In a showdown of early season 2A unbeaten teams, host Shenandoah used a big second quarter to run away and hide from the visiting Alexandria Tigers.

 

 

The matchup started out slowly, with each team struggling to find a rhythm early on. Sophomore guard Jakeb Kinsey, who came off the bench after not practicing this week due to an injury, scored five in the opening stanza to give his Raiders the early advantage. 

 

 

The second quarter was all Shenandoah, as Kinsey and fellow sophomore Andrew Bennett were able to get out in transition and start the quarter on a 9-2 run. Bennett filled the stat sheet in the first half with six points, five boards, and five assists as he routinely was able to get his defender off the dribble, then find an open teammate with the pass. The advantage grew to 21 points at the break as Alexandria struggled to find any offense consistently outside of senior forward Avery Paddock.

 

 

Alexandria would come out of the locker room and being the second half on a small 7-2 run, forcing Dave McCullough to call timeout. Shenandoah would regroup from there, and maintain an advantage of at least 16 points. The Raiders missed several opportunities to extend their lead even further, however, as missed shots near the basket and unforced turnovers squandered many possessions.

 

 

Alexandria failed to convert, as Avery Paddock was the only Tiger to reach double figures as he finished with 22. Kinsey led Shenandoah with 20, while junior forward Peyton Starks added 15 points and Andrew Bennett finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and three charges drawn.

 

 

 

Alexandria       9    8  13  22  -  52

Shenandoah  13  25  11  20  -  69

 

Alexandria: Avery Paddock 22 points (9/13 FGs, 4/6 FTs), 7 rebs, 4 stls; Rylan Metz 9 points (4/5 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 3 asts, 2 stls; Cade Vernetti 4 points; Sam Hensley 4 points; Kole Stewart 4 points; Brennan Morehead 3 points (1/7 FGs, 1/4 FTs), 4 rebs; Nick Williams 2 points; Miller Abernathy 2 points; Trey Stokes 2 points

 

Shenandoah: Jakeb Kinsey 20 points (5/9 FGs, 2/4 3Ps, 8/10 FTs); Peyton Starks 15 points (7/10 FGs, 1/3 FTs); Andrew Bennett 10 points (4/6 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 7 rebs, 7 asts, 2 stls; Jackson Campbell 8 points, Kaden McCullough 7 points (2/9 FGs, 1/6 3Ps, 2/2 FTs), 3 asts; Evan Coers 7 points; Nate Kimball 2 points