Fans in the packed Lord Botetourt gym Monday night were looking for a shootout between Blue Ridge District front-runners Botetourt and William Byrd.
Nobody left disappointed.
Jumping out to a 13-point halftime lead, Lord Botetourt, the #1 ranked team in the ” Big-11,” held off a furious second half comeback by the Terriers to pull out the 67-61 win.
Byrd’s demise was caused in part to a second quarter that saw the typically high octane Terrier offense held to only six points. They played catchup the rest of the contest.
“The second quarter killed us,” Byrd head coach Kevin Tuck noted afterward. “No doubt about it. That’s been our problem; putting four quarters together.”
The Terriers opened the game holding a 4-2 lead, but Botetourt sharpshooter Justin Goode hit a pair of free throws and two bombs from behind-the-arc to stake the Cavaliers to a 13-10 edge after the first quarter.
Botetourt scored the first six points of the second frame as Byrd didn’t find the basket until Zac Hill scored at the 4:09 mark. Botetourt’s Myles Gunter followed with a 3-pointer and Goode added a pair of free throws to open a 12-point bulge for the Cavs, 24-12.
Late in the quarter, a seven point swing went Botetourt’s way. A Marvey’o Otey driving score was negated on a charging call and Byrd was hit with a technical foul. The two technical free throws were followed by a Gunter trey, giving the Cavaliers the 29-14 lead. Byrd scored at the buzzer to send the teams to the break at 29-16.
The Terriers chipped away throughout the third quarter, closing to 43-38 heading to the final frame.
Byrd got to within 45-43 and things heated up on both ends of the court. Thomas Hickman drained a 3-pointer for Botetourt and Zac Hill answered from long range for Byrd. Hickman scored on a put-back at Botetourt’s end before Byrd scored from behind the arc to make it 50-49, Lord Botetourt. The Cavs followed with a 5-0 run and Byrd closed to 55-53, but Goode hit a pair of free throws with 2:55 left and scored moments later on a driving layup to give Botetourt the 59-53 lead.
The Terriers got a 3-pointer from Rustin Horne with 1:38 remaining and Ricky Southerland scored for Botetourt to make it 61-56, Cavs. Horne cut the Byrd deficit to 61-59 on a trey with :27.6 left and Dustin Hassell hit two fee throws with Botetourt in the double-bonus. Evan Owens’ put-back made it 63-61 with :12.9 left, but Botetourt secured the outcome with a pair of free throws from both Hassell and Goode.
Botetourt hit 20-of-24 from the charity stripe for the game.
“I’m proud the way we fought back,” Tuck added. “You just can’t fall behind against Botetourt. They don’t miss free throws.”
“We’re fortunate our guys like to shoot free throws and be successful at it,” Botetourt head coach Chad Conner said, “it’s a weapon. Byrd is a very good team. We told our guys at halftime they would make a run. We’ve lost games at the buzzer in the past, but when you make your free throws it’s so hard for the other team to come back.”
Goode led the Cavalier scoring with 25 points, including 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Hassell added 15 while Gunter buried 11 including a trio of 3-pointers.
Otey paced the Byrd attack with 13 points, with Horne adding 11 and Drew Hayden chipping in 10 points for the Terriers.
Bill Turner