The James River boys were scheduled to play four basketball games in seven days to open the season. Instead, they played one.
The Knights opened the season last Tuesday, December 2, at home against Riverheads and got a win. After that, the next three games were either cancelled or postponed.
River dominated Riverheads, winning 65-35. The Knights led 16-9 after the first quarter and 32-19 at the half.
“We were proud our guys came out ready on Tuesday and won every quarter against Riverheads,” said coach Ethan Humphries. “The ball was moving and the joy we’ve talked about playing with was there. Riverheads was up 28-6 in the second quarter on us this time last year so, of course, we had to use that as fuel going into the game.”
Riley Carlisle led the Knights with 15 points and he also had five rebounds. Ryder Ward had 11 points, six boards and four assists, and Maddox Pichay had eight points, four rebounds and half a dozen dimes. Seven different players made a three-pointer for River as the Knights hit seven of 18 from behind the arc.
The boys were ready to roll after that but Thursday’s game with Faith Christian was cancelled due to a scheduling error, Friday’s game with Parry McCluer was snowed out and rescheduled for January 10 and Monday’s game with Craig County was pushed back to this Friday in Springwood. River is scheduled to host Bath County next Tuesday.
“We are trying to stay engaged and use these extra practice days to improve our identity,” said Humphries. “Originally scheduled for three games last week and only getting one in along with pushing back Craig from Monday to Friday is our first clash with adversity. To not get complacent is our biggest challenge at the moment.”
