For the first quarter and much of the first half, Carroll County and Galax both struggled mightily to score points.
But perhaps the biggest difference in Galax’s 61-52 non-district win in Hillsville was a hot spell for the Maroon Tide in the third quarter. Galax canned four 3-pointers in the third period to turn a 19-17 halftime deficit into a 38-32 advantage heading into the fourth. Points were certainly at a premium as the two teams slogged their way to a 6-6 tie after the first quarter.
“They really shot the ball well. You have to give them credit,” Carroll County head coach Tee Jackson said of Galax’s 21-point third quarter. “We scouted them and I hadn’t seen them shoot the ball that well this year, but their kids stepped up and made plays when they needed to so hats off to them.”
Carroll County (2-10, 1-3 Three Rivers District) pulled to within 38-34 when Jackson Hull opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws. Galax (5-8) went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes, however, to take a 46-34 lead. The Cavs tried to press down the stretch, but the Maroon Tide broke the press frequently and made 8-of-9 free throws in the final period to salt the game away.
“We got down so we had to try to speed things up a little bit and they finished and they made free throws. They even got loose for a few layups and broke the press pretty easy,” Jackson said. “You just have to give them credit for making plays and handling the ball and having poise under pressure. They did what you need to win.”
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers labored to get much going offensively. Adam Horton scored 29 points, but as a team Carroll turned the ball over 18 times, including eight in the first quarter, and shot 37.2 percent (16-of-43) from the field. Galax turned it over 12 times and shot a little better at 43.75 percent (21-of-48).
“It was the same thing (Thursday) night against Alleghany. We had 21 turnovers. We are not bad when we get shots, but we just waste so many possessions with turnovers it just kills us. We have such a small margin for error it seems like in just about every game it has come back to bite us,” Jackson said. “Youth is a lot of it but I think tonight, again, hats off to them. I don’t want to take anything away from them because they just outplayed us. It was the third game in four nights for us and I know Adam is really feeling it in his legs because he pretty much goes the whole way for us every night. Whatever reason we just didn’t have it. We couldn’t make layups and we weren’t taking care of the ball tonight. Just wasn’t a very good performance.”
Cade Ashworth hit three 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 23 points, while Matt Lundy nailed two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points for Galax. Weston Burcham added nine points for Carroll and Ian Herman netted seven.
Galax 6 11 21 23 – 61
Carroll 6 13 13 20 – 52
Galax – Lundy 3 2-3 10, Beeman 2 0-0 4, Cooke 1 0-0 2, Robinson 1 3-5 5, Patton 1 0-0 2, Ashworth 7 6-8 23, Pickett 3 1-1 7, Hutchens 1 0-0 2, Hawks 3 0-0 6. 3-pointers – Ashworth 3, Lundy 2.
Carroll County – Herman 2 1-2 7, Johnson 1 3-5 5, Hull 0 2-2 2, Horton 11 5-6 29, Burcham 3 3-4 9. 3-pointers – Herman 2, Horton 2.
Alleghany 75, Carroll Co. 64
Trey Honts made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points Thursday as Alleghany made the long drive to Hillsville and came away with a 75-64 Three Rivers District victory.
The Mountaineers took a 17-8 lead after one quarter and held a 56-40 advantage heading into the fourth before hanging on for the win. Christopher Tingley scored 13 points and Justin Gibson added 11 for Alleghany (3-10, 1-3 Three Rivers District).
Adam Horton scored 33 points and finished with 11 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers, while teammate Jackson Hull scored 10 and Ian Herman added nine. Weston Burcham and Andy Garland both tossed in six points for Carroll.
Alleghany 17 17 22 19 – 75
Carroll 8 17 15 24 – 64
Alleghany – Spinner 1 2-5 4, Honts 8 1-2 23, Worley 1 0-1 4, Coles 2 1-3 5, Arritt 2 0-0 5, Nicely 1 2-2 4, Wright 0 4-4 4, Lane 1 0-1 2, Gibson 3 4-4 11, Tingley 6 1-3 13. 3-pointers – Honts 6, Gibson 1.
Carroll County – Herman 2 4-6 9, Hull 2 4-8 10, Horton 12 9-15 33, Burcham 3 0-1 6, Phillips 0 0-1 0, Garland 2 2-3 6. 3-pointers – Hull 2, Herman 1.
Carroll County 73, Giles 70
Adam Horton scored a game-high 31 points and nailed a pair of critical free throws with 12 seconds to play Jan. 9 as Carroll County defeated Giles 73-70 in Pearisburg for a Three Rivers District victory.
Carroll outscored the Spartans 38-30 in the second half to rally from a 40-35 halftime deficit. The win was Carroll’s first in the Three Rivers District. Giles had a chance to tie the game, but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Horton, Ian Herman and Jackson Hull all made two 3-pointers for the Cavaliers. Herman finished with 14 points, Hull scored 10 and Ryan Phillips chipped in eight. Cole Meadows scored 23 points to pace Giles (6-6, 1-1 Three Rivers District).
Carroll 21 14 22 16 — 73
Giles 23 17 19 11 — 70
Carroll County – Horton 31, Herman 14, Hull 10, Phillips 8, Johnson 6, Westbrook 4. 3-pointers – Herman 2, Hull 2, Horton 2.
Giles – Meadows 23, Weddle 18, Wilson 9, Beidleman 7, Lang 6, Mann 4, Midkiff 3. 3-pointers – Weddle 4, Lang 2, Midkiff 1, Beidleman 1.
Allen Worrell can be reached at (276) 779-4062 or on Twitter@AWorrellTCN
