The Lord Botetourt basketball team will be competing in the fourth annual Adam Ward Classic basketball event. The Adam Ward Classic will be held on Friday and Saturday of this week at Salem High School.
“It’s a pleasure to participate in the Adam Ward Classic this year,” said LB coach Andrew Hart. “The event has grown every year and it has some exciting matchups again. We are happy to do our part and raise money for a good cause.”
All money goes toward scholarships in Ward’s name. Adam was a Channel 7 camera man who was murdered in August of 2015 along with reporter Alison Parker while doing a story at Smith Mountain Lake. This is the fourth annual event.
The basketball games will be held over two days this year. On Friday the Cave Spring girls will play Christiansburg at 4:30 p.m., followed by boys games between Lord Botetourt and Auburn at 6 p.m. and Patrick Henry and Christiansburg at 7:30 p.m. All games are at Salem High School.
Seven games are scheduled for Saturday, February 1, at SHS, beginning with the William Byrd boys against Cave Spring at 9:30 a.m. The Salem girls will follow with a game against Carroll County, the top rated girls’ team in Timesland, at 11:15 a.m.
The rest of the Saturday schedule is boys games with Spotswood and Graham at 1 p.m., Salem vs. Glenvar at 2:45 p.m., Oak Hill-Red against North Cross at 4:30 p.m., Northside and Radford at 6:15 p.m. and finishing up a big day with Oak Hill-Gold against Believe Prep at 8 p.m.
This year a special guest will speak prior to the tournament. Former NBA player Chris Herren will share his story about how drug abuse ruined his career.
Herren will speak at the Salem Civic Center on Thursday, January 30, at 7 p.m. and admission is free. He’ll tell the story of his rise to the NBA, his defeat to alcohol and drug addiction and his eventual rebound in recovery. The event is sponsored by the Western Virginia Basketball Officials Association. Herren has spoken to over a million kids and has been sober since 2008.
“His story is very moving and has helped touch the lives of thousands of young men and women in the United States and abroad,” said Grant Smythers, a local basketball official who is one of the directors of the Adam Ward Classic.
Lord Botetourt also had a game at Staunton River on Tuesday, but results were too late for publication. Last Friday in Daleville the Cavaliers beat William Byrd, 70-66, in a Blue Ridge District thriller. LB trailed by six after three quarters but outscored the Terriers, 22-12, in the fourth quarter.
“William Byrd really pushed us,” said Hart. “They shot the ball well early and played solid defense all night. We were able to overcome the early deficit with a lot of really tough plays in the second half.”
Kyle Arnholt led LB with a career high 24 points, including a dozen in the fourth quarter.
“It was great to see Kyle kind of take over the game offensively,” said Hart. “We really needed someone to step forward and he did a great job.”
Tanner Selkirk had 11 points for LB and Matthew Oliver had nine.
Next week Botetourt will host James River in the second of two intra-county matchups on Monday, then travel to Northside for a big Blue Ridge District game on Tuesday.
