Fort Chiswell, Virginia – Carroll County earned the right to defend their 2023-2024 Championship in the Fort Chiswell Christmas tournament after hanging on for a hard fought 49-45 victory over Radford Saturday night.
Bryce Smoot led the offense with 18 points and it was the Seniors ability to hit clutch free throws down the stretch that led the Cavaliers back to the Finals on Monday night. Carroll County will face Pulaski County for a third time this season as the Cougars defeated the host team in the earlier Semi-final game.
Bryce Smoot calmly sank two free throws at 0:10.0 and 0:03.5 remaining to hold off the upset minded Bobcats. Ethan Richardson made his pair from the line at 0:21.7 after Radford had trimmed the lead down to 43-41.
Radford entered the contest as the more athletic team in addition to being bigger than the Cavaliers. Their goal was to slow down the vaunted CCHS fast break and to challenge every 3-point shot attempt. The next goal was to shorten the game by running a deliberate attack when on offense.
Check, Check and Check for the Bobcats as Carroll County was limited to just one made 3-pointer from Isaiah Easter (10 points) and held well under their scoring average on the season. Yet, Carroll County had enough in the tank to keep their record perfect on the season.
One of the reasons came in the monster 👹 double – double put up by Senior Cody Reece. In addition to scoring 10 points and reaching double figures in rebounds, Reece continued to be in the right place at the right time. Reece capped his yeoman like effort by breaking up the Radford inbound pass on their final possession.
Easter played wire to wire and end to end. Thirty two minutes of disciplined offense and chasing down a lightning 🌩 quick player on the defensive end.
Carroll County came out of the half with back to back baskets from Bryce Smoot and Richardson to expand the lead to double figures st 27-15. Reece pushed the lead out to 14 by converting one of his many offensive rebounds into a lay-up.
Five minutes of shutdown defense accompanied the 6-0 run 🏃♂️ but the knockout punch never came. Radford continued to play physical defense and it eventually started to take its toll on the Cavaliers.
Bend but don’t break mindset paid off in the end for Carroll County. The best part of the contest with Radford is that it will be the first of three if not four between the teams. Just like the Rocky movies, this one was a slugfest with a guaranteed Trilogy to follow.
Carroll County JV Boys also held off Radford and will now play for the Trophy 🏆in their event on Monday at 2:15 pm. Their opponent will also be Pulaski County for the third time. Unlike the Varsity and its 2-0 mark, Head Coach Jason Stockner and his squad will be searching for their initial victory in the season series.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 