Before heading up yesterday I mentioned that playing in what I call the Crackerbox Palace ( very small and loud Gym) is a test of being able to block out the Noise. Head Coach Anthony Barnes might have passed out ear plugs to his group in the huddle because our Cavaliers played with a calm about them that played a huge role in securing victory #15.
Alleghany plays a physical brand of basketball 🏀 and when you add in that the school bleachers come right out to the gym floor, it can be intimidating. Last night was no exception but fortunately Barnes made sure our Cavaliers were prepared for the moment.
The Junior Varsity team ended up falling 51-48 in a game that had as many twists and turns as an episode of Matlock. Going back to the beginning, all five starters scored in the opening minutes. When Colton Gravley found the bottom of the net with a 3-pointer the Cavs were leading by a score of 14-4.
The Cougars answered with a run of their own but Dane Leonard scored a basket 🧺 to end the quarter at 19-12. The contest slowly began to become more physical during the second quarter with AHS outscoring us 12-6, cutting our lead down to just 25-24.
The third quarter was a stretch to be proud of if you were in the visitors section. Our Cavs continued to focus on basketball and pushed the lead out to 36-30.
The Cougars answered with a 12-0 run 🏃♂️ that spanned the third and fourth quarters. It was during this time that the third official sustained an injury and the only options were go with just two or have one of the Varsity officials dress up early.
The game was delayed for a few minutes and while I never comment on how a game was called, I will say that the flow of the game changed during the closeout minutes.
Going from up 10 to down six in a Gym on a Monday night 🌙 that is a long way from home, it would have been understandable for CCHS dug in. Leonard found Blake Reed for a much needed bucket, stopping the run and Hayden Jackson added the next four points. When Leonard scored on a follow to deficit was just 45-44 with 1:12 to go.
The following play ▶️ was crucial in that it appeared the Cavs created a steal but the play was blown dead because of a kicked ball. Again, the Cavs kept playing and at this point Reed was in Beast Mode. There was forcing a jump ball, fighting for a defensive rebound and sinking two free throws to pull us within 46-48.
On the inbounds play AHS threw a length of the court pass that led to three points and iced the game. Carroll County now stands at 10-4 on the season and will be playing Glenvar on The Hill Wednesday night 🌙 ahead of the Varsity showdown between the undefeated Cavs and the team in second place.
Here’s an idea 💡, try to come out early and grab your seat for the opener as Coach Stockner has these young men focused and playing Cavs basketball.
Speaking of Coach Stockner, here are his thoughts on the game last night 🌙…
” What a game! Very exciting down the stretch if we could’ve made a couple more shots and a couple more defensive rebounds. I think we would’ve been the JV team leaving the gym tonight with the 11-3 record, instead we get a hard fought L.
We got off to a great start but I need to make quicker adjustments once they started breaking our press. The guys battled for the entire game and made some excellent plays throughout! We just came up a few play short tonight.”
A.S.P.N on The Hill 