STUART – Victory number twelve for Head Coach Anthony Barnes was a mirror image of both the road win earlier this week at Floyd County and the CCHS JV win earlier in the evening as the Cavaliers rolled to a 61-40 victory at Patrick County.
Against the Buffaloes the deficit was 10 points after the opening quarter and Friday night the Cougars led by 10 before Cody Reece trimmed it back to nine just before the buzzer.
Barnes nor his team panicked after the ultra slow start.
” Well Cavalier train started out of the station slow, we really struggled in the first half scoring, we were 35% from the field and 25% from 3pt line, ” Barnes said. ” Luckily we survived and were only down 6 at half. I felt like we settled way to much and needed to attack gaps more of there zone and force them to stop us.”
Once again it was Bryce Smoot that led the way long enough for his teammates to find their grove. Where victory number 12 differed was it was vintage Cavaliers Basketball that earned them their 2-0 start in the Three Rivers District.
Two nights ago the team needed Bryce Smoot to score 35 points in an attempt to outscore Floyd County. This time they won the game on the defensive end and when the intensity peaks on defense it allows the offense to run and gun in the manner that makes them the most dangerous.
Across the final 16 minutes of action 🎬 they limited the Cougars to just EIGHT points. Breaking the numbers down even further, the Cavaliers run 🏃♂️ in the fourth quarter was 21-3. There is simply no denying that when they play aggressive team defense it creates fast break opportunities.
The level of court awareness from Bryce Smoot is rising at a very rapid game. Reese (11points, 12 rebounds), while giving up both inches and pounds to the PCHS front court continues to play big.
” I challenged Cody to be more of a force down low and work hard” added Barnes. ” The last 12 min of the game we started getting inside the lane and started getting to the line and picked up our intensity for a 31-4 run holding them to 5 pts in 3rd and 8 for half. “
Isaiah Easter once again was a quiet leader as both he and Ethan Richardson added nine points on offense while playing non-stop defense. Brayden Smoot defensively continues to impress and added six points with Landon Puckett accounting for the final two points.
” We started knocking down shots and getting in to transition which is just our game! Easter and Brayden got into foul trouble and again and Reavis and Puckett again gave us valuable minutes” Barnes noted. “Reece train had another double double 11pts-12 rebounds , Easter with 9 pts and 8 Rebounds. Bryce with a hard earned 24.”
There is both good and bad about being undefeated after the midway point in a season. The challenge it creates is every opponent sees 👀 that zero in the loss column as motivation. The upside is that it makes it easier to put in the physical effort needed to be the better team in the final eight minutes.
” I’m proud of the guys responding to us and half and taking care of business.Our District is tough on any given night you can be beat. I’m proud of them staying focused and playing under control. They are tough and gritty , they coach push each other and again get the job done! THE CAVS.”
The Junior Varsity set the stage with another impressive victory, 52-24. Head Coach Jason Stockner watched his team win the third quarter by a margin of 22-1.
Colton Gravley continued his hot 🔥 hand as he led the way with 16 points. Gravley was joined in double figures with 10 points. Eight of the 14 players scored and there was valuable court team for the entire roster.
The teams will return to action 🎬 next Thursday night on The Hill when they host cross county rival Galax.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 