MADISON — Last week was a rough one for the Scott Skyhawks, who fell to 6-8 with three consecutive losses.

“This was a measuring stick week for us, and we didn’t measure up at all,” Scott coach Jason Kingery said. “Out of the three games, two were very winnable and we couldn’t pull it together to win either one of them. It just wasn’t a good week, all in all.”

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Scott started the week with a 59-37 loss to

Tug Valley last Tuesday.

The Skyhawks lost the Class AA contest in the first half, falling behind 8-2 after the first quarter and 37-9 at halftime.

“The kids were embarrassed at halftime, and they should have been,” Kingery said. “I know I was, but I didn’t yell at them or get on them in the locker room. I just told them they had to get out there and redeem themselves.”

Scott outscored Tug Valley 28-22 in the second half, but it was too little too late.

“We shot 3-of-22 in the first half and finished

12-of-55 for the game, and we shot 10-of-25 from the foul line, and four of those misses were on the front end of one-and-ones,” Kingery said. “Maybe it is my fault that we don’t score offensively, but it isn’t my fault that we are missing free throws.”

Senior shooting guard Shawn Ballard had 10 points, two rebounds and one assist and was the Skyhawks’ only double-digit scorer.

Sophomore point guard Jesse Belcher recorded nine points, four rebounds and one steal.

Junior center Justin Harmon provided eight points and three rebounds. Senior forward Andrew Lockard contributed five points and three rebounds.

Other contributors included senior small forward Tyler Ramsey (three points, two rebounds, two steals and one assist); junior forward David Ward (two points and one rebound);

junior guard Billy Queen (two rebounds and one steal); junior forward Nevin Honeycutt (two rebounds); senior power forward Tyler Thompson (one assist, one rebound and one steal); and

freshman guard Matt Dolan (one rebound and one steal).

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Scott suffered a 52-50 setback against host Sissonville on Thursday.

The Indians led 17-11 after the first quarter, 31-26 at halftime and 39-38 after the third quarter. The Skyhawks tied the score at 46-46 and 48-48 but couldn’t get over the hump and rally for the win.

Ballard led Scott with 13 points, five assists and one rebound. Ward had 12 points, two rebounds and one steal.

Dolan followed with six points, two assists and one steal. Lockard contributed five points and one assist. Ramsey provided four points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Other contributors included Queen (four points, two rebounds and one assist); Thompson (two points, three rebounds and two assists); junior guard Marshall Tully (two points, one assist and one steal); and Harmon (two points and one rebound).

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Scott ended the week with a 73-66 loss to Nicholas County on Friday.

The Skyhawks fell behind 14-12 after the first quarter and 25-22 at halftime but led 44-42 after the third quarter, only to watch the Grizzlies pull away for the victory with a 31-22 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.

Scott finished with three

double-digit scorers — Harmon (17 points and eight rebounds), Queen (11 points and one assist) and Ward (11 points and three rebounds).

Ballard followed with eight points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist. Honeycutt posted seven points, two rebounds and one assist. Ramsey provided six points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Other contributors included Lockard (four points and one assist); Dolan (three points, seven assists, two rebounds and two steals); and Belcher (two points, three assists and two rebounds).

Like Sissonville, Nicholas County grabbed 17 offensive rebounds against Scott. That is unacceptable to Kingery.

“We work on defense and

boxing out every day,” he said. “We might not work on offense, but we work on defensive principles and boxing out every day, and that

really bothers me. That was the key to both of those losses.”

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Scott will host Chapmanville on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and visit

Tug Valley on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“This is a big one,” Kingery said of the Chapmanville game. “It will decide whether we get a bye in the first round of the sectional tournament or whether we will have to play. We will have to play a whole lot better than we have been, and we will because we are going to have a real good week of practice.”

VAN — The Sherman Tide extended its winning streak Thursday with a 75-27 victory over the Van Bulldogs in a

Boone County basketball battle.

Fourteen players scored for Sherman, which used a 28-0 run to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 32-6 advantage.

The Tide led 21-6 after the first quarter, 43-10 at halftime and 53-30 after the third quarter.

Sherman improved to 5-8 with its fourth consecutive win.

“We started playing the way we had been playing,” Sherman coach Chris Duncan said. “We have been playing pretty good defense, and we picked up our defensive pressure and intensity.”

Van dropped to 3-9 with its fourth consecutive loss.

“We started getting the big eyes,” Van coach Anthony Jones said. “We started breaking down. They might be more experienced, but we have great athletes. We just lost our heart. A few of us quit. That bothered me more than anything, and I won’t tolerate it.”

Junior point guard Justin Woodrum led the Tide with 11 points. Senior guards Tyler Boulet and Cody Cooper each had nine points, as did senior forward Justin Maloskey.

Senior forwards Colby Treadway and Jake Rollo added six points apiece. Junior forward Carlos Masingo, sophomore guard B.D. Banks, sophomore forward Jordan Epling and sophomore

forward Braden Lewis each

followed with four points.

Junior guard Aaron Barker

netted three points. Senior forward Johnathan Bowman, senior guard Jordan Massey and sophomore guard Blake Hedger added two points apiece.

Sophomore forward Matt White had 13 points and was the only double-digit scorer for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore guard Travis Rose followed with six points. Sophomore guard Matt Doss

finished with three points. Sophomore guards Arron Bias and Tyler Gunnoe added two points apiece. Sophomore

forward Nate Perry scored one point.

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The Tide picked up two more wins last week.

Sherman recorded a 55-46 victory over host Liberty Raleigh last Monday.

The Tide fell behind 11-9 after the first quarter but rallied to lead 22-16 at halftime and 44-28 after the third quarter.

Maloskey scored a team-high 20 points for Sherman. Treadway and Woodrum followed with 11 points apiece. Rollo and Boulet finished with seven and six points, respectively.

Sherman posted a 72-47 victory over visiting Clay County last Tuesday.

The Tide fell behind 10-6 after the first quarter but rallied to lead 27-22 at halftime and 44-29 after the third quarter.

Rollo led Sherman with 18 points. Boulet and Treadway each had 17 points.

Maloskey scored six points. Masingo and Cooper each netted four points. Bowman and Hedger added two points apiece.

“We are playing like I knew we could right now,” said Duncan, whose team won 10 of its last 12 games during the 2008-09 season. “I think we can make another run like we did last year.”

Weather permitting, Sherman was scheduled to host Tug Valley on Tuesday. Results from that game were unavailable for this week’s issue but will be published in next week’s issue.

Sherman will host Shady Spring on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and visit Clay County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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The Bulldogs posted one win and endured two losses in their other three games last week.

Van suffered a 61-59 setback against host Greater Beckley Christian last Monday.

The Bulldogs fell behind 16-11 after the first quarter but rallied to lead 31-27 at halftime and 50-44 after the third quarter. However, the Crusaders capped a 17-9 fourth-quarter comeback with a last-second shot to pick up the win.

Van had three double-digit scorers — White (13 points), Gunnoe (12 points) and senior forward Alex Adkins (10 points).

Senior guard Donnie Markins and sophomore guard Matt Doss netted nine points apiece. Sophomore guard Travis Rose added six points.

Senior forward Loren Harshbarger played only two minutes before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined him for Van’s next two games.

Van dropped a 61-46 decision against host Matewan last Tuesday.

The Bulldogs trailed 14-8 after the first quarter, 34-18 at halftime and 44-30 after the third quarter.

Rose had 13 points and was Van’s only double-digit scorer. Adkins and Markins each had eight points.

Bias and White followed with five points apiece. Doss finished with three points. Gunnoe and junior forward Chris Sanders added two points apiece.

“We traveled two hours on a bus,” Jones said. “Then, we sat in the stands for another two hours for the girls game. Then, we went out there and played awful in the first half. We were great in the second half, but we dug ourselves too much of a hole in the first half.

“I don’t understand it,” he added. “One night, we look like we can compete with any team in Single-A. The next night, we look like we couldn’t beat a grade school team.”

Van bounced back from its loss to Boone County rival Sherman with a 53-48 overtime victory over visiting Meadow Bridge on Friday.

The Wildcats grabbed a

four-point lead at 14-10 after the first quarter and maintained it after the second and third quarters at 20-16 and 33-29 as each team scored six and 13 points in those periods, respectively.

A third-quarter technical foul (only 52 seconds remained) against Meadow Bridge helped Van erase a five-point deficit.

The Bulldogs sent the game into overtime with a 15-11 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter and won it with a 9-4 scoring advantage in the extra period.

“This was a good way to rebound after getting pounded pretty hard the night before,” Jones said. “We were tired and dragging after playing six games in eight days, but we came out and gave it everything we had. I was proud of our kids.”

Adkins scored five of his 10 points in overtime.

“He played really well,” Jones said.

Gunnoe led Van with 14 points. Rose had eight points.

Doss and White added six points apiece. Bias and Markins followed with five and four points, respectively.

“The sophomores stepped up, and our seniors played a big game,” Jones said.

Meadow Bridge’s Chris Gray scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, but Van made an adjustment and he managed only two points in the fourth quarter and none in overtime. Jones decided to double-team the

6-foot-8, 280-pound Gray with Adkins behind him and White in front of him.

“Adkins played much bigger than he is,” Jones said. “He played real well.”

The Bulldogs committed a season-low 10 turnovers.

“We took care of the ball,” Jones said.

Weather permitting, Van was scheduled to host Buffalo Putnam on Tuesday. Results from that game were unavailable for this week’s issue but will be published in next week’s issue.

Van will host Matewan on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Burch on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.