Junior Ethan Richardson performing the National Anthem
Bryce Smoot and Davis Reitzel came out of the chute on fire Friday night and the pair basically ended the contest as soon as it began. Smoot scored 11 points in the opening minutes and Reitzel added six more points in the 23-6 frame. The Cavaliers would go on to capture the Three Rivers District contest by a final score of 70-33.
Smoot finished the night with 18 points despite playing half the contest. The Junior connected on four 3-pointers and showed no signs of being tired at the end of three games in three nights stretch. Cody Reece (10 points) had a rare four-point possession in the second quarter in which he made a basket while being fouled. The Junior missed the free throw but chased down the rebound and scored once again. Reece finished in double figures for the second straight night.
Reitzel played limited minutes due to the margin of points separating the teams, but he did get the crowd excited in the second quarter when he added another slam dunk to his resume.
Once again, the Cavs defense was suffocating for the full 32 minutes as they held an opponent under 40 points for a second consecutive night. The fast start to the game allowed Coach Anthony Barnes to rotate players in and out in the first half versus late in the game.
” As for tonight, total TEAM win on the defensive end. I challenged them to get after it with non stop effort and intensity for 32 min and they responded,” said Coach Barnes. “Last couple games very slow and not energized and that was not the case tonight. Huge night for the bench guys getting in getting valuable minutes and keeping the pressure applied.”
The team also received some assistance from Radford as the Bobcats defeated Alleghany, giving the Cavaliers control of their own destiny. The scramble to continue to get postponed game rescheduled will also be a factor over the next two weeks ahead of the District Championship game.
“4 guys in double figures and two of them from off the bench which I’m so proud of , Bryce 16,Reitzel 11, Reece with 10, and 11 from Marshall. Proud of our effort thruout,” Barnes noted. “Kudos to Ethan Richardson on the National Anthem, if no one can’t get fired up after that then something is wrong . How about them CAVALIERS!”
All 12 Cavaliers played throughout the contest and the number of players that scored reached double digits at 10. Junior Paul Marshall scored a career high 11 points, including connecting on a trio of 3-pointers. If there was a concern ahead of the post season it would have been playing a seven-man rotation but if Marshall continues at his current pace, then seven could become eight fairly quickly.
The future is looking bright for the Cavaliers, bright enough they might need some shades.
Editors Notes 📝 – There’s a separate story on Richardson performing the National Anthem at our site and on Facebook. If you weren’t in the Gym tonight its a worthwhile watch. A throwback to the old days when people were asked to sing for their Supper.
Coach Barnes will add his box score and hopefully our Friend, Allen Worrell will polish it up and run with it.
Have yourself a Blessed Saturday !
A.S.P.N on The Hill 