In the girls game, the No. 10 Wildcats were able to hold off the pesky Eagles.
Blacksburg survived a wild fourth quarter and took a 91-84 decision over Chesnee in double overtime on Friday night.
Dez Tate scored four of his 37 points in the final minute of regulation and Nate Lamb followed Tate’s miss with less than 10 seconds left to force the extra period.
In double overtime, the Wildcats' Jackson Gore took over. Gore scored 12 of his 16 points in the second extra frame, including a pair of 3-pointers that helped put the game away.
The teams traded punches for most of the first quarter, with Blacksburg taking a 17-14 advantage. Chesnee took a 22-21 lead in the second on a Dawson Williamson free throw, but Blacksburg stormed back with a 9-0 run, keyed by five points from Kirby Connell. The Wildcats eventually led 37-27 at the break.
Chesnee closed to within seven points on multiple occasions but Blacksburg was able to maintain its 10-point margin in the third, leading 51-41 headed into the fourth quarter.
Shawn Garrison and Brandon Gettys scored 15 points each and and Kirby Connell had 12 for the Wildcats.
Tate's 37 led all scorers. Nate Lamb scored 23 for the Eagles.
Girls
The 2A No. 10 Blacksburg girls survived a sluggish first half and an early scare in the third quarter to outlast Chesnee 63-40.
The Wildcats opened up a 13-4 lead after a quarter of play, but the Eagles used a 15-7 rally in the second to pull to within a point at halftime on Shenandoah Bishop’s putback with 12 seconds left. Chesnee took the lead on a basket by Bishop one minute into the third quarter, but Blacksburg immediately responded. Eight straight points by the Wildcats made it 28-21 midway through the quarter before Chesnee scored again.
The Eagles fought down the stretch, but Blacksburg took a 38-31 advantage into the fourth quarter and outscored 23-9 in the final frame for the victory.
“We came out a little sluggish, maybe paid a little too much attention to the rankings and got caught up in that and we had to fight,” Blacksburg coach Bobby Rodgers said. “Nobody’s going to give you anything. But we fought through a little adversity. We can find a lot of excuses, but we fought back.”
Chesnee coach Carey Burns was proud of her team’s effort.
“I’m really proud of our girls tonight and the effort they gave,” Burns said. “I’m just so proud of the way they played. We’ve got three ninth-graders and five 10th-graders, and I’m excited about the future of Chesnee basketball. I feel like we’re just going to get better and better.”
Rodgers said Chesnee’s performance in turn pushed his team in the second half.
“I think it was a wake-up call,” he said. “They’re not usually playing from behind, and they just kicked it in gear.”
Ebonee Foster and Kendora Anderson had 12 points each for the Wildcats. Jada Ferguson scored 10 for Blacksburg.
Bishop led Chesnee with a career-high 14 points.