WALDRON -- Waldron used a nearly flawless final quarter to pull away from Charleston and its come-from-behind attempt Friday night at the Waldron Activity Center.
Waldron missed just one shot from the field, one free throw and had just two turnovers in the final frame. That allowed them to pull away with a 70-62 victory in 3A-1 West Conference matchup.
"This was a little redemption because they beat us by 31 at their place the first time around," Waldron coach Joshua Brown said. "The kids came out, played hard and did what we planned. They played their butts off."
Waldron (22-4, 11-1) was led by Payton Brown, who finished with a team-high 30 points and also had five assists as well. Braden Williams also added 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Brayden Ross finished with a game-high 40 points and had eight rebounds for Charleston (13-6, 10-1).
Waldron was able to jump out to an early 8-0 lead, but Charleston battled back to make it just an 18-14 lead for Waldron heading into the second quarter. Brown hit a deep shot behind the arc just before the buzzer for the Bulldogs.
Waldron closed out the second half with a 12-2 run, which allowed it to take a 37-28 advantage into halftime.
Charleston was quickly able to cut into that edge after the break. Ross scored 17 of the Tigers' 19 third-quarter points to help spark the offense. Waldron held just a 48-47 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Ross hit one his eight shots behind the arc in the game for the final points of the third quarter.
"They came out in the second half and played really well," Payton Brown said. "We knew they'd punch us. We knew we'd have to play as a team and hit some shots when we needed it. In the fourth quarter, we got some easy shots and played tough defense."
Waldron, which hasn't lost at home this season, then forced Charleston to make just five of five of 14 shots in the final quarter. Waldron was two of three from the field and made 16 of 17 free-throw attempts in the final quarter.
"We did everything we needed to do in that fourth quarter," Joshua Brown said. "It makes you so proud. They didn't force shots, took care of the ball and did well at the line. We did a great job of making sure when we got the lead we kept it."
Ross was able to cut the lead to 62-59 with a 3-point basket with 44 seconds left and then another shot from behind the arc from Ross made it a 64-62 Waldron lead with 28 seconds left. But Waldron was able to hold on from there, scoring the game's final six points to pull away.
"That's just our kids," Charleston coach B.J. Ross said. "They played hard, got after it and didn't quit. We got behind against a really good team. We could've quit. I knew that wasn't going to happen. We just missed some shots we haven't been missing."
Charleston;14;14;19;15;--;62
Waldron;18;19;11;22;--;70
Charleston (13-6, 10-1): Ross 40, Scott 8, Fenner 8, Scott 6.
Waldron (22-4, 11-1): Brown 30, Williams 14, Avila 9, Wagner 7, Villarreal 7, Ford 3.
Girls
Charleston 39, Waldron 25
Charleston used a strong third quarter to break open a close game in the first half and pull away with a road victory.
The Lady Tigers held just a 14-10 halftime lead. They were able to extend it out to 31-17 heading into the fourth quarter, and Charleston (21-2, 12-0) didn't look back from there. Charleston outscored Waldron 17-7 in the key third quarter.
Charleston's Alexis Grandison had a game-high 10 points to lead the way. Waldron (10-15, 4-8) was led by Chelsea Stidman's team-high eight points.
Charleston, which now has a 15-game winning streak, was able to take a 14-10 lead heading into halftime by using a 6-2 run to close out the second quarter.
The Lady Tigers missed their initial four shots of the second quarter but found their way on offense after that, making four of 10 after the early misses.
Waldron was down just 5-4 after the first quarter and took an early 7-5 lead early in the second quarter. The Lady Bulldogs made one of nine from the field and missed six free-throw attempts in the second quarter.
Charleston;5;9;17;8;--;39
Waldron;4;6;7;8;--;25
Charleston (21-2, 12-0): Grandison 10, King 9, Ross 8, Oldridge 6, Rucker 2, Groen 2, Koch 2.
Waldron (10-15, 4-8): Stidman 8, Sanford 6, H. Stidman 5, Ozuna 3, Richmond 2, Espinoza 1.
Preps Sports on 02/08/2020