Union depth too much for Blacksburg
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Sports Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com

Blacksburg played Union County evenly for a half Thursday before the Yellow Jackets superior depth turned a close game into an 86-43 rout.

Blacksburg (0-2) trailed Union County by seven points with one minute left in the first half. Led by 6'7 Clemson recruit Devin Booker, the Yellow Jackets went on a 6-0 run to take a 36-23 halftime lead.

"Union County has a very good basketball team," Blacksburg boys basketball coach Travis Miller said. "We played Union toe to toe for the first half. Union played 12 players in the game. We had no depth and just run out of gas in the second half."

Blacksburg forward Dean Craig missed the game with a charley horse. Guard Josh Elmore fouled out early in the second half. Their absence left Miller with limited depth against Union.

There were some bright spots for Blacksburg.

Darrell Walton and Johnathan Gelok, a pair of 6'4 sophomores, both played well for the Wildcats inside against the talented Union frontcourt. Walton, Rashad Earls and Ken Littlejohn scored in double figures for the Wildcats.

The Blacksburg Lady Wildcats didn't fare much better in a 74-27 loss to Union.

Elizabeth Epperly scored 19 points. Brittany Babb had 10 rebounds for the shorthanded Lady Wildcats team.

Blacksburg fell behind 18-8 in the first quarter. The Wildcats shot 15 free throws in the first half, but were only 55 percent from the charity stripe.

Union scored 43 points over the second and third quarter to take a 61-20 lead.

"Union ran a full court press for three and a half quarters. The majority of their points came off layups and mid-range jumpers," Blacksburg Lady Wildcats coach Donnell White said. "We had only three players in the game with varsity experience. This was a good learning experience for girls that we hope will benefit our team later in the season."

The Blacksburg teams will play home opener Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. against Landrum.