball team hammered Alexander Central, 71-47, in the Northwestern Conference tournament semifinal — and maybe even polished off the nail in the proverbial coffin.
Early in the 2024-25 season, the Watauga men’s basketball team had a hard time “finishing” the game. They had second half leads suddenly evaporate into losses against South Caldwell and Alexander Central in the Pioneers’ first two Northwestern Conference games. In Hudson, the Spartans dumped Watauga, 76-64. In Taylorsville, the Cougars rallied from a 7-point deficit with five minutes to go to edge the Pioneers, 68-65.
Fast forward to the regular season’s end. It turns out, those were the only two conference losses suffered by Watauga. In the rematches at Lentz Eggers Gym, Watauga pummeled South Caldwell, 80-61, on Jan. 31. Less than a week later, on Feb. 4, the Pioneers upended Alexander Central, 55-43.
So, with the Pioneers holding a 53-33 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, when Watauga head coach Bryson Payne implored his troops to “finish,” that is exactly what they did. Inspired by a rousing 3-pointer from Jackson Love and consecutive driving layups in transition by Josiah Railey, Watauga erased all thoughts of anything else save victory.
Railey finished with a team-high 23 points, one shy of the game-high posted by Alexander Central’s one-man show, Jayon Connor (24 points). Also in double figures for the Pioneers were Cade Keller (12) and Love (11). The rest of Watauga’s points were spread pretty evenly among Landon Smith and Eli Bishop, each with seven points off the bench, and strong inside play from starting forward Jace Blocker (6).
The win now sets up the NWC tourney championship game encounter with Freedom on Feb. 21, also to be hosted by Ashe County, with an 8 p.m. scheduled tipoff. The Patriots advanced with a 75-68 win over South Caldwell in the other semifinal pairing on Feb. 18.
Freedom brings a respectable 19-6 overall record into the Feb. 21 matchup, 8-3 in conference. They lost once to South Caldwell and two close games against Watauga, so the Patriots will be gunning to upset the Pioneers’ Cinderella season in the third encounter. They lost to Watauga, 77-70, on the road, and were edged, 72-69, on their home court in Morganton. Will a neutral venue be a difference maker?
KEY PERFORMERS of WATAUGA VS. ALEXANDER CENTRAL
- AC – Jayon Connor: 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
- WAT – Josiah Railey: 23 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds
- WAT – Cade Keller: 12 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
- WAT – Jackson Love: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
- WAT – Jace Blocker: 9 rebounds, 6 points, 6 assists
- AC – Koa Mikeal: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
- WAT – Maddox Greene: 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
- WAT – Landon Smith: 7 points, 1 steal
- WAT – Eli Bishop: 7 points, 1 steal
- AC – Garison Millsaps: 6 points, 6 rebounds
