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The James River boys saw their basketball season come to an end with a 68-37 loss at Alleghany Monday. The game was moved up two days from Wednesday with an anticipated snowstorm on the horizon.
River ended the season with a 7-19 record. The Region 2C tournament opens on Monday of next week but only the top eight teams in the region qualify and the Knights did not make it.
Alleghany is a Class 3 team that will be leaving the Three Rivers District next year, so Monday might be the last time River sees the Cougars for some time. Jack Beheler led the Knights with 14 points and Maddox Pichay had eight.
“We were able to limit our turnovers, comparatively speaking, but defensively we couldn’t get stops and that put us in a hole,” said River coach Ethan Humphries. “We give credit to Alleghany, as they are a talented team.”
Last Friday the Knights were at Glenvar and dropped a 63-35 decision on the Highlanders’ “Senior Night.” River led 11-10 after the first quarter as the Highlanders started some seniors who usually don’t see much floor time, but when the regulars hit the floor Glenvar pulled ahead 28-14 at the half.
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Photos by Brian Hoffman
“Our guys came ready to play and we’re proud of how they handled the first quarter,” said Humphries. “I thought we lost discipline and fell into their pace in the second quarter with trying to run with them, which isn’t our recipe. If we do that for just a few minutes of play it really spirals on us, and next thing you know they put the game away by halftime.”