Grayson County made a concerted effort to slow down the offense of the Cavaliers in their rematch Wednesday night and they might have found some level of success but they had no answers for the vaunted end to end defense that Head Coach Anthony Barnes has his squad playing in the early season. The score was 12-2 early, 32-12 at the break and finally landed at 62-33 for a final score.
How talented is this group ? So much that they scored the 62nd point after heading to the lockeroom.
Once again the starters took turns at scoring with the first quarter belonging to Bryce Smoot with 8 of his game high 19 points. Next up was Ethan Richardson scoring eight of his 10 points in the second quarter.
” The flow of the game was different, it was like we could not get going like we are used to in transition, 3 guys in double figures which is huge,need to excute better in offense sets”, said Barnes.
“I have told them don’t get satisfied with themselves or the team.”
Grayson County came into the contest knowing that they had to slow down the Cavaliers fast break and they accomplished it by clogging the passing lanes on almost every possession. The Cavaliers responded with both patience and effencey on that end of the floor. The team combined for seven 3-pointers (Bryce-4, Ethan 1, Davis 1, Paul Marshall 1) and played with a great deal of confidence for the entire 32 minutes.
“We are now becoming the hunted and we have got to keep ourselves focused, under control, and keep working as hard or harder,” Barnes added.
Davis Reitzel finished the night with 15 points, leading the way in the final frame with 6. As Barnes mentioned earlier, the team once again finished with three players in double figures followed closely by Isaiah Easter with eight points. Jabin Talley (4), Cody Reece (3) and Paul Marshall (3) rounded out the scoring on a night where Barnes was able to play his entire 12 player roster.
With an actual Game Story ready to appear in the Carroll News let’s take a look inside the 5-0 start of the Cavaliers.
Bryce Smoot has scored in double figures in all five contests and has scored 78 points (15.6ppg).
The team has been led in scoring by four different players.
The team has finished with three players reaching double figures in three straight games.
The leads heading into the fourth quarter so far have been 31, 22, 40, 26 and 25 points (144 points /28+ average per game).
Reitzel has scored 65 points for an average of 13.0
Richardson has scored 57 points (11.4ppg).
The team has finished with a player scoring 20+ points three times by THREE different players. Reitzel with 21 opening night, Bryce with 20 @ Grayson County and Richardson with 24 @ Pulaski County.
What does all of this information translate to – The Cavaliers are a total team package, play very unselfish offense and have the energy to play 94 feet of defense.
Having an abundance of scoring options eliminates any opponent from even thinking about double teaming anyone.
Brayden Smoot gives you a sixth starter and protects the backcourt from foul trouble and the continued strides in the game of Cody Reece provides the same for the front court.
The train 🚆 has left the station 🚉 and while we don’t know its final destination, we know that the first leg has been enjoyable to watch !
A.S.P.N on The Hill 