Madison’s state title dreams dashed by Dan River

RICHMOND – Madison County saw its dream season come to a sudden and shocking end as Dan River rallied from a double-digit deficit to knock off the previously unbeaten Mountaineers, 57-54.

Dan River advances to the Group A, Division 2 title game Saturday at the Siegel Center.

The Wildcats (24-4) defended two Madison attempts at a game-winning bucket in the final five seconds before hitting a pair of free throws to secure the upset victory and avenge the loss to the Mountaineers in the regional championship game.

“There were plenty of times when we could have quit,” Dan River coach Jacob Gruse said. “These guys make me look good and they played phenomenal. It was a hard-fought game and it was just a couple of shots that went our way.”

Junior’s Logan Terrell and Jerel Carter carried Madison on their backs most of the season and it was no different on Thursday. Terrell finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Carter scored 14 and had four assists and three steals. But none of the Madison stars could stop Dan River from making a furious fourth-quarter comeback.

Madison’s tough defense helped limit JMU-bound guard Darren White to just eight points, but the Wildcats countered by keeping Madison’s 6-foot-5-inch center David Falk in check. Falk finished with four points and eight rebounds and was in foul trouble much of the second half.

“We could never get in a rhythm,” Mountaineers coach Tim Taylor said. “We were trying to make passes where they shouldn’t be. We’ll second guess ourselves a lot on this one.”

For most of the night it looked as though it would go Madison’s way. The Mountaineers (28-1) got off to a slow start against Dan River’s sagging zone defense, but an alley-oop from Carter to Falk ended in a thunderous one-handed slam and brought the Madison County crowd that was 2,500-strong to life.

After back-to-back steals and layups by Carter, the Mountaineers took an 8-7 lead with less then three minutes left in the opening period. It was all part of a 14-1 Madison run that helped the Mountaineers build a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter.

The Mountaineers went into the locker room at halftime with a 26-17 lead, but despite a stifling defensive effort, Madison found it difficult to amass enough offense to put the Wildcats away.

“We didn’t come in and play our game tonight,” Falk said. “We’re better than that and we should have played better.”

Dan River’s Reggie Stone, who finished with a team-high 16 points, scored on layup less than an minute into the fourth quarter to cut Madison’s lead to five and sharp-shooting guard Dantony Dickerson nailed a three-pointer seconds later to make it a two-point ball game.

Dan River had no answer for Terell, who scored 12 of his 18 in the second half and seemed to put an end to every run the Wildcats threatened to make.

But Dan River finally broke through when Dickerson, who finished with 14 points, hit his fourth 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 47-46 lead with less than four minutes remaining.

The teams traded the lead in the final minutes and Dan River took a 55-54 lead on a driving shot by Trey Edmunds with 13 seconds remaining. That proved to be enough.

“I think the difference in the game was the Dickerson kid in the second half,” Taylor said. “Dan River played a lot harder in the second half.”

Now Madison, which loses just two seniors off a team that was ranked No. 1 in the state the entire regular season, is looking toward a return trip to Richmond next season.

“I think we appreciate the great year,” Taylor said. “But I don’t think we’ll ever get over this.”