The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS – The Bath County boys basketball team ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday night as they fell to the hot shooting James River Knights, 78-43.
The Knights shot 52 percent (30 of 58) from the floor and 47 percent (9 of 19) from behind the arc on the night and forced the Chargers into committing 24 turnovers.
“James River has been a perennial powerhouse for a number of years in the district and when you shoot nearly 50 percent from behind the arc with the number of shots that they took, that is hard to overcome,” said Bath County first-year head coach Steve Shaver. “They are good and last night they were hot.”
The Knights (2-1 Pioneer, 5-9) used a fast-break offense to jump out to an early 24-13 lead after the opening quarter.
The first of five Caleb Aylor three-pointers gave the Knights a 12-6 lead midway through the first quarter and his third triple of the frame increased the Knights’ lead to 21-9 as they jumped out to an 11-point lead after one.
The second and third quarters pretty much closed the door on the Chargers as the Knights outscored their hosts, 41-10, over the two frames.
Aylor opened the frame with his fourth three-ball of the game to give the Knights a 27-13 lead and his fifth triple of the game gave James River a 34-18 lead as they took a 46-20 lead at the break.
“Aylor was 0-for-15 the previous two games on his three-point attempts and then comes in against us and hits his first five,” stated Shaver. ”It just deflated us and we didn’t respond to it.”
The Chargers managed just three points in the third quarter, where they were outscored 19-3, as the Knights took a commanding 65-23 lead.
James River had built a 59-21 lead before Bath County hit their first field goal of the second half – an Ethan Wrights stickback – with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
James River’s Chase Haynes opened the fourth quarter scoring with a jumper in the lane as the Knights cruised to the 78-43 Pioneer District win over the Chargers.
Aylor led all scorers with 18 points, while J.T. Sandidge added 16 points and five assists for the Knights. Haynes and Brandon Rodriguez also finished in double figures with 10 points each.
Jonah Ford led Bath County with nine points, while Matthew Quantz added eight points to go along with 10 rebounds.
“We’ve been trying to win the advantage on the glass and we’ve done that the past two games, we have just ran into hot shooting teams,” said Shaver. “I’ve said it all season long, we just need to put four quarters of solid basketball together.”
Bath County (0-2 Pioneer, 2-10) will be back in action Friday on the road at Parry McCluer, who leads the district with a perfect 3-0 record.
The Knights made it a sweep of their hosts with a 50-29 win in the junior varsity game.
Luke Lyons led the Bath County JVs with 10 points, while Levi Riley, Derek Oliver and Brayden Gillispie added four points each. Ryan Woodzell added three and A.J. Black and Gus Paredes rounded out the Chargers’ scoring with two points apiece.
Zack Moore led James River with 13 points, while Logan Perdue added 10.
The Knights enjoyed a 31-14 lead at the break.
