Botetourt and Byrd Also Advance in First Round Play
Three-of-four “Big-11” high school basketball teams advanced Saturday with first round wins in the 16th annual Northside Invitational Tournament being played out at the Northside gym.
After a break Sunday, teams will resume play Monday and Tuesday, with a champion set to be crowned in Tuesday night’s 7:45 final.
Northside advanced with a convincing 61-40 win over Roanoke Catholic in Saturday’s third game featuring the host Vikings against the scrappy Celtics.
Northside jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes and never looked back in pulling away during the second half. Viking senior guard Michael Barker was the early thorn for Catholic, hitting three times from behind-the-arc in the opening frame as Northside bombed away from long range all evening against a packed 2-3 Celtic zone defense.
Cathoiic got to within 32-26 late in the second quarter, and only trailed 35-26 at the halftime break after Northside’s JD Mundy connected from long range in the final seconds that gave the Vikings the 9-point cushion.
The Vikings essentially put the game away in the third quarter, holding the Celtics to four points on their way to taking a 49-30 lead to the final eight minutes.
Junior George Bright led Northside in scoring with a game-high 17 points, while Viking big-man Carlos Basham and Barker each finished with 11.
6-foot-5 junior Ethan Tait led Roanoke Catholic with 15 points, with sophomore Lucas Myers netting 9 for the Celtics.
The most exciting game on opening day saw Lord Botetourt survive a pair a Christiansburg shots that twice forced overtime, as the Cavaliers held on for the 75-69 double-OT barnburner over the Blue Demons.
Botetourt gained control in the second four-minute overtime period by sinking 8 straight free throws and converting a full-court pass and layup that propelled the winning margin. Head coach Chad Conner’s Cavs, known for their stellar free throw shooting, were true to form, sinking 27-of-34 from the charity stripe for the game.
Senior Myles Gunter led the Cavaliers with 22 points, with junior Justin McIvor pouring in 16 for Botetourt.
Matt Herndon paced the Blue Demons with a game-high 34 points, while freshman Xavier Kane added 12 points for Christiansburg.
In Saturday night’s nightcap, William Byrd easily dispatched Liberty 64-32 to advance to Monday’s winner’s bracket where they will play Lord Botetourt in a 6:00 pm tipoff.
6-foot-3 Terrier senior Evan Owens led the dogs with a game-high 22 points. Junior Will Culicerto followed with 9 points for Byrd, all coming via three bombs from beyond-the-arc.
Northside will face Blacksburg in the other winner’s bracket game at 7:45, while Roanoke Catholic will be looking to rebound out of the loser’s bracket in a 4:15 matchup against Galax.
Bill Turner