M.S. ROUNDUP: East Burke grapplers top Table Rock

Three up. Three down.

The East Burke Middle wrestling team flattened its third straight Burke County opponent with Monday’s 67-24 Foothills Athletic Conference victory at Table Rock.

The Raiders captured 12 matches — 10 via pinfall, one by decision and one by major decision.

Table Rock picked up one pinfall triumph and three forfeits.

East Burke jumped to a 43-0 lead midway through the conference match.

Heavyweight Michael Stillwell pinned Kelsey Hussey in 25 seconds. Tanner Gilbert (83) followed with an 18-second pin versus Chad McCarthy. Jacob McMonagle (93) jumped to a 5-1 lead in the opening period then scored four points in the final period to snag a 9-1 major decision against previously unbeaten Calyn Clark.

Brent Terry battled the Falcons’ Garrett Ward in the 103-pound weight class. Ward led 4-0 after one period, but Terry took a 5-4 lead after two periods. After a 6-6 deadlock Terry executed a takedown then obtained the pin with four seconds left as EB led 22-0.

“I remembered something in practice that made me mad. I tried to channel that with my energy,” said Terry. “At the end, I tried to push on through and make the match all I could make it.”

EB’s Noah Gilbert (112) defeated Logan Cobb by a 9-6 decision before the Raiders reeled off three straight pins from Keegan Ruark (119), Justin Franklin (125) and Dillon Childers (130) to take a 43-0 lead.

Table Rock stopped the bleeding when Austin Dyer (135) and Cody Grasse (140) picked up forfeit triumphs.

EB’s Trevor Gilbert (145) jumped to a 7-0 advantage before gaining the pin at the 1:50 mark against Will Smith.

Table Rock’s Quentin Cunningham (152) managed a takedown for a 2-0 lead after one period then stretched his advantage to 10-0 before pinning Dylan Bodde with 30 seconds remaining.

East Burke responded with three straight pins by London Page (160), Jakob Prestwood (171) and Eli Duckworth (189).

The Falcons’ Erik Solomon (215) concluded the match with a forfeit victory.

In preliminary action, Table Rock’s Austin Avery claimed a pinfall victory while East Burke’s Katrina Huffman gained a second-period pin.

East Burke (3-0 FAC) hosts Heritage while Table Rock (2-1) visits West McDowell on Thursday.

Girls basketball

E. McDowell 46, Heritage 44 - The Lady Eagles dropped a close game at East McDowell on Monday.

Courtney Robinson led the offensive charge with 16 points and five rebounds. Gabby Buruato scored 14 points while Leslie Leonard (seven points, eight boards), Abi Norris (four points, three rebounds) and Brandy Lowman (three points) contributed in the conference loss.

“The girls are continuing to improve each day,” HMS coach Kristin Ramsey said. “They are making better decisions and playing better as a team.”

Heritage (0-2) hosts rival East Burke at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Liberty 43, West McDowell 22 - The Lady Knights got off to a slow start but hit a high gear in the second quarter en route to an FAC road triumph in Marion.

West McDowell held a 4-3 advantage after one quarter but Liberty turned the tables and led 17-9 at the half. The Lady Knights surged to a 27-15 advantage after three periods.

Lindsey Adams paced the Lady Knights with 20 points, while Savanah Worley added six.

The LMS defense was led by Malarie Tallent and Madison Phillips.

“We had a slow start but the girls just kept working hard and hustling on the defensive side of the ball,” LMS coach Jason Pritchard said. “Our shots started falling for us in the second quarter. I was impressed with the quality minutes we got from out bench.”

Liberty (3-0) hosts unbeaten Walter R. Johnson at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Boys basketball

East Burke 51, Table Rock 36 - Drew Kelly scored 24 points (including six 3-pointers) to lead the Raiders to a home win Monday.

“I was pleased with our intensity and aggressiveness from the tip. We were able to force some early turnovers and we shot the ball extremely well,” EBMS first-year head coach DJ Carswell said. “When we are able to dictate the flow of the game at the start with our pressure and forcing turnovers, we play with more confidence. All around we put together the best first half we have played all season.

“Our starting five all scored, and we got big minutes from Christian Parson and Michael Richardson.”

Table Rock, playing without the services of its leading scorer and rebounder B.J. Emmons, suffered from early foul trouble to second-leading scorer Russell Cuthbertson.

East Burke led 19-6 at the end of the first period and 30-12 at the half.

Austin Fisher tallied nine points and Josh Johnson supplied eight points for the Falcons.

“Give credit to East Burke Middle for starting strong, hitting 3s and playing tough defense out of the gate,” TRMS coach Joe Hasty said.

E. McDowell 33, Heritage 30 - The Trojans’ J. Blanton hits a game-winning three-pointer from half court to give the home squad its first FAC win of the season.

Myrian Reid scored two early fast break baskets to help HMS take a 9-4 lead at the end of the opening period. The Eagles led 18-10 at the half and 23-20 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

East McDowell took its first lead (28-26) with 2:04 remaining in the game.

HMS’ Mason Poteat (game-high 16 points) hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 1:38 left.

EMJH (1-2 FAC) retook the lead (30-28) with 46 seconds remaining. Poteat’s offensive rebound putback tied the game with eight seconds left.

East McDowell, having trouble inbounding the ball, signaled for two timeouts before putting the ball in play for the shot by Blanton.

Reid and Cooper Abernathy contributed four points, each while Dalton Albright and Logan Justice added three points each for the Eagles.

W. McDowell 49, Liberty 45 – The Knights dropped to 1-2 in FAC play following a four-point road loss Monday in Marion