The boys Varsity Cougars took on the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers for the second time this basketball season during Tuesday night’s game played just after the JV team took home the victory. In a game that initially appeared to be a close one during the first quarter with the Cougars down by one, all that soon turned around and the crowd was treated to landslide victory in the end with the final score being 76-51 Cougars.
In their last game against Lord Botetourt on November 30th, the Varsity Cougars fell to the Cavaliers in a close game that ended with a score of 76-65. While it’s a bit ironic that both victors ended with a score of 76, the Cougar victory had to have been a bit sweeter, given that the boys in blue took down the Cavaliers by a larger margin.
The Virginian Review caught up with head coach Seth Bradley after the game to ask what it was exactly that he said to the team following the first quarter, as they went from being down by 1 going into the second quarter to being up by 14 by the time they ended it.
“… We gotta play at our tempo,” Bradley said. “Early in the first quarter, I think we tried to play the same style they were. They forced a few turnovers against us and we tried to just match them shot for shot, so we weren’t really settling into what we do. But coming out the second quarter, we did a very good job at limiting turnovers and getting the shots we wanted.”
We then caught up with Anthony Webb, the first-ever Alleghany Cougar male Varsity player to score a basket at a home game during last week’s game to ask him about the historic accomplishment. “It feels great knowing that I’ll be known for that for however long the school lasts,” Webb stated.
Chase DePriest, younger brother of Hunter Depriest, was then asked about playing with his older sibling on the court to which he replied, “…we just like to compete either way,” DePriest said.
Finally, we stopped momentarily to chat it up with senior Kole Caldwell. Caldwell, or Mr. 3-Pointer as I called him, nailed the most 3-pointers during the game and also led the team in individual points. Naturally, I stopped to get some advice. “… with your teammates behind you, it’s really easy,” Caldwell stated, adding that it also came with a lot of practice. It sounds like a winning combination to me and I believe the proof was written on the scoreboard.
Individual Scoring:
Caldwell 17, Harden 11, C. DePriest 9, Hayslett 9, Entsminger 8, Webb 8, H. DePriest 5, Jordan 4, Turner 4, M. Smith 1