Glenvar outscored Carroll County 23-11 in the fourth quarter Friday to spoil a huge third-quarter Cavaliers’ run in a 75-60 Three Rivers District tilt in Hillsville.
Down 41-29 early in the third quarter, the cold-shooting Cavs seem to be on their way to a certain loss. But head coach Tee Jackson employed a half-court trap that befuddled Glenvar (9-5, 6-0 Three Rivers District), forcing the Highlanders into nine turnovers in the third period. The frenzied pace and pressure sparked Carroll County (2-12, 1-5 Three Rivers District) to a 15-2 run in a span of less than three minutes, giving the Cavs a 44-43 lead.
Matthew Marshall completed an old-fashioned 3-point play and Weston Burcham scored his 12th and 13th points of the third quarter to put Carroll in front 49-46 with 2:10 left in the third. Glenvar finished the period on a 6-0 run to take a 52-49 advantage, but still the Cavs had momentum in their favor at that point.
“I was really proud of them. We made a big run, switched to a half-court trap and kind of went small. They are so big we try to make them handle the ball a little bit,” Jackson said. “I was really proud of the way we fought back. That was fun. You get glimpses of what we can be from time to time – against Radford on Tuesday in the first half and during that little spurt right there. We just didn’t put enough good possessions together after that to make it happen.”
With 5:39 left in the game, Glenvar’s head coach was hit with a technical foul. Adam Horton converted one of the two freebies to bring Carroll to within 56-55. Unfortunately, the technical seemed to ignite the Highlanders, who finished the game on a 19-5 run from that point. Glenvar made 9-of-15 shots in the decisive fourth quarter, while the Cavs converted just 3-of-12 shots from the floor.
“Sometimes you just expend so much energy getting yourself back in it you almost relax a little bit once it gets close,” Jackson said. “They just absolutely killed us on the offensive glass. We were doing well just to get them to miss one shot, and when they are getting three or four shots it just kills you.”
The game was nip-and-tuck early with seven lead changes in the first nine minutes. The Highlanders, who capitalized on a huge size advantage on Carroll, finished the half on a 14-7 run to take a 37-27 lead at the half. Glenvar extended that cushion to 12 points before Horton ignited the big 15-2 run with a steal and layup. Burcham then scored nine straight points for the Cavs to make it 43-40.
Horton then converted another steal and layup before Luke Johnson scored on a goaltending call to give Carroll a 44-43 lead with 3:31 left in the third, Carroll’s first lead since early in the third quarter. With Glenvar blanketing Horton and holding him to 16 points on offense, Burcham came through in a huge way with a team-high 19 points, 13 of them coming in the third.
“The way Glenvar likes to play us, they like to play two big guys and we feel like if we go small we have the best match a lot of times with Weston because he is a really good athlete and they have a big guy guarding him and he is able to get to the basket,” Jackson said. “He attacked the mismatch and really played a really good game tonight. He took advantage of what they gave him.”
In the end, Glenvar just had too much for the Cavaliers. Noah Duncan led the Highlanders with 19 points and Noah Lovelace tossed in 18 points. It was another disappointing finish for a young Carroll team in a season of several close losses.
“It is definitely frustrating. It is hard to put into words really,” Jackson said. “It just seems like every game we are so, so close and things just don’t go our way for one reason or another. It seems like every game it is something different. As young as we are I am really proud of how we are competing with people. We just we have nine games left and I am hoping we can start getting over the hump in some of these at the end.”
Glenvar 19 18 15 23 – 75
Carroll 18 9 22 11 – 60
Glenvar – Holliday 1 4-6 6, Veverka 3 2-2 10, Duncan 7 5-5 19, Snider 0 2-2 2, Williams 3 2-2 8, Lovelace 6 5-8 18, Gerber 3 1-2 7, Francisco 0 1-1 1, Secrist 2 0-2 4. 3-pointers – Veverka 2, Lovelace 1.
Carroll County – Herman 3 0-0 9, Motley 0 1-2 1, Hull 3 0-0 8, Horton 6 4-8 16, Burcham 9 1-1 19, Marshall 1 1-2 3, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Westbrook 1 0-0 2. 3-pointers – Herman 3, Hull 2.
Radford 72, Carroll Co. 63
Five Carroll County players scored in double figures as the Cavaliers’ upset bid fell short in the second half at undefeated Radford on Jan. 15.
Ian Herman drilled six 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points as Carroll County (2-11, 1-4 Three Rivers District) took leads of 20-19 after the first quarter and 42-36 at the half. Radford (13-0, 5-0 Three Rivers District) bounced back by outscoring the Cavaliers 21-7 in the third quarter.
Quinton Morton-Robertson paced the Bobcats’ attack with 25 points and six 3-pointers of his own. Jalen Phillips scored 17 points and Kam Edwards tossed in 15 for Radford. Adam Horton scored 15 points for Carroll County, while teammates Luke Johnson, Jackson Hull and Weston Burcham all netted 10 points.
Carroll 20 22 7 14 – 63
Radford 19 17 21 15 – 72
Carroll County – Herman 18, Horton 15, Johnson 10, Hull 10, Burcham 10. 3-pointers – Herman 6, Hull 2.
Radford – Morton-Robertson 25, Phillips 17, Edwards 15, Wood 6, Shepherd 4, Cormany 3, Sproule 2. 3-pointers – Morton-Robertson 6, Wood 2, Cormany 1, Edwards 1.
Allen Worrell can be reached at 9276) 779-4062 or on Twitter@AWorrellTCN
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