Friday’s state 2A quarterfinal matchup between Radford High School and Gate City was a thriller before the teams even took to the court.
People drove hundreds of miles trying to find tickets. The two schools’ allotment of 1,000 tickets were gone in hours. The line for general admission started almost four hours before the doors were slated to open.
Radford University officials scrambled to put enough personnel and police together to handle the massive crowd that was expected.
The marquee storylines were an unbeaten and defending state 1A champion against a team from deep southwest Virginia that boasted an Internet dunking sensation in the form of its point guard, Mac McClung.
The Gate City senior has signed to continue his playing career at Georgetown and has averaged 34 points per game this season. But it might be social media where he has garnered the most attention.
Last season, McClung was a little under the radar and then all of a sudden his tremendous dunks in warmups and games were posted on YouTube.
Overnight, people started to notice his play. He initially had committed to play at Rutgers but changed his mind after the social media exposure started attracting others like Head Coach Patrick Ewing at Georgetown.
Game after game, fans would pack the arenas to see McClung. Friday night was no exception. They came to see him. Within 40 minutes of opening the doors, game officials closed them and would not let anyone else in.
Even members of the press had to convince staff to let them in as fans were pushed up against the glass doors trying to look into the game.
Attendance was listed at 3,500 but there were a lot more people standing in the empty corners of the building as every seat was filled.
But like a lot of things in life, there was disappointment. McClung had one touch dunk in warmups, and Radford’s double-team defense kept him from doing anything special in the contest.
To be honest, despite McClung pumping in 24 points, the best player that night was Radford point guard Quinton Morton-Robertson.
The junior single-handedly put his team on his back and brought them within three points several times in the second half. But he didn’t receive any scoring help from his teammates, as he was the only Bobcat in double-figures.
I don’t know if the big stage affected the team that was riding a 37-straight winning streak dating back to last season or if was the outstanding play by others on the Gate City team. Everyone around McClung stepped up and played great on both sides of the floor.
While the fans might have left disappointed in McClung, they were treated to a great ball game. Radford does not graduate a single starter and returns everyone to a team that will challenge for another state title next year.
This was the first season the Bobcats played up from the 1A classification where they dominated for the past two years.
Radford will just regroup, not having to rebuild nor having to reload, and will be back to their winning ways next season. The experience is there, and they will pack arenas again next season. Tidbits from the game:
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McClung now has scored 1,064 points this season and has 2,711 for his career. He needs just 58 points to pass state career leader, Caleb Tanner who ironically plays for Radford University. McClung has already set the VHSL single-season scoring record.
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Radford was eight of 26 from the field in the first half.
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Gate City bench outscored Radford 15-0.
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The loss snapped a 37-game win streak for Radford. Its last loss was to Northside in a 2017 tournament.
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This was the first time Gate City has ever beaten Radford in basketball.
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The last time Radford lost a close playoff game at the Dedmon Center was in 1982 during a New River District tournament matchup with George Wythe. They would fall to Council in a playoff elimination game in early 2000. Since then, they have only lost one contest on the court until Friday, as the Dedmon Center has become a home advantage for the school.
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