Madison hoop boys advance

Madison County's boys basketball team knows how to close out its home basketball schedule in style. Buffalo Gap found that out the hard way Feb. 23 night, falling 86-32 in the Region B, Division 1 quarterfinals at MCHS.

The Mountaineers, fueled by a raucous crowd that provides an atmosphere unlike any other in Central Virginia, jumped out to a 25-4 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Trey Hensley knocked down four of his six 3-pointers in the first quarter and led all scorers with 18 points on the night.

The crowd’s fervor grew each time a Hensley triple found the net, a fact that wasn’t lost on the senior sharpshooter.

“It was alive tonight. It was crazy,” Hensley said of the Madison faithful that packed the gym. “I kept shooting the ball like coach told me, my teammates found me open and it was going in for me.”

Hensley, who usually provides spot minutes off the bench, played a much more pivotal role for Madison against Gap.

“Trey played phenomenally. We’ve always known he’s a great shooter. We see it in practice every day,” said Madison coach Ben Breeden. “It was just a matter of time and a matter of what game and when it was going to happen.”

In typical fashion, the seniors took care of business for the Mountaineers. David Falk scored 12 points, blocked eight shots and pulled down five rebounds. Jerel Carter added 14 points and Logan Terrell scored 16 points and had nine rebounds in his final home game.

“It was electric in here tonight. All us seniors talked before the game and said, ‘Let’s do something to remember this night,’” said Terrell, Madison’s all-time leading scorer.

If there was ever a play to remember for Madison, it came midway through the third quarter. After a Carter steal near midcourt, the senior guard drove the ball down the left side of the court, drawing a defender before floating an underhand lob to a flying Falk for a two-handed dunk that sent the crowd into a fever pitch.

“This atmosphere is special and these seniors really feed off each other,” Breeden said. “When you see David dunking, you see our intensity start to go up a notch.”

The monster dunk helped Madison (21-0) outscore Buffalo Gap 21-5 in the third quarter and continued the frenetic pace of the first half.

While the noise from the stands is one thing, coupling it with a bevy of talented players was too much for the Bison to handle.

The Mountaineers forced Buffalo Gap (6-14) into 16 first-half turnovers and 24 for the game. Madison had a 14-0 run in the first half and another 12-0 run in the third quarter that broke the game open.

“We’ve played in atmospheres like this, but we’ve never played a team like that,” said Buffalo Gap head coach James Carter, whose team advanced to the Region B tournament from the Shenandoah District. “They’ve been together since they were freshmen and you can’t beat that experience.”

The 54-point rout of the Bison stands in stark contrast to the 45-42 nail-biter Madison survived last week against George Mason in the Bull Run District tournament finals.

“We looked at that film and figured out where our breakdowns were defensively, and I think we fixed them tonight,” Breeden said.

Madison County, the No. 1 seed in Region B Division 1, moves on to face Luray in the tournament semifinals this Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. at Orange County High School.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the March 4 edition of The Eagle for a complete update.