They say revenge is best served cold, and it was on a cold night last Saturday that James River was able to ice the visiting Lord Botetourt basketball team.
The Knights took a 69-54 win in a nearly packed gym in Springwood to even the season series against their county rivals. The Cavaliers had defeated River in Daleville back on December 8, and the rematch was postponed over Christmas break and rescheduled for last Saturday. It was a long time coming, but revenge was sweet for the Knights.
“Each of our guys stepped up and answered our challenge to be tougher than what we’ve been showing,” said River coach Ethan Humphries. “We knew whichever team dictated the style of the game would win. Obviously, we wanted to show our physicality in the paint, and simply put everyone did their job and trusted what we wanted to do.”
The Knights won each of the first three quarters. They led 17-14 after the first and 33-22 at the half. In the previous game in Daleville, River led by 15 at the half but the Cavaliers rallied in the second half to win. Not this time, as River increased the lead to 51-35 after three quarters and didn’t let the scrappy Cavaliers back in the game.
“James River dominated us the entire game,” said LB coach Andrew Hart. “They were motivated and wanted to win more than we did. They have a tough group and will have a great finish to the season.”
Corey Easton led River in scoring with 23 points, setting the tone with outstanding three-point shooting. He also had nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Corey’s brother, Jayson Easton, had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Patrick Clevenger had 17 points, 11 boards and five assists for the Knights. Ryan Steger had six points and Ben Bailey had four. River shot 52 percent for the game and had 20 assists on 26 field goals. The Knights also outrebounded LB, 34-23.
“Jayson and Patrick with double-doubles and Corey with a near triple-double is big time stuff,” said Humphries. “Ryan and Ben playing high level defense can’t go unnoticed either. They both were phenomenal on that end of the court. We seemed in sync with one another on both ends and that’s when it all comes together for us.”
The game left fans from both sides hungry for one more game to break the tie. It was an electric atmosphere in the River gym, as it was at Lord Botetourt the first time around.
“What a great high school basketball game,” said Humphries. “A Saturday night county rivalry of two really good teams. The fans were amazing and the energy was great. I’d say everyone got their money’s worth.”
River, now 10-3, will be back in the saddle tonight, Wednesday, with a game against Three Rivers District rival Glenvar. The Knights won the first meeting in Springwood, but it went down to the final shot, a missed three-pointer by the Highlanders. River is at Carroll County on Friday for the second game of a doubleheader with the girls.
Lord Botetourt, 11-4 after Saturday’s loss, had a challenging game at Northside on Tuesday, followed by a home game with Hidden Valley tonight. The Cavaliers are home again Friday night to host William Fleming in another tough Blue Ridge District game.