Photo by Regina Devinney
The James River boys will host Carroll County in basketball this Friday as they play the remainder of their regular season schedule against tough Three Rivers District foes.
The Knights were 8-7 overall but 0-4 in the district as they prepared to host Patrick County in a 3RD game Tuesday, with results too late for publication. This Friday’s varsity start has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. with Carroll coming to town, and next week the Knights will be at Radford Tuesday as they try to avenge a tough loss from last week.
Last Wednesday in Springwood the Knights hosted Radford and dropped a 43-41 decision. Ryder Ward had 22 points and five rebounds to lead River.
“That was a heck of a high school basketball game,” said River coach Ethan Humphries. “Any time you lose a one possession game you have reason to kick yourselves, but our guys did what was needed to compete against a top 10 team. It would’ve been a signature win for these seniors and that’s what I hate most about the night.”
On Friday the Knights played at Floyd and lost to a stout team of Buffaloes, 54-24. Floyd improved to 11-1 with the win as Ward led River with 10 points and Riley Carlisle had eight.
“Floyd is a state contender and I was really proud of our guys’ focus on the game plan,” said Humphries. “It was a seven-point game at halftime and a 12-point game heading into the fourth quarter. With our back-to-back on Saturday night we pulled the starters early while they left theirs’ in, so the final result wasn’t indicative of the fight we put up for 24 minutes.”
The Knights played the second game of the back-to-back on Saturday evening at home and beat Roanoke Valley Christian in a non-district game, 48-29. Ward had 14 points, five rebounds and five steals, Carlisle had a dozen points and five steals, and Mark Voight had 10 points and five rebounds.
“Our guys are buying in and having a collective spirit,” said Humphries. “That’s the only choice we have in our tough district. I’m proud of the growth and eager to see what kind of competitive stamina we have heading down the stretch.”
