9:52 a.m. Nick Gore took an extra second to scan his surroundings.  Then he put it as simply as any senior could after playing their last game in front of a home crowd.  “I’m going to miss it,“ he said.

The Johnny-come-lately Turner Ashby Knights looked every bit the spoiler Monday night in their Region III match up with Waynesboro. 

An aggressive man defense in the second half helped Robert E. Lee achieve a 45-40 victory over Liberty-Bedford in the first round of the Region III tournament on Monday. 

Nick Gore was getting double- and triple-teamed down low and looked frustrated the whole time.

It was not going well for coach Jeremy Hartman or his R.E. Lee girls basketball team.

Liberty boys basketball coach Jeffrey Monroe could sense his team was going to struggle to find energy Monday night against Stuarts Draft.

Spotswood’s sharpshooters put Stuarts Draft in a hole it couldn’t get out of.

4:14 p.m. Carl Edwards won the rain-delayed Auto Club 500 on Monday, charging past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson with 13 laps remaining. Johnson, winner of the past two Cup titles, came out of the final pit stop in the lead with 26 laps left. But Edwards surged from third to capture the eighth victory of his career.

12:50 p.m. Sports columnist Jim Sacco poses some rhetorical questions after a busy weekend in local sports. And another thing ...

Keep your coattails tucked into your pants, Giantdom, because Friday’s win, sure, gave the Little Giants the Southern Valley District tourney title; and, OK, it did give the boys team a much-needed win over their thorn bush to the west, R.E. Lee; but it wasn’t “that kind” of win over “those kinds” of Leemen.

SWOOPE - Don’t bother Buffalo Gap wrestling coach Leonardo Lopez with the detail of having a winning record, especially if the team can’t achieve a place in the Group A Meet on March 6-7.

HARRISONBURG - It was quite a week for the Wilson Memorial girls’ basketball team. The Hornets entered the Shenandoah District Tournament in fifth position and after suffering a unexpected six district losses in the regular season, were in danger of not making the expanded Region B, Division 2 Tournament field.

STUARTS DRAFT - Wrestling has always been regarded as an individual-centric sport by the masses, but for the three Region III champions who will represent the Southern Valley at the Group AA meet on March 7 and 8 at the Salem Civic Center, teamwork is the driving force behind success.

HARRISONBURG Roller coaster.

Stuarts Draft - A lot went on at the Region III Wrestling Tournament Friday, with many local wrestlers moving on to the semifinal rounds today.

FORT DEFIANCE - For a little more than three quarters, Waynesboro coach C. Jay DeWitt watched his Little Giants play near-flawless basketball.  Then, all heck broke loose.

HARRISONBURG - One part of Riverheads’ game plan against Stonewall Jackson worked well in the Shenandoah semifinals Friday night. Unfortunately for the Gladiators, the Generals’ had another game plan as Stonewall defeated the Red Pride 49-42 at Eastern Mennonite University.

FORT DEFIANCE - Someone forgot to tell Robert E. Lee that the Southern Valley Championship had very little meaning.

On Tuesday night Michael Barrett broke Fishburne’s single-game scoring record with 45 points and he came within one point of tying that record on Wednesday night, scoring 44 points in the Caissons 97-61 victory over visiting Eastern Mennonite in the Virginia Independent Conference tournament.  The game brought back memories of last season.  “They beat us at their place last year, so it’s was good to beat them,“ said Barrett, who averages 22.8 points a game

HARRISONBURG - Foul shots kept Page in the game and propelled it to a 62-54 win over Buffalo Gap in the Shenandoah District semifinals on Thursday.  The Bison had control, and the lead, for most of the game until midway into the fourth quarter. Page’s Dakota Wolf scored 19 points, 10 in the fourth quarter. Foul shooting was key and the Panthers were at the line for 35 shots sinking 25 of them in the game. Almost half of the Panthers’ freebies came in the fourth quarter.

It’s difficult to defeat a good team three times in one season. Riverheads proved that old cliché on Thursday night defeating county-rival Wilson Memorial 54-53 in the Shenandoah District semifinals.

10:05 a.m. Oh Southern Valley District, how hath thee screwed over high school basketball players- Let us count the ways …

The look.

STUARTS DRAFT - Kerby Hatter launched a 3-pointer from half court at the halftime buzzer, shutting the door on visiting Rockbridge and keeping Stuarts Draft’s season alive.

GREENVILLE - Riverheads girls basketball coach Dickie Bell had a long talk with his team at the half of Wednesday’s victory over Page County - apparently, he didn’t waste any breath.

11:20 a.m. Tonight’s boys consolation game in the Southern Valley District tournament will be Stuarts Draft at Rockbridge at 7 p.m.

With the threat of being dismissed to the Southern Valley consolation game just two points away, Waynesboro’s Tim “Slick” Brown took to the foul line with ice in his veins and 10 seconds on the clock.

STAUNTON - Voices of boisterous fans echoed with joy as they arose from the wooden bleachers at to applaud the Robert E. Lee boys basketball team’s defeat of Stuarts Draft 48-43 on Tuesday night - but the cheers didn’t come easy.

GREENVILLE - It was a half that left Riverheads coach John Corbett scratching his head.  The Gladiators, hosting No. 6 Stonewall Jackson in the first round of the Shenandoah District basketball tournament, struggled to a 24-24 halftime tie and the only offense came from senior post Jeremy Heizer.  The 6-5 Heizer carried the Red Pride on his shoulders scoring all but two of the Gladiator’s first-half points.  Riverheads knocked the Generals from the tournament with a 51-47 win.

2:27 p.m. The Jason Kidd era is over in New Jersey.