Daleville will be the site of the first of two meetings between the two local high school basketball teams tonight. Both James River and host Lord Botetourt are expecting to have good seasons, and both hit the ground running with season-opening wins.
This will be the first time in two years Lord Botetourt will have a large crowd for boys basketball at the high school gym. Fans were limited due to the pandemic last season but with things somewhat back to normal a large crowd is expected for tonight’s game.
“We’re excited to have our season home opener,” said LB coach Andrew Hart. “It’s going to be an electric environment and we’re looking forward to getting back to what high school basketball is all about.
“James River has a really strong team this year. They are favorites to win the state championship in their division. It is going to be a challenge, but we will be ready to go.”
The Cavaliers opened the season with a 76-53 win at Floyd County High last Friday. Tyler Meade led the Cavaliers with 15 points, including three three-pointers, in a balanced attack. Evan Bannwart had 14 points, Ashton Bramblett had a dozen, Conner Tilley had 11, Dylan Salvi nine, Jackson Crawford eight and Tanner Lovern seven. Tilley had seven rebounds and Crawford had six assists.
“We played hard from the beginning and made a lot of plays,” said Hart. “It was a great beginning to our season.”
James River opened by taking on George Washington High in Danville Monday night, a school two classifications higher than the Knights at Class 4. Not to be denied, the Class 2 River boys took an 86-75 victory.
“It was great to be back in an electric atmosphere,” said coach Ethan Humphries. “That game was the exact experience we were seeking. We’re proud of the guys for their effort. We have an extremely tough week ahead but that one sure felt good.”
Jayson Easton led River with 29 points, including four three-pointers. Jayson is now just six points away from 1,000 for his career.
Patrick Clevenger hit 13 of 14 free throws and finished with 21 points, while Ryan Steger drained five three-pointers and finished with 17. Heath Andrews had nine points.
The Knights are opening the season with four games in six days, all against larger schools than James River. After tonight’s game at LB, they’ll have their home opener on Friday as GW-Danville returns the trip. Then, on Saturday, River will take on Class 4 William Fleming at 6:15 p.m. at the Roanoke College Cregger Center in the final game of the Roy Stanley Memorial Basketball Shootout. Other games find the William Byrd boys against Hidden Valley at 1 p.m., followed by the Byrd and HV girls at 2:45 p.m. Greenbrier East will meet Roanoke Catholic at 4:30 p.m. in a boys game with River and Fleming at 6:15 p.m., all at Roanoke College.
