BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
BRISTOL, Va. — It was an exceptional display by John Battle junior Nathan Bowers.
The leaper finished with 32 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Trojans to an 81-56 rout of Tazewell in the opening round of the Alpha Natural Resources Classic at the Bearcat Den.
“He did a heck of a job on the boards,” John Battle coach Steve Posey said. “He’s 6-foot-2 and plays like he’s 6-foot-6. We boxed out better than we had been, but we still gave up some offensive rebounds and we have to work on that.”
Bowers was consistent throughout the game. Most of his points came around the basket with moves to the rim. He had several offensive rebounds that he converted to easy baskets.
“We tried a couple of different defenses on number 20 (Bowers),” Tazewell coach J’me Harris said. “We tried a couple of different matchups but he was a better ballplayer than we could handle today.”
It was a solid start for the Bulldogs that are still looking for their first win. There were eight lead-changes through the first four minutes of play. Sydney Willis canned a 3-pointer from the corner to give Tazewell an 11-10 advantage with 3:45 to play in the first quarter.
A switch from a zone defense to a man-to-man stymied the Bulldogs offense. They didn’t score again until a tip in by Gee Tucker with only 3:05 left to play in the first half, going almost eight minutes without a bucket. That led to a 16-0 run by John Battle (3-1) led by Bowers and Wesley Blaylock.
“They switched to the man and we stopped moving the ball,” stated Harris. “We ignored the low post and started shooting a bunch of 3s.”
The Trojans had built a 32-18 advantage by halftime. They continued to extend the lead in the third quarter stretching to as many as 32 points. Tazewell kept battling and cut into the lead the final eight minutes, but by then the outcome had already been decided.
“We gave better effort in the fourth quarter,” Harris said. “We got the game more up tempo. We struggle to score the basketball in half court, so we have to be an up tempo team.
“To John Battle’s credit, they moved the ball well and didn’t turn it over. That kept us in a half-court game.”
Gee Tucker (18 points) and Nick Elkins (13) were the scoring leaders for the Bulldogs. In addition to Bowers, Blaylock also had a good game for the Trojans finishing with 17 points.
John Battle will face Virginia High in the opening game of the quarterfinals at 4 o’clock.
“It will be a tough test,” Sholes said. “They will pressure us and we have to be able to handle it. The guys will have to step up, I look forward to it.”

at Bearcat Den
TAZEWELL (56)
Elkins 5 2-6 13, Griffith 2 0-0 5, Murray 3 0-0 8, Kitts 2 2-2 7, Crouse 1 0-0 2, Willis 1 0-0 3, Tucker 6 3-3 18, Samaniego 0 0-2 0, Poskas 0 0-0 0, Watson 0 0-0 0, McPeak 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-13 56.
JOHN BATTLE (81)
Felty 2 4-4 9, Blaylock 7 3-5 17, Owens 1 5-9 7, Bowers 13 6-7 32, Haderer 2 0-0 4, Combs 0 0-0 0, Price 1 0-0 2, Laughlin 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, McMurray 3 2-4 8, Logan 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 20-29 81.
Tazewell..........................11 7 15 23 — 56
John Battle.....................16 24 22 19 — 81
3-point goals – Tazewell 9 (Elkins 1, Willis 1, Tucker 3, Griffith 1, Murray 2, Kitts 1), John Battle 1 (Felty 1). Total fouls – Tazewell 21, John Battle 13. Fouled out - none. Technicals – none.

Lebanon 94, Chilhowie 66
Chilhowie had averaged 100 points a game in winning their first four outings. But their press, run, score and repeat style called chaos didn’t have much success against the Pioneers.
Lebanon advanced to the quarterfinal round with a victory over the Warriors.
Austin Bollinger scored 33 points to lead the Pioneers to the win.
Lebanon will play Graham today in Bristol at 5:30 p.m.

Marion 61,
Happy Valley 52
It was a tough challenge but Marion was able to fend off Happy Valley.
Four-year starter Riley Blevins did it all for the Scarlet Hurricane dropping in 30 points including four clutch free throws down the stretch.
Marion will play Honaker tonight at 7 p.m.
•••
In the other first round game, Union defeated University High 60-41, and will play Richlands tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Tazewell, and the three other first round losers, will play again on Friday.