The Lord Botetourt boys saw their basketball season come to an end one win shy of a trip to the state championship last week. The Cavaliers were eliminated from the Region 3D tournament by Cave Spring last Thursday, 67-44, in a game played at Hidden Valley High School.
Cave Spring came into the game as the heavy favorite with just two losses, but the Cavaliers gave them all they could handle in the early going. LB led 15-10 after the first quarter and trailed by just four, 31-27, at the half.
“Our players came out with a great deal of passion and intensity on the defensive end,” said LB coach Andrew Hart. “Our coaching staff was very proud of our efforts early on. We held them to 10 points in the first quarter and we were right where we needed to be, but they were able to gain a little momentum late in the second quarter that spurned a big run for them in the second half.”
The Knights took control as they outscored LB 19-7 in the third quarter to build a 16 point lead. That would prove to be too much to overcome against a very talented, and tall, Cave Spring team.
“They are an impressive team,” said Hart. “They have some really talented players and it showed in the second half. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t score enough to keep up with them.”
Kyle Arnholt had 18 points to lead the Cavaliers. Owen Prince had nine and Mason Wheeling led the Cavs with seven rebounds. Luke Hale had four assists.
The Cavaliers earned a spot in the region semifinal with a 57-46 win over Carroll County in the regional quarterfinal round in Daleville.
“We got out to a good start and never looked back,” said Hart. “We played really hard on defense. Kyle Arnholt and Tanner Selkirk had great nights for us and showed why they were two of the best players in our district.”
Selkirk led LB with 13 points and Arnholt and Prince had a dozen each. Selkirk had eight rebounds and Arnholt had seven.
The Cavaliers finished the season with an overall record of 14-12. Arnholt and Selkirk were named first team All-Blue Ridge District and Conner Tilley was a second team selection. All return, as Arnholt and Selkirk are juniors and Tilley is a sophomore.
“Kyle had a break-out year on the basketball court,” said Hart. “He is a versatile player that was a center-piece to our team.
“Tanner had another great year for LB. He was a large part of our scoring and rebounding and Conner had an impressive season in first year on varsity. He was a big-threat from three point-range and gained a lot of attention from the coaches across the Roanoke Valley.”
LB will graduate six seniors, Hale, Wheeling, James-Ryan Salvi, Michael Southerland, Cody Camper and Crew Jones.
“Overall, we are very proud of our efforts this season,” said Hart. “We were dealt some unfortunate cards throughout the year – having to battle some key injuries – but we had a lot of young players step-up and gain some valuable experience. Our kids learned how to play hard and improved consistently throughout the season. We are definitely excited about the future of LB basketball.”
