Owen comeback clinches win in regular season finale

Warhorses celebrate Senior Night with 74-67 victory over Madison

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 12, 2025

The best regular season for Owen basketball in nearly a decade came to climactic conclusion, Feb. 11, as the Warhorses stormed back from a fourth quarter deficit to defeat Western Highlands Conference rival Madison, 74-67.

The victory also provided a sweet sendoff for the eight seniors on the Owen roster, while the team finished the campaign with a 16-5 overall record and secured at least second place in the WHC, with an 11-3 mark.

Among the Warhorses’ three conference losses this year was a 67-60 stumble on the road against the Patriots in mid-January. A nearly capacity crowd, including an Owen student section filled from the bottom to top row, showed up for the rematch in the Swannanoa Valley. The winner of the contest would clinch sole possession of at least second place in the WHC, with first place Mountain Heritage (11-1) concluding its regular season, Feb. 12 and 14, with conference with games against N.C. School of Science and Math Morganton and Draughn.

Owen recognized seniors from the boys basketball team, seven cheerleaders and three Warlassies basketball players prior to the game. The matchup between the Warhorses and Patriots did not disappoint the boisterous fans of both programs.

Senior Tony Burgin started the night with a 3-pointer to open the contest, and his classmates wasted little time getting involved. In his final regular season home game as a Warhorse, Jack Wesley Burk led the way with 19 points, while Jared Kelley’s 16 points and 7 rebounds and 10 points from Eli Lewkowicz were among the top Owen scorers. Junior Asante Martin contributed 18 points and 7 rebounds in the winning effort.

Madison was undeterred by the high-energy Warhorse attack, establishing a 37-32 advantage by halftime, before opening 10-point lead early in the third quarter. Burk’s second of two 3-pointers in the contest cut the lead to 7, while an intense perimeter defense by the Warhorses led to a flurry of buckets, cutting the lead to 54-53 going into the fourth quarter.

A layup in traffic by Martin put Owen ahead in the first minute of the final frame, followed by a 3-pointer from Burgin. Burk extended the lead to 62-58, and the Warhorses, in front of a frenzied student section, closed out the victory.

The win felt “amazing,” according to Burk.

“I’ve never seen us have a crowd like this, and I think this could be the biggest student section crowd we’ve ever had,” he said. “I really think having all these people behind us tonight is how we turned it around.”

Owen’s ability to get the ball to an open shooter played a key role in the second half, according to Burk.

“One of the things we do well is pass the ball and let whoever is hot be hot,” he said.

The last regular season game of his Owen career will be one Kelley never forgets, he said after the game.

“The way this crowd showed out for us made this night something to remember,” he said. “I’m glad we were able to get this win for them.”

The comeback victory was representative of the team’s approach all season, according to Lewkowicz.

“We all love each other and we all love the game,” he said. “Tonight, we all wanted to step up and get this win for each other, and that’s what we did.”

The Warhorses finished the season with their best record since 2016-17, when they finished 23-6 and second conference with a 9-3 mark.

Led by Martin, who averaged 20.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 21 contests, Owen is currently ranked 14th in the NCHSAA 2A West, according to MaxPreps. The NCHSAA will release its playoff seeding, Saturday, Feb. 22, with the first round of the postseason tournament set to begin the following Tuesday.

View photos of Owen’s victory over Madison in the gallery at the top the page.