Blacksburg doomed by turnovers down stretch
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

After so much has gone wrong for the inexperienced Blacksburg boys basketball team this season, coach Travis Miller figured his Wildcats would win when they took the lead on Rashad Earls' basket with about a minute to go.

But the Wildcats turned the ball on their next three possessions to allow Chapman to escape with a 47- 45 victory on Friday.

Chapman tied it at 45 with :20 left to play. After some time ran off the clock, the Wildcats called a timeout for a potential, last-second, game-winning play. But the Panthers stole the inbounds pass that was thrown into the backcourt and scored as time expired.

"It was a tough loss for us but we have to bounce back," Miller said. "I felt that we played good enough defense but we didn't make plays down the stretch."

Ken Littlejohn had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, to pace the Wildcats. Earls added 11 for the Wildcats, who led 37-25 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

But the fourth quarter belonged to Chapman, which outscored the Wildcats, 16-6.

"We just didn't make plays," Miller said.

Blacksburg, which drops to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in region play, will host Carolina on Wednesday.

In girls' action, Chapman downed the Lady Wildcats, 58-25.

The Lady Panthers jumped to a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter to cruise to the easy win.