Holmes, Chesnee scorch Wildcats
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Ledger photo by LARRY HILLIARD Blacksburg's Josh Butler tries to power his way to the basket against Chesnee on Friday.

The Blacksburg Wildcats had no answer for Chesnee's Chase Holmes on Friday.

Holmes equaled the first-half point production of the Blacksburg Wildcats and finished with 36 points in an easy 88-52 victory.

Holmes scored 25 points in the first half as the Eagles doubled the score on the visitors, 50-25, at the break.

"If (Holmes) is shooting like he was tonight, he's hard to stop," Blacksburg coach Travis Miller said. "You try to figure out where he's at (on the floor), but he shot the ball so well. We didn't match their intensity from the start. They came out on fire and we didn't have any answer for it."

The Eagles controlled the game from the start, jumping to a 31-12 cushion at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats (5-10, 2-3) never threatened the Eagles the rest of the game.

Dustin Deese was the only bright spot in the first half with 12 points for the Wildcats.

Daryl Clark's three-pointer and Holmes' free throw made it 50-25 at the half. The Eagles' lead grew to as many as 26 points in the third quarter before Antonio Bolin scored five straight points for the Wildcats. But that would be as close as Blacksburg would get.

Kevin Sarratt's three-pointer increased Chesnee's lead to 71-37 at the end of the third quarter.

Deese had 21 points to pace the Wildcats while Bolin had 15. Clark added 21 points for the Eagles, who even their region mark at 2-2.

Blacksburg stepped out of conference play on Saturday and lost in overtime at Christ Church, 74-72. The Crusaders' Neal Moseley hit a running 15-footer as time expired in overtime. The Wildcats battled back from six points down in overtime to tie the game with a three-pointer. Manny Ford and Deese each had 18 points to lead the Wildcats, who travel to Chapman on Friday.