Photo by Regina Devinney
Photo by Leigh Downey
It will be a busy week for the James River basketball teams as both the girls and boys play three games each.
The girls enter the New Year at an even 4-4. They were scheduled to host Martinsville Tuesday followed by back-to-back games at Radford on Thursday and at home against Glenvar Friday.
The boys were at Martinsville Tuesday followed by a trip to Glenvar on Friday and a home game on Saturday afternoon. That will be a non-district game against Parry McCluer with the jayvees at 1 p.m. and the varsity at 3 p.m.
The boys are 6-2 after defeating Roanoke Valley Christian in a makeup game in Roanoke last Saturday morning. Riley Carlisle had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 55-36 win. Ryder Ward had 13 points and five steals.
The boys also played in the Riverheads Invitational in Staunton on Dec. 29 and 30 and split two games. They opened with a 41-37 loss to Buffalo Gap as Maddox Pichay led the team with 16 points and five rebounds. The Knights then bounced back with a 57-47 win over Stonewall Jackson. Carlisle had 22 points and six rebounds and Ward had 21 points and 11 boards.
“We’ve been struggling to find our way since an injury to our big man (Jack Beheler missed the last three games),” said coach Ethan Humphries. “He’ll hopefully be back at some point down the road but, until then, we’ll have to get on track or the month of January will be rough.”
This week marks the beginning of Three River District play for the Knights as they travel to Martinsville and Glenvar. Next week they have a non-district game at Bath County on Monday followed by a 3RD home game against always tough Radford a week from today, on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
“As we head into district play we all have to be at our best, starting with me, for us to compete on a nightly basis,” said Humphries. “I know and expect our guys will continue to work hard and prepare for the tests ahead.”
