Three point shots add up in a hurry. Just ask the Heritage Pioneers.
Lord Botetourt came out on fire from behind-the-arc Wednesday night in the Group 3A West regional tournament opener at Rustburg High School, and the Cavaliers used the early push to topple Heritage 58-47. Botetourt advanced to the regional final Friday night in Rustburg against 3A number-one, the 28-0 Spotswood Trailblazers. Both teams are guaranteed spots in next week’s state semifinal action.
The Cavs first two scores came off bombs from Dustin Hassell and Justin Goode before a late Heritage run narrowed the Botetourt lead to 12-11 after the opening frame.
Botetourt took control in the second quarter. Their lead reached double digits at 23-13 with 2:57 left in the first half and the Cavs finished on a 6-2 surge to go to the locker room up 29-15. Botetourt finished the half with five 3-pointers.
Heritage, on the other hand, was held to 4 points in the second quarter as the Pioneers launched air balls from the perimeter and off-balance misses in the paint to put themselves into the 14-point hole.
“The big lead at halftime was huge,” Botetourt head coach Chad Conner noted . “To start the second half, our goal was to pack it in. Our guys did a good job of forcing them into tough shots.”
The Pioneers came out with a smothering full court trap to open the second half that gave Botetourt some early trouble. Heritage cut the deficit to 32-25 before Botetourt regained their composure and closed the third frame on a 10-4 run that gave them a 42-28 cushion heading to the final 8 minutes.
“Their athleticism forced us into some turnovers in the second half,” Conner added. “But, we came through.”
Heritage would get no closer than 9 points the rest of the way, and when Botetourt got in the double-bonus midway through the fourth, the prolific Cavalier free-throw shooting sealed the outcome. Botetourt hit 13-of-17 from the charity stripe for the game while Heritage was only 14-of-25.
“We in the Final-4,” Conner said afterward. “We take it one step at a time, one possession at a time, one quarter at a time, one game at a time. These guys have worked their tails off and deserve everything they get.”
Goode led the Cavalier scoring with 20 points, with Hassell adding 17. 6’4″ senior Ricky Southerland chipped in 9 points.
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Antonio Sherman had a game-high 22 points for Heritage with J.C. Calloway following with 9 points for the Pioneers.
– Bill Turner
