The James River boys saw their basketball season come to an end with a 71-60 loss at Glenvar last Friday night. With the loss the Knights finished 5-18 on the season and 1-9 in Three Rivers District play.
The top eight teams in Region 2C make the post-season tournament, and River finished 10th in the rankings and did not make the field. However, coach Ethan Humphries saw a lot of improvement in the team during the season and is already excited about next year.
“We’ve come a very long way since scoring 15 points in a varsity game to open the season,” said Humphries. “We improved each week regardless of the outcomes and I think that speaks a lot to the character of our guys and the way they were raised. They showed up to work every day.
“We’ll reflect on everything we’ve learned the last three months and use it the next nine as we prepare for next season. Hopefully, having our young guys thrown into the varsity level this year will give us an edge in the future. I can’t wait to start that journey again this spring.”
Photos by Jim & Regina Devinney
Last Friday at Glenvar the Highlanders jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first quarter. Glenvar led 30-25 at halftime but the Knights cut the lead to 30-29 in the third before an 8-0 Glenvar run followed and the Highlanders led the rest of the way.
Trey Taylor led River with 26 points, including five of seven on three-pointers. Matthew Alderson scored a career high 20 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, which was also a career high. Mark Voight had a dozen points.
“Our guys finished the right way,” said Humphries. “We fought well enough to give ourselves a chance, but in the end the things we needed to be great at we were just good and there is no shame in that. I loved that our seniors played well to finish out their careers.”
