Lady Cougars impressive in first win over Maroons

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



WYTHEVILLE – Christmas came two days early this year for the Lady Cougar basketball team.

With both teams Pulaski and George Wythe sporting a 0-7 record, something had to give when the two schools faced off on Wednesday. After seven straight tough losses on the season, Pulaski rebounded in a huge way, taking an incredible 48 point lead into halftime in route to an impressive 81-46 victory in Wytheville.

“Well, I think that our kids had a really good attitude going into the game and going into all the games considering our record,” said Lady Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “I think that many teams would have packed up or lost confidence or not practiced that hard. That is what I felt so good about in this team is that they are resilient even though we had lost games. We had played good teams and lost close games. I knew they would be confident going into the game and I knew they would play hard and have a good approach to it, so I didn’t have any doubts.”

The first half was an offensive spectacle for the Lady Cougars, while the Maroons only scored two baskets in the quarter. George Wythe scored a lay up to open the game, which would give the Maroons an early 2-0 advantage.

Four Cougar players – Sydney Anderson, Brittany Lawson, Kasey Holcomb, and Shaniqua Banks – followed up that score with four straight lay ups. That would start the beginning of a 14-0 run in the quarter for Pulaski.

The end of the first saw the emergence of guard Raiven Patterson. The junior returned from a lingering back injury to make her first appearance of the season in style, scoring a lay up on a rebound and then got a steal off the next in-bounds, dishing off to Maddie Chitwood, who was fouled and made two free throws. The Lady Cougar lead was 24-4 after the first quarter.

“It felt good,” Patterson said. “Sitting on the bench was frustrating and not being able to be with my teammates on the court and enjoy the experience that they are enjoying. It felt good though.”

“I think that just the excitement of having her back got our kids ready to go,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “When she went into the game, we were up 25 or 20. The kids were excited to have her back and I think that helped them play as hard as they did. One might think that ‘ ok, they have Raiven back and did a great job’. Realistically, Raiven had only played four or five minutes. We wanted to use her sparingly. We wanted her to get back on the court, get a feel for it, and get some confidence in her physical condition and not over do it. I think we were successful at that. It was exciting seeing her on the court. She is an explosive player. Last year, she led us in scoring, rebounding, steals, and assists. When you lose a kid like that, it’s not just one person you lose, but you lose a lot of things they do. It was great to have her out there.”

Pulaski’s second quarter might have been their most impressive of the game, as they would outscore the Maroons 31-3. Shaniqua Banks led the Cougars in the quarter with eight points. Banks also continued to make herself a strong presence in the paint with rebounding as well.

“Shaniqua is a kid that didn’t play as a sophomore,” Grubb said. “We are just happy to have her on the team as a junior. I knew that she was going to take a little bit longer to get into game shape and get her skill back since she had taken so much time off. She has such a great attitude in practice. She is such a positive part of the team. The kids just love having her around. She just keeps getting better.

The first three baskets in the second quarter belonged to Pulaski, as Chitwood, Lawson, and Banks all would score. The Cougar also added two free throws on four attempts from both Banks and Anderson.

That would only begin the magical run in the second quarter, as eight Cougars would score during that time. That enabled them to take an unbelievable 55-7 halftime lead, as they eclipsed their season-high for points in a game in the first half alone.

The Maroons failed to back down despite being down by a huge margin and showed that in the third quarter. The big boost came from Kristen Atwell, who would get offensive in the second half. Having only scored seven points in the first half as a team, the Maroons would score 18 points in the third quarter, as Atwell had six of those points.

A big moment for Pulaski came towards the closing moments of the third quarter. Patterson, who had been placed back in the game, would struggle to find position in the post and be surrounded by four Maroon defenders. She would be knocked to the ground, as George Wythe took control of the ball. She would remain sitting with her face in her hands, as Grubb went to check on her.

“I thought that she was going to be ok,” Grubb said. “I think she was frustrated and got a little bit scared because let’s face it, she has missed a month and a half of basketball. You get bumped around and knocked down, so you are afraid you are going to re-injure yourself. It is easy to do.”

“I got pushed basically,” Patterson said. “They kind of hit me in a rough spot. It feels better after I iced it.”

With the lead 73-25 and only a quarter left to play, Pulaski had the game in hand. The Maroons did hold the Cougars to just eight points in the quarter and scored 21 of their own, but it wasn’t enough. Pulaski would hold on for their first win of the year.

Shaniqua Banks led the Lady Cougars with a tie for her season-high of 16 points, while Sydney Anderson chipped in 14 points. Alexis McCloud also had her best game of the season with 10 points. In total, 11 of the 12 players for the Cougars scored in the game, as the Cougars shot 47% from the field in the game.

Atwell would finish with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the contest for the Maroons.

The Lady Cougar JV squad also impressed in their meeting with George Wythe. After playing a tough first two quarters with the Maroons, which was filled with 17 free throw attempts by both squads, the Cougars turned up the offense in the fourth quarter. They would score 19 points in the quarter and pulled away from George Wythe for the 45-25 victory.

Early on, it was the Maroons who would frustrate the Cougars on offense and defense. Pulaski would only score five points in the quarter, as the Maroons picked up eight free attempts and made four of them. The score was 5-4 after the first.

The second quarter saw much of the same from the Maroons, who would continue to pick up the fouls and free throws. Pulaski would score the first three baskets of the quarter, as Sara Wright, Jordan Chrisley, and Tori Duncan all picked up lay ups. George Wythe finished strong though, hitting two free throws and getting their first basket of the game just before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Pulaski would come out of the locker room and explode offensively. They scored the first four baskets of the quarter and connected on three free throw attempts after that, as the game started to get away from the Maroons. At the end of the third, it was 26-13 in favor of Pulaski.

After a somewhat quiet three quarters for the Cougars offensively, they would explode in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 of their 45 points in the game during the quarter. Tori Duncan scored six of the points in the quarter, as the Cougars stretched out their lead and took their fourth victory of the year.

Jordan Chrisley and Sara Wright tied for scoring honors for Pulaski with 13 points each. Tori Duncan added nine points. DeAnna Hedgepath had nine points for George Wythe, while Haley Johnson added seven points.

Next up for the Pulaski varsity squad will be the first ever “Cougar Clash” at the PCHS gymnasium. Teams from around the area will compete in the three day event for bragging rights and tournament honors. The first opponent for the Cougars will be Pathway Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Monday Coach Grubb likes his teams chances.

“I think that Pathway is a favorable match up for us,” Grubb said. “I think that we like our chances with them and if we play like we did tonight, we can play with anybody. It is all about getting better, one game at a time. We try to take things from this game to improve on and things from the next game to improve on. We want to be in the position to compete for a district title at the end of the season and that is what we are working towards. Right now, we aren’t where we need to be to reach that goal. We are on our way towards that goal. If we can keep working towards that, that is what we hope to do.”

(12-24-09)

Pattison, Syndor lead Bobcats past Cougars for second time

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – For the second time in just over a week and a half, both Radford and Pulaski High Schools met on the court in girl’s basketball and for the second time, the Bobcats were victorious over the Cougars, handing Pulaski a tough 46-34 home loss on Monday.

The opening moments saw the Bobcats (7-0) jump out to a 6-0 lead. However, both Cecelia Scott and Maryah Syndor would pick up early fouls. Things would go from bad to worse for Radford in the foul situation, as in just a span of 2:11, the Bobcats would pick up five fouls and put Pulaski (0-7) in the bonus with 3:10 remaining in the quarter.

“It worried me,” said Radford coach Kevin Conner. “Basically, we were committing a lot of lazy fouls. We were doing a lot of reaching and stuff like that. I told them that they had to start playing solid. Going to that 2-3 zone really changed things for us. We got out of the man-to-man and played in the 2-3. That helped the foul situation.”

While that zone change did help Radford, something even more impressive sparked the Bobcats. Guard Pip Pattison would drive on back-to-back possessions for fouls on Kasey Holcomb. Pattison would make all four of her free throw shots and take Holcomb out of the game with foul trouble.

“Pip is a warrior,” Conner said. “She plays hard and all out. We moved her to the point guard spot because she does a good job of attacking the basket like that. She opens things up for us and helps open our post players to come in for offensive rebounds too.”

The loss of Holcomb’s ball handling ability and leadership was felt for the Cougars. Pulaski committed turnover after turnover, while Radford continued to flourish, guiding them to the early 15-6 lead after one quarter.

Radford continued to build on that lead in the second quarter. After Holcomb returned in the game to score an opening quarter basket for Pulaski, Radford would score six of the next eight points to give them a 21-10 lead. Pattison, Syndor, and Rachel Wright all scored in the run.

Syndor would increase the Bobcats lead towards the end of the quarter, after back-to-back lay ups on two straight possessions. Pulaski would finish strong with two baskets of their own, as both Holcomb and Shaniqua Banks made jump shots before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Just trailing by eleven points at halftime, 28-17, the Cougars fought early in the third quarter. Daisy Ball would score on the quarter’s first basket, cutting the lead down to nine points.

However, Radford would score seven straight points to follow, as Pattison, Wright, and Elizabeth Carter all contributed towards the run. That scoring powered the Bobcats in the quarter, as they would extend that eleven point lead into an 18 point lead.

Determined to come back for the second time against Radford this season, the Lady Cougars set out on a mission in the fourth quarter. Just earlier this season against the Bobcats, Pulaski had come back from double digits to pull within two points before losing. Conner remembered the moment all too well.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, here we go again’,” Conner said. “We addressed it to them at the end of the third. We were up 17 or so. That was one thing we addressed. We had a 15 point lead over there with five minutes to go and they came back and about beat us. I emphasized the fact that we’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again. They got on a roll and I took a timeout to calm them down. I thought we played too ‘helter skelter’ offensively there for a stretch and took some bad shots, but all in all, I thought they kept their poise very well.”

Pulaski would score seven of the first nine points in the quarter, taking an insurmountable 41-23 lead down to a manageable 43-31 margin. They would also play very strong defensively, as the Cougars would hold Radford to just five points in the fourth quarter.

However, poor shooting by the Cougars enabled Radford to stay ahead the entire ball game and take the 46-34 victory. Pulaski finished the game shooting 24% from the field and also failed to connect on their free throws, as they only hit 5-of-17 chances. Radford was 13-of-18 on their free throws.

“When you break it down, they got 37 shot attempts and we had 58,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “So we shot the ball 21 more times that they did, but our shooting percentage was such that we didn’t score enough points. I think there were times in the game when it was very, very evident that our kids were quicker, more physical, and more aggressive. We would get steals and couldn’t connect on the other end and be sloppy out there. I think a couple of times we were on the cusp of kind of blowing it open and storming back with a big comeback, but we could never get to that point.”

Kasey Holcomb led the Cougars in defeat with nine points and Daisy Ball chipped in seven points. Syndor finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds for Radford and her teammate Pattison had 12 points for Radford.

“She [Syndor] is a good player,” Grubb said. “She can take you off the dribble, she can shoot the three, and post you up. She is kind of their answer for most things. Pattison is a good player too. She is just a hustler. She just hustles and does things for them. Syndor is really the key to their team. She is just very versatile. I knew they would do some inside out stuff with her. It is just disappointing because they scored 46 points and 32 were from those two.”

In the junior varsity game, the Lady Cougars took a 34-11 lead into the halftime break and were able to extend it into the second half with a big fourth quarter. That enabled the Pulaski JV squad to pick up their second win of the season over Radford, 54-20.

Radford would outscore Pulaski 4-3 in the third quarter however, as they desperately attempted to pull back into the game. The Lady Cougars would outscore the Bobcats in the fourth quarter, 17-5. That extra push made sure that Radford wouldn’t get back into the game, as Pulaski took the game.

Lauren Foster led the Cougars with 14 points in the game, while teammates Samantha Chaffin and Carli Brewer both scored eight points for Pulaski. On the Radford side, Rity Harvey had eight points and Megan Mitchell scored 6.

The Bobcats will have a week off before their next contest, as travel on the road to take on Liberty. That game is schedule for 3:45 p.m. Pulaski next plays on Wednesday, when they travel to George Wythe to take on the Maroons. The JV game is scheduled for 6 p.m. with varsity action to follow.

“We’ve seen George Wythe play,” Grubb said. “Coach Wirt and I went and scouted them out. They do some things really well and they’ve got some talented players. I think there are some ways that we’ve decided how we are going to attack them. We probably have an advantage over them. They’ve had a great program the past several year, but they lost their lead player from last year. We look forward to the road trip and hopefully getting into the win column there maybe.”

Cougars, Bobcats finish strong in Pulaski’s final home meet

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – Both Radford and Pulaski’s swim teams competed in what would be the Cougars final home meet on the season on Tuesday at Radford University’s Dedmon Center Natatorium. Both teams competed against Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and Auburn.

Natalee Roseberry continued to impress with her swimming ability for the Cougars. The sophomore finished first in both her 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard backstroke, finishing over eight seconds ahead of second place in the backstroke. She also helped guide the 400 yard relay team, alongside Sibley Brown, Sara Holston, and Emma Reeves, to a second-place finish with a time of 4:31.23.

The most impressive finish of the night for Pulaski came in the boy’s 100 yard backstroke. Both Jonathan Holcomb and Tyler Felts were strong in the event and finished in a close one-two finish. Holcomb would beat out Felts in one hundredth of a second, finishing with a time of 1:05.84. Felts finished at 1:05.85.

Holcomb, a freshman, was also impressive in his second-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, with a time of 1:07.46.

In the 100 yard breaststroke, Derek Brown and Lee Edney finished extremely strong as well. Edney finished second with a time of 1:19.37, while Brown was just over a second behind in third with a time of 1:20.72.

“It is the best meet we’ve had this year and the best meet we’ve had in quite a while,” said Cougars coach Hank Hanks. “There were numerous personal best times and that was combined with a lot of people winning or finishing second or third in their events a lot. I don’t know that we can swim a lot better than that. I expect us to in about a month before the districts. For right now that excellent. Especially that backstroke event between Jonathan and Tyler. One one-hundredth of a second separating them and coming in one-two. You can’t ask for better than that. Jonathan had dropped his best time by a second and Tyler by two seconds. Lee and Derek did the same thing in breaststroke and came in second and third. It was very good. The women again had another good showing, just like they did at the invitational this weekend. If they keep improving and competing against each other and practicing hard like they are now, we will have several people make regionals and more than one or two that will go to state.”

On the Radford side, the Bobcat swim team tried a different strategy this meet than they did last week. Coach Heather Rowland had every swimmer for the Bobcats compete in two events, so that each squad could earn more team points for a chance for team victory.

“We stepped it up this week,” Rowland said. “I had most of my swimmers swim two individual events, plus relays. So a lot of my kids were swimming three and four events, which is something they aren’t used to. I usually swim them in one individual event and try to space it out so we can save energy. We picked it up this meet so we could get in some times before the long break, so they could see how things went and get a feel for some of the events that they aren’t used to swimming.”

Out of the entire meet for the Bobcats, Rowland was most impressed with the youngest members of her team and their abilities at such a young age this early in the season.

“The new kids are figuring out how to race, how to get up and race, how to push themselves, and make a race and make it well,” Rowland said. “They are dropping their times and starting to see a difference.”

In team scoring, Pulaski’s boys lost to Blacksburg (180-138) and marginally lost to Christiansburg (165-151). They picked up victories over Auburn (166-21) and Radford (152-135). The Radford boy’s lost to Christiansburg (184-138), Blacksburg (190-132), and Pulaski. They were victorious over Auburn (167-25).

In girl’s action, Pulaski defeated Auburn (146-76) and Christiansburg (154-90). They would lose to both Blacksburg (247-115) and Radford (174.5-145.5). The Lady Bobcats would win against Auburn (196-73), Christiansburg (201-91), and Pulaski. Their lone loss was to Blacksburg (255-141).

The Bobcats now have a huge break in between swim meets and won’t compete again in the pool until January 9, when they compete in the Gator Invitational in Roanoke. Rowland already has plans in place for how to handle the long break.

“We are going to spend our time over break, when we can get into the pool, really working on some distance events and really building that endurance,” Rowland said. “We are in a downfall because the Dedmon Center will be closed a week during that break. So we are going to work on some dry land, maybe some video clips to show them some different events and how different people swim different strokes that are champions, so they can get an idea of how to improve.”

While it is the final home meet for the Cougars this season, Hanks is already making a game plan for Pulaski’s next meet this Thursday against Hidden Valley.

“It was kind of how the schedule breaks,” Hanks said. “Yea, it is our last home meet. We have one more meet before Christmas, which is Thursday night at Gator Pond in Roanoke against Hidden Valley. We are going to kind of take a different approach. I am going to kind of relax with them. Tonight, I made some people swim some things that were pretty hard for them and they didn’t want to do it, but they came through with flying colors. They scored so much better than they did a week ago. The improvement in seven days time is just worth everything. You love nights like this. The kids are excited and that means a lot. It means they be enthusiastic over Christmas practices, which is kind of hard to do.”

(12-16-09)

Dublin hoop squads get tough victories over Pulaski

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



PULASKI – In what is always an interesting match up between the two, Dublin and Pulaski Middle Schools competed on Thursday in boy’s and girl’s basketball for the second time this season. The opening contest of the night saw the Lady Dukes get the better of Lady Orioles for the second time this season, 35-23.

The better of the two games came in the night cap, when the boy’s teams put on a show, trading baskets throughout the entire game. Ultimately, Dublin used a later Tyler Ervine steal and lay up to pull ahead and stay out front for the tough 41-39 victory.

“It was really tough, hard-fought game,” said Dukes coach Richard Lewis. “It was a physical game. Both teams played real hard. We just got a few points at the end and won. We knew it wasn’t over until the end. For us, it was a team effort. Nobody did that much more than anyone else and the guys that came in off the bench really contributed to help us hold them off too.”

From the opening moments of the boy’s contest, you could tell it was going to be a chess match between the two teams, as they both traded basket after basket. The lead changed nine times in the opening quarter, but Dublin would take the first quarter lead after a Zack Bradley rebound and lay up, 11-10.

During the early part of the second quarter, the teams continued to jostle for baskets. The game became a fast-paced affair that saw the two teams run the floor, creating both points and turnovers. After Pulaski took the 13-12 lead early in the quarter after an Alex Simmons lay up, Dublin’s Marcus Johnston would drive the lane, be fouled, and make one of his two free throw attempts, knotting the game up at 13-13.

Things would continue to remain close until the Orioles held a 15-14 lead. That’s when Johnston would turn up the pressure. After Bradley made a lay up to give Dublin the 16-15 lead, Johnston would score on two straight possessions, taking the Duke lead to 20-15 into halftime.

With an extremely defensive and quick paced game, the Orioles knew that being down five points would be a big task to overcome. However, they used the entire third quarter to claw back into the contest.

Tyler Blevins and Brandon Walters scored lay ups, while Lonnie Mattox had a nice assist to Kris Hayes for a score from half court. Dublin’s lone bucket in the early going would be Johnston lay up to open the quarter, while Bradley also had a lay up. That Pulaski scoring and lack of points from Dublin would cut the lead to one, 25-24.

The score would be tied at 26-26 after Dublin’s Bradley made one free throw and Pulaski’s Blevins hit two. Dublin would come back though with two baskets to close the quarter. Malik Eaves and Bradley had the scores, as Dublin took a 30-28 lead at the end of the third.

Just as Dublin had done in the second, Pulaski would have their own offensive burst in the fourth quarter in the form of Logan Alley. He would connect on a three-pointer to open the quarter and also steal the ball on the next possession, drive the floor, and be fouled. He would connect on two free throws, giving the Orioles a 33-30 lead early in the fourth. Things started to look bleak for Dublin, as Marcus Burkes connect on a jumper, as the Oriole lead continued to grow.

Bradley would continue to work hard for the Dukes though, as he would get fouled after a lay up attempt and hit one of his free throws, breaking the streak of Oriole scoring and bringing the score to 35-31.

That is when the game would change. Blevins, who had been one of many key weapons for the Orioles, was called for a charge on a questionable call. That would give Blevins his fifth foul, disqualifying him from the game. Goff was very vocal about the call after the game.

“One call beat us,” said Orioles coach Daniel Goff. “Two minutes to go, we are up five, Tyler Blevins drives the lane, they call a charge, and it’s obviously not a charge. Anyone in the gym knows that wasn’t a charge. So instead of going to the line for two points, which Tyler Blevins is one of our better free throw shooters, and possibly being up seven or six with Tyler Blevins still in the game, instead, we are only up five and Tyler Blevins is out of the game. That was the game right there. One call was the game. The referees made the difference tonight in the game and that is unfortunate for the kids from Pulaski because they played their hearts out.”

That foul gave Dublin the much needed momentum in the game. Bradley would score on the Dukes next possession off of a missed shot and rebound. Dillon Alley added another basket to tie the game, 35-35, after Mattox would miss a free throw attempt on the previous possession.

The two teams traded scores before Goff took a timeout to prepare the next in-bounds play. However, Dublin’s Tyler Ervine would steal the in-bounds and get a lay up that sent the Duke crowd into a frenzy.

Pulaski would once again try to in-bound the ball and would be successful. However, the Orioles would lose the ball on their end of the quarter. It was Ervine again who would come up with the steal and be fouled. He would nail his two free throws, sending the Dublin lead to four, 41-37, with nine seconds remaining.

“He [Ervine] got the steal and then the two pressure free throws at the end,” Lewis said. “He is a really tough, hard-nosed player. He has been ill all season since football. He has really helped us as he has been able to come back and play a lot. He has made a big difference being steady at the point guard.”

Mattox would get a steal and lay up on the next Dublin in-bounds, but the two remaining seconds would tick off the clock, as the Dukes survived the charge to even their series with Pulaski up this year at one game a piece.

Both Zack Bradley and Marcus Johnston finished with 13 points in the game. Ervine scored eight points. On the Pulaski side, Logan Alley finished with 15 points, while Tyler Blevins six points.

The girl’s game saw a much different game from when the two teams played earlier this year. Dublin won that game, 50-25, but Pulaski refused to let the Dukes get away from them this time.

Dublin would get off to a quick start and led 9-4 just before the end of the first quarter. However, Pulaski’s Shuby Shumate would get her team back into the contest. She would score on a lay up, get a steal and lay up, which cut the Dublin lead to 11-10 after one quarter. On the Orioles next drive, Shumate would drive the lane for a foul, which she converted into a free throw. That tied the game 11-11 after one quarter.

The second quarter saw the Dukes pull out of a tie with Pulaski and build a strong lead heading into halftime. It was a team effort that saw Gracie White, Maegen Memitt, Alyson Gilbert, and Chelsea Golden all score during the quarter. Defensively, Dublin only allowed one Pulaski point in the quarter – a Tyra Redd free throw. That effort on both offense and defense gave the Dukes a 20-12 lead at halftime.

Pulaski would mount a charge in the second half, as Shumate would try to be the catalyst for a Oriole comeback. She would drive the ball into the paint and be fouled three times, connecting on three free throws in the quarter.

However, her Dublin counterparts would match her effort and the Dublin lead would remain eight, 27-19, heading into the final quarter of play.

To combat an extremely talented offensive attack, Pulaski coach Teresa Taylor would implement a full court press. However, the Dukes would still manage to score the first three baskets of the quarter, extending their lead to 33-19. In the end, the second quarter burst by Dublin would keep them ahead in the game, as the Lady Orioles dropped their second contest of the season to the Lady Dukes, 35-23.

Carlie Clary scored eight points for Dublin, while Gracie White and Meredith Mitchell had seven points. Maegen Memitt also had six points for the Dukes. Shuby Shumate finished with 11 points for the Orioles.

“They came out and played really well,” said Lady Dukes coach Nicholle Douglas. “I was happy to see that for the Orioles. Our team has been working on some things in practice and they really put it together today. I was really happy for us. They all worked on the different things that they needed to do and I am really proud of every single player that went in.”

Despite the loss, Pulaski coach Teresa Taylor was proud of the effort her team gave in the game.

“I was really impressed with the girls,” Taylor said. “We have come a long ways from the beginning of the season. I think everyone, including the fans and parents, are seeing the improvement that we are making. I know we didn’t come out with the win, but the girls know they can beat Dublin. We were tied up 11-11, so they knew they have the ability to do that. I just want us to play aggressive every play. I am very proud of their progress. I can’t to see when we come back and play in January. We’ve got four games and play Dublin. So it would be good to see how we do at the end of the season.”

(12-18-09)

Oriole hoops split against Indians, build towards Dublin game

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

PULASKI – Both the Pulaski Middle Schools boy’s and girl’s basketball teams impressed on Monday, as they prepare for the annual rivalry game against Dublin Middle School. The boy’s would win their fame, 50-23, while the girl’s lost in a close contest, 36-33.

Despite getting off to an extremely hot start and leading for most of the game, the Lady Orioles would get into some late foul trouble, losing three of their starters in the process. That helped contribute to a tough 36-33 loss.

“We played really, really well,” said Orioles coach Teresa Taylor. “I was very proud of the girls. I know that the score showed that we did not win the game, but I really think that we played well. We had a lot of girls foul out of the game, but they gave a lot of heart tonight and that’s all I can ask as a coach.”

The Lady Orioles game opened with a bang, as the team scored six straight points. Shuby Shumate and Eric Hamric all have lay ups in the early going. The Indians would mount their own run to follow, as they scored seven straight to take a 7-6 lead.

Pulaski would finish strong in the first though and scored four points to close the quarter. Hamric and Erica Nash would score the late buckets for the Orioles. They would take a 10-7 lead heading into the second.

That late first quarter run continued into the early part of the second for Pulaski, as Kennedi Hart scored an opening lay up and Nash had two straight scores via lay up and a jump shot. That took the Pulaski lead to 16-7.

Pulaski would fall into foul trouble and reached the double bonus in the middle of the second, allowing every foul by Pulaski to turn into free throw chances for the Indians.

The Orioles led 19-10 towards the end of the quarter before Rural Retreat made a huge run. Using their full court press to create turnovers, the Indians would score eight points to close the quarter and tightened the game to 19-18 heading into halftime.

Both teams remained as close as their halftime score all the way through the second half. The third quarter for Pulaski would be all Tyra Redd, as she scored six of the Orioles eight points in the quarter.

The scoring by Redd, accompanied by the Indian’s 1-for-6 shooting on their free throws during the quarter, allowed Pulaski to extend their lead from one to four, 27-23.

Foul trouble would be an issue for the Orioles all game, as the Indians were in the bonus for both the first and second half. That amount of fouls though led to three of the Orioles key players, Kennedi Hart, Tyra Redd, and Eric Hamric, being disqualified after reaching five fouls early in the fourth quarter. That loss of star power would have a huge effect on Pulaski in the quarter.

Poor free throw shooting by the Indians though in the quarter and all game long though would allow the Lady Orioles to stay in the ball game. They would shoot 2-for-12 on their free throws during the fourth and 5-for-29 in the game.

After losing Redd and Hamric, several players for the Orioles would take bigger roles and help out their team. Morgan Midkiff and Courtney Beville both played strong in the final quarter. Midkiff would score on a jumper in the middle of the quarter, tying the game at 33-33. Beville would get a steal on the in-bounds following Midkiff’s basket.

“I think when they all come off the bench, they give us 110 percent,” Taylor said. “That’s all we can ask for. I think they played as a team tonight. I think they did very well and I’m proud of them. So I look forward to Thursday’s game against Dublin.”

However, the great effort put together by Pulaski wouldn’t be enough, as Rural Retreat continued the pressure. They would add a late free throw and a lay up to seal the tough 36-33 win for Rural Retreat.

Eric Hamric, Tyra Redd, and Erica Nash all scored six points for the Orioles in the game.

In the second game of the night, it was the Oriole boy’s using their press and defense to impressively knock off Rural Retreat, 50-23.

The opening half of the contest saw the Orioles work together like a well oiled machine. Logan Alley and Lonnie Maddox had early scores, but the game remained close at 4-2. That would be as close as the Indians would get though, as the Orioles went on a scoring barrage.

Pulaski would create defensive pressure and turnovers from both their full court press and their half court attack. A hand in the passing lane or a steal off of the press would lead to many baskets and helped the Oriole lead grow.

“Once we got in a half court defense, the guys smelled blood,” Goff said. “They went after every steal they could get their hands on and get it and go. We really showed our speed tonight. We don’t have one fast person or two fast people, but we have four or five fast people on the floor at all times for the most part. We are a quick team. We want it to be a track meet when we get on the floor. We’ve conditioned all year for that.”

Towards the end of the quarter, it would be Tyler Blevins working well with teammate Lonnie Mattox, as he dished out two assists for baskets. Mattox would have 10 points in the opening quarter, as the Orioles led 20-8.
The second quarter would see more of the same, as the Orioles had seven players score in the quarter. Blevins would score to open the quarter off of a Mattox miss. Marcus Burks also got a lay up early on, as the Pulaski lead was 22-8.

Mattox would add to his point total, scoring two early baskets off of steals. He would finish the quarter with eight points. The Oriole lead would grow to 40-12 at halftime.

The Pulaski lead would be too big in the second half, as the Indians would only score 11 points, while the Orioles score 10. That 28 point lead held up, as Pulaski picked up another win, 50-23.

Lonnie Mattox led the Orioles with 18 points. Tyler Blevins scored 10 points as well, while Logan Alley added seven points.

Coach Goff was pleased with the victory against Rural Retreat, but looked ahead to the always interesting Dublin-Pulaski rivalry game on Thursday.

“This win gives us some momentum going into Thursday obviously, but we’ve got two big days of practice,” Goff said. “I know this Dublin team isn’t the same team we faced in the tournament early in the year. This is a totally different Dublin team. They’ve improved a lot. I’ve been keeping up with who they’ve been playing and who they’ve beating. It is an impressive list right now. We have go to step our game up or we will lose on Thursday. We have to really step up.”

(12-14-09)

Bobcats hold off late Cougar rally for win

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – The Pulaski-Radford rivalry was renewed again on Wednesday, but this time it was on the court in girl’s basketball. Despite trailing by double digits from the second quarter through the second half, the Lady Cougars basketball team rallied to close to within two points. However, the Bobcats would seal the game with some late free throws, winning 43-37.

“It is always a battle when we play Pulaski,” said Radford coach Kevin Conner. “They are very athletic and very big. Their big girls gave us problems all night. Their guard play is very strong. I thought our girls did a good job of stepping up to the challenge.”

“Our kids played well.” said Pulaski coach Jason Grubb. “We came up short. We were down by two, had a great look at a lay up, a great look at a three pointer as well, and we couldn’t connect. We executed well and that made me feel best about the late part of the game is that we put ourselves back in position to win it. We drew things up on the sideline and our kids were able to execute them. That tells me down the road they are going to be ready.”

The two teams played evenly in the first quarter and traded baskets several times. Daisy Ball was a bright spot for Pulaski (0-5), as she scored two lay ups and assisted in a Shaniqua Bank’s score.

Pulaski would go up 5-2 early on before Hannah Kait Facemire would score two consecutive three pointers, giving the Bobcats (3-0) their first lead of the game. The Cougars would catch up though and tied the game at 8-8 after a Ball basket.

Just before the end of the quarter though, Radford’s Maryah Synder would hit a three pointer, giving the Bobcats the three point lead after one quarter, 11-8.

The second quarter would be the breakout one for Radford, as the Cougars would get into foul trouble for the second consecutive game. Kasey Holcomb and Daisy Ball would both pick up their second fouls early in the quarter with the score 11-10. That forced Coach Jason Grubb to make some adjustments in the defense.

“We sat Daisy and Kasey during important times in the game,” Grubb said “We would have rather had them out there in those situations, but there was a definite lull in our scoring. When those kids are on the bench, we aren’t as good at scoring. We would have liked to had them out there more. That is something we’ve got to work on too is playing tough defense without fouling.”

That change would lead to a big end of the quarter from the Bobcats. They would score 11 of the quarter’s next 13 points. Synder would hit her second straight three-pointer at the buzzer, as the Bobcats would take a 22-12 lead into halftime.

“Over the last two years, she [Synder] has had the tendency to do that for us,” said Bobcats coach Kevin Conner. “She has a knack for knowing when the clock is and the girls want to get her the ball in that kind of situation. As big as she is, a lot of teams like to retreat to the paint on her. When she takes the time, gets her feet set, and she is aware of the clock, she can nail those shots. Those were huge, huge shots for us. You have to figure if she doesn’t make those, we might not win the basketball game. That is six points right there.”

Coming out of halftime, Sydney Anderson, Daisy Ball, and Kelli Duncan would all try to rally the Cougars in the third quarter, as all three scored early in the quarter. That brought the lead to just eight points, but Radford would break out at the end of the quarter with some free throws, as they extended their lead by three more, 32-19.

It seemed as if a Radford win was easily in the books, but an amazing run by the Lady Cougars would spark them to a comeback effort. After being down 37-22, Pulaski would score 11 straight points and pull to within 37-33. Maddie Chitwood came off the bench for four of those points, while Kasey Holcomb scored five points in the run and assisted on one of Chitwood’s baskets.

“Maddie is a fun loving kid and when it comes to basketball, she has ice water in her veins,” Grubb said. “It doesn’t matter what the situation is or what the score is, I know that if I ask her to shoot it, she will shoot it. She just likes playing hard. She is a great part of the team.”

The two teams would battle for baskets back and forth, as the game reached an extremely fast pace. With the score 39-33, Holcomb would drive deep and score a lay up for Pulaski and Grubb took a timeout.

On the next in-bounds, the Cougars would get a steal and Ball would end up in the post for a lay up, which brought score to 39-37. With under a minute to go, the Cougars fouled and sent Facemire to the free throw line. She would miss the first free throw on a one-and-one and the Cougars corralled the rebound.

Pulaski would have the chance to tie, but they would fail, as another lay up attempt from Ball would be off the mark. Synder would go to the line and sink both of her attempts, opening the Radford lead to 41-37. In the game, the Bobcats were 11-for-16 on free throw attempts.

“To be honest, we don’t work on free throws much in practice,” Conner said. “We work on shooting, as far getting our form and everything, but we don’t work on free throwing shooting itself. A lot of that was a lot of poise our kids had. Stepping up, just relaxing, taking their time, and being poised. It kind of surprised me a little bit because we don’t work on it. We haven’t been in these kind of situations this year. I was pleased with that.”

Another attempt to score by Pulaski would fail and would once again send Radford to the free throw line. Elizabeth Carter would make both of her attempts and seal the Bobcats win, 43-37.

Maryah Synder led the Bobcats with game-high 20 points in the game. Pip Pattison added nine points and Facemire had six points. For Pulaski, Daisy Ball scored 11 points. Holcomb scored eight and Chitwood had seven points, all of them in the fourth quarter.

Despite losing the varsity contest, the Cougars junior varsity squad had a very impressive showing in their match up with Radford. In the first quarter, the Cougars would dominate, scoring 14 points and didn’t allow a single Bobcat point.

The team would start off on a 20-0 run to begin the game, which set the tone early. Radford’s Alexis Finley would get her team on the board following that run, as she scored on a lay up and was fouled in the early part of the second quarter.

The massive lead put up by Pulaski would hold all the way through the first half, as they took a 24-4 lead into halftime.

Pulaski saw the same dominant performance from their JV team in the second half as they did the first. They would score 10 points in the third, while their stingy defense only allowed two points in the quarter.

That huge lead made the big difference, as a young Bobcats squad failed to catch up and fell, 39-11.

“When we were doing our warm ups, my kids were playing absolutely horrible,” said JV coach Tiffany Payne. “I went in and had my talk with them, they came back out, and showed up to be the team that I know they could be. They played with heart tonight. They played as a team. They did everything that I asked them to do and they won the game because they played together and they worked hard.”

Jordan Chrisley led the Cougars with 10 points. Carli Brewer, Sara Wright, and Tori Duncan all had six points. 8 of the 11 players for the Cougars JV squad scored in the game. For Radford, Alexis Finley finished with 6 points.

Pulaski will return to action on Monday, when they take on Carroll County on the road. After playing three home games to start the season, Radford now will play a grueling eight straight games on the road, starting with Christiansburg on Monday.

(12-10-09)

Pulaski, Radford swimmers kick off seasons at RU

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

RADFORD – Both the Pulaski Cougars and Radford Bobcats swim teams got their first chance to prove themselves on Tuesday, as both squads competed in a five team meet at Radford University’s Dedmon Center Natatorium.

Alongside Radford and Pulaski in the meet were the swimming teams from Christiansburg, Auburn, and Cave Spring. Each team would compete against one another in a unique format that basically amounted to each team competing in four individual meets.

For the Cougars, the main issue may have well been nerves. A total of five disqualifications were handed down to the team, including two top performances by Keaton Hanks in the 100 yard breast stroke and Jonathan Holcomb in the 100 yard fly.

“Well, I think we did well for our first meet,” said Cougars coach Hank Hanks. “We had several disqualifications on the guy’s side, which hurt us a little. We had two guys basically finish first and both get disqualifications. It will affect the team scores quite a bit.”

Natalee Roseberry, arguably the Cougar girl’s best swimmer, was not competing due to being at the One Act competition for the PCHS Players. Despite not being there, the girl’s relay teams still had an impressive finish.

In the 400 meter freestyle relay, the team of Sibley Brown, Sara Holston, Lauren Palmer, and Emma Reeves finished second behind Cave Spring. Radford would finish third in the event, just under two seconds behind.

The Bobcats, who have a much larger team than Pulaski, had some impressive performances as well. The most impressive was the team performance in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The team, which consisted of Hanna Krayer, Amanda Williams, Maddy Denny, and Emma Burke, finished first among the seven teams who competed.

“This is a great start for our season,” said Bobcats coach Heather Rowland. “We have 46 swimmers this year, which is an improvement. We had 42 compete and 20 were brand new in their first meet ever. 22 were returning swimmers. I saw some personal best times from my returning swimmers by more than five and six seconds that just about brought tears to my eyes.”

In team competition, the Pulaski boy’s lost to Cave Spring (240-79), Christiansburg (189-98), and Radford (158-98). They picked up a win against Auburn (111-13). On the girl’s side, Pulaski picked up two wins against Christiansburg (128-95) and Auburn (124-104). They lost to Cave Spring (199-102) and Radford (195-116).

The Radford boy’s team split their meets. They picked up a win over Pulaski (158-98) and Auburn (177-10). Their losses came at the hands of Christiansburg (193-144) and Cave Spring (242-120). The Bobcat girl’s team won three of their four meets against Pulaski (195-116), Christiansburg (212-90), and Auburn (196-99). Their lone loss was a tight contest to Cave Spring (189-176).

Both teams will return to the same pool on Saturday for their second meet of the season, when they will compete in the 17th Annual Southwest Invitational swimming meet. Teams from different counties and even different states will be competing in the meet.

“Basically, the invitational we have been doing for 17 years now,” Hanks said. “It started long before I started coaching this. We have 400 kids coming from 20 different schools, several from Tennessee. I don’t think any Carolina schools are coming this year, but they usually do. Our kids are excited about that because they get to swim in exactly all the events they want to in that. We don’t have cover all the different events like you do in a regular meet.”

Coach Rowland feels that competing in the same area that they have practiced in may serve as a huge benefit for her teams come Saturday.

“I think give us an advantage in the fact that my brand new kids don’t have to adjust to a new pool and a new surrounding,” Rowland said. “They have been here, they have practiced, they know what it sounds like, and what it looks like. It isn’t totally new to them.”

(12-10-09)

Golden’s defense, free throws lead Dublin to comeback win

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – Thursday’s contest between Dublin and Blacksburg Middle School girl’s teams could be summarized by two main points – free throws and key defensive plays. After Dublin got to the foul line for 43 free throws and made 21 of them, Chelsea Golden was able to use some late fourth quarter defense to help keep her team ahead for the win, 34-27.

“What a game,” said Dublin coach Nicholle Douglas. “That was a fight to the end and what I call a bruiser. Foul shots are what we won on. They fouled us, we went to the line, and that’s how we won that game. We took the shots, but they weren’t falling for us tonight. Man, what a game.”

Both teams came out and played pretty evenly in the first quarter. Maegen Memitt scored three points and Carlie Perry added two, as the score would be tied 8-8 after one quarter of play.

The Dukes struggled to score on an extremely quick Titans team in the second quarter. Dublin would only score five points in the quarter, which allowed Blacksburg to take the 17-13 lead into halftime.

Free throws were the majority of scoring in the third quarter, as both teams played aggressively and physically. There were a total of 19 free throws shot in the quarter by both teams. Dublin would cut their deficit in half heading into the fourth and final quarter.

“To be honest, they were not as steady as they needed to be and they fouled us a lot,” Douglas said. “I feel like they were calling a lot of fouls that maybe were and maybe weren’t, but my girls were staying well on defense and playing tight like I asked them to and they did. The other team just fouled us, we got to the line, we made them, and that’s how we win.”

In the final quarter, both teams remained fairly close and the free throws continued to come. Two free throws early by Meredith Mitchell and Carlie Perry would tie the game at 23-23.

The game remained tied all the way until the 27-27 mark. That’s when Golden would take over. Coming off of a 16 point performance in Tuesday’s game against Carroll County, she would use her defensive skills instead of offense this time to help her team.

After a missed lay up by Mitchell, Golden would grab the rebound and get fouled on her shot attempt. She would make one of her two free throw attempts to give the Dukes their first lead of the second half, 28-27.

Golden would continue her defensive prowess a little later in the quarter. After a Memitt lay up and Blacksburg timeout, Golden would steal the in-bounds pass and lob ahead to Mitchell. Mitchell would miss, but just as Blacksburg came back down the court, Golden would get yet another steal.

On the following Blacksburg possession, Golden would get a huge block on Blacksburg defender. As the game closed, Golden would get one more steal and a rebound, as the Dukes closed on a 12-4 run in route to winning the game.

“Chelsea is a well rounded player,” Douglas said. “I expect nothing less from her. She knew what I needed her to do out there and she did it. She stays low and has a really good mindset for the game. When I talk to her on the bench and she goes back in, she listens and she does what she needs to do. We wouldn’t win without that kind of a player. Working together with Meredith [Mitchell] and Carlie Perry playing defense like crazy, that is the kind of game you like to see. It was kind of a little messy, but those are going to happen. We kept our head in the game and that’s how we won it. We didn’t get whiney. We didn’t care about the fans and the other coach. We went out there to win the game and not lose it.”

Maegen Memitt was the leading Dukes scorer with seven points in the game. Chelsea Golden, Carlie Perry, and Carlie Clary all had six points. Meredith Mitchell had five points and Gracie White finished with four points. There were a total of 58 free throws attempted in the game by both teams. The Dukes went 21-for-43 in free throw attempts, while the Titans were 6-for-15.

The girl’s will next play on Monday against Scott Middle School on the road at 6:30 p.m. Their next home game is on Tuesday, when they face off against the Andrew Lewis Wolverines. That game will be played after the boy’s contest, which starts at 5 p.m.


Bradley, Johnston guide Dukes to victory over Blacksburg

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – After a close first quarter between Dublin and Blacksburg Middle Schools boy’s basketball teams on Thursday, strong defense and the performances from eighth graders Zack Bradley and Marcus Johnston helped lead the Dukes to a convincing 48-31 victory over the Titans.

“Marcus did a really good job on the press,” said Dukes coach Richard Lewis. “Sometimes in the past, we had pressed and had gotten the ball, but we hadn’t come up with any points. This time, we score off the press. Zack Bradley was really more aggressive on the boards and ran after every rebound. He really, really hustled. He got his confidence back and really helped us pull away. Even though he got shook up and injured a few times, he still got in and played really hard. It was his best effort on the boards since earlier in the year and scoring as well.”

The Dukes jumped out to an early lead, thanks to Bradley and Johnston. The two had a combined eight of the team’s 12 first quarter points. Dublin led 12-6 after the one.

In the second quarter, Dublin continued their defense and didn’t allow a bucket until nearly mid-way through the second. During that time, Kareem Calfee and Dillon Alley would score on a lay ups and Bradley would hit a free throw, extending the lead to 17-8.

The Titans would add a free throw and lay up just before the end of the quarter. Bradley would finish the quarter strong for the Dukes though, hitting two free throws after being fouled and get a steal and lay up, as Dublin took a 23-11 lead into halftime.

Coming into the third quarter, the Titan deficit remained the same until midway through the quarter. That’s when Marcus Johnston would come up big for Dublin. After getting to the foul line and connected on two free throws, Johnston would get back-to-back steals and lay ups off of the full court press being applied.

He would also hit another free throw on the next Dublin possession, scoring seven straight points in the game. That push enabled the Dukes to take a huge 36-20 lead heading into the final quarter.

“I thought our defense was again, like in the last game, the key to the game,” Lewis said. “It seems like that we are playing harder and with more intensity. A number of players are seeing that they have the ability, but the key is just how hard you play, especially on defense. We made a lot happen on defense and kept Blacksburg off balance with the press and with our half court defenses. I thought that was the key to the game and just overall effort too. Everybody that played, they played with a lot of intensity. I really, really enjoyed the success for them. For a while, we had been sort of down after a couple of games. The last couple of games we have really picked up our level of play and the effort. They’ve just done a really good job.”

Dublin would add four straight scores to start off the final quarter, as Isaac Woodall and Daniel Safewright hit lay ups, while Bradley and Alley connected on three of their four free throws. That early burst kept the Dukes in the lead for good, as they picked up the 48-31 win.

Zack Bradley was the high-scorer in the game, finishing with 13 points. Marcus Johnston added 10 points and Kareem Calfee had 6 points.

The Duke’s next game is on Monday, as they take on Scott Middle School on the road at 4:30 p.m. They will return home on Tuesday to play against Andrew Lewis at 5 p.m.

(12-3-09)

Young Cougars swept by Colonels in home opener

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – Despite not having two of their veteran players in Raiven Patterson and Nikki Shay for the start of the season, the Lady Cougar basketball team put on a gutsy performance against William Fleming at home on Wednesday. However, after four quarters of play, the Colonels got the best of the Cougars in a close match up, 48-41.

“You look at what we put out on the court tonight,” said Cougars varsity coach Jason Grubb. “We put out two return starters and four kids total that had been on the varsity team. Out of the 14 kids on the roster, Nikki Shay has a torn ACL and Raiven Patterson hasn’t practiced or played at all this year. Those four kids that were part of the starting group did a good job and I could count on them to be sound with ball, under control, and to take leadership. That is why we were successful early on because they got us started that way.”

The Cougars (0-1) got off to a great start in the game, scoring six straight points. Sydney Anderson scored four and Daisy Ball had two points in the early run. William Fleming (1-0) would come back though and tied things up with their own six point run, as it was 6-6 midway through the quarter.

As the quarter winded down, the Cougars would use a late push to take the lead. A three-pointer from Kasey Holcomb would connect and Brittany Lawson had a jumper to end the first quarter, as Pulaski took the 13-10 lead after one.

In the second quarter, William Fleming used their offensive and defensive rebounding to get some valuable fouls and put backs for scores. Towards the end of the second, Fleming would burst out with nine of the final eleven points in the quarter. The Colonels led 26-18 heading into halftime.

Pulaski would come out the halftime break and score six of the first eight points in the quarter. Anderson and Holcomb had lay ups and Ball added a jump shot. That effort brought the Cougars to within four points, 28-24.

The score remained fairly close until the end of the quarter, when Fleming once again had a huge offensive outburst. With the score 32-26, the Colonels would get two free throws, a lay up, and a three-pointer, increasing their lead to 39-26. The quarter would close with the Colonels leading, 39-28.

Being down by 11 points, Pulaski mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter. Fleming maintained their big lead until midway through the fourth, when Holcomb hit a lay up and Anderson followed with a jumper. That forced the Colonels to take a timeout with their lead shrinking to 45-37.

“I was pretty excited at the end of the game,” Grubb said. “We were into it. We were flirting with victory, as we were the whole game. You step back and take a look at it and our kids did a really good job.”

Coming out of the timeout, the Cougars scored again, as Hannah Chaffin got a lay up. The lead was down to six, 45-39. Unfortunately that was as close as the Cougars would get. The time ticked off the clock and the Colonels sealed the tough 48-41 win.

In just her first game on the varsity roster, freshman Sydney Anderson scored an impressive 17 points. Kasey Holcomb and Daisy Ball both had 9 points. Ball also had four blocks in the game.

Before the varsity game, the Lady Cougar junior varsity girl’s opened the night’s play with their own match up against William Fleming. Early on, the scoring and game remained tight. After just one quarter of play, the Colonels held a 13-10 lead.

Things continued to remain tight and at the 3:26, Savannah tied the game up at 19-19. That marked a turning point in the game, as the Colonels scored eight straight points to end the quarter and took a 27-19 lead heading into halftime.

From then on out, it was the Colonels who continued to impress with their defense, limiting the Cougar offense to a small amount of passing and shooting opportunities. Coming out of the break, Fleming would score three more baskets and extend their scoring streak to 12 straight.

That huge run enabled the Colonels to get ahead and stay ahead in the game, as Pulaski just couldn’t catch up and dropped the game, 49-31.

“They tried, but we had a rough practice yesterday and they really didn’t play to the best of their ability,” said JV coach Tiffany Payne. “I had some girls that would do what I asked them to do and did very well. I was very pleased with Sara Wright, Savannah Jones, and Jordan Chrisley. Those were the three that really listened and did what they were told to do and those were the ones that really made things happened. We just have to work on getting our team together and playing as a team and not playing selfish. We are a good team, but we just have to play as a team to be that good team.

The varsity program’s next opponent will be on Friday at the Fairfax High School tournament and they don the same colors and mascot. The Oakton High School Cougars went 30-1 last season with their only lose occurring in the AAA State Championship game. During that game, the team set a record for three-point baskets made with 17. Oakton lost two players from last year’s squad, one of which was a starter, but return three Division 1 prospects, all at the guard position.

Coach Grubb commented after the game about playing against such tough competition early in the season despite having injuries and an extremely young team.

“If we are going to beat the best, we are going to have to play the best,” Grubb said. “Right now, we don’t have a full roster, but we are still playing that tough schedule. Our kids are looking forward to the challenge. We are going to up to Oakton to play the AAA state runner-up last year. They’ve got a very athletic group and a very talented group. They return all, but two players from that team. Only one of those players was major contributor, plus they have a transfer kid from Iowa. They are going to be really tough. Last year, they won thirty games in a row before losing the state game. We know they are going to be talented, but we accept the challenge.”

(12-2-09)

Cougars use ‘Jamboree’ as tune up for Fleming

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com




DUBLIN – For the second straight season, the Lady Cougar basketball program and Pulaski County High School hosted a successful Scrimmage Jamboree. The day’s action saw eight girl’s varsity and two girl’s junior varsity programs compete. In the end though, the day saw several hard fought performances from both the Pulaski varsity and junior varsity programs.

“I think that the experience on the court today was very successful for us,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “I think we played three good teams and matched up well with them. I think did a lot of things well and a lot of things not as well as we want to. So today was all about learning who we are and figuring out what we need to do in the next two days on Monday and Tuesday to prepare ourselves for the first game, which is William Fleming.”

Each team in the tournament played in a unique format. They would only play two eight-minute quarters. Also, fouls would count as 1 point for the team receiving the foul, unless the foul was committed late in the quarter.

Pulaski’s varsity program opened up play in two of the first few opening contests in the tournament. The Lady Cougars first action of the day was against another set of Cougars with the same initials – Patrick County. After a tight contest all the way through, it was Patrick County who would win after the two quarters, 27-26. Sydney Anderson and Shaniqua Banks both had four points in the opening game, while Maddie Chitwood, Hannah Chaffin, and Daisy Ball all had two points.

A few games later, the Cougars would meet former Blue Ridge District foe Lord Botetourt. In what would be yet another close contest, the Cougars would be on the winning side this time, 34-31. Banks played strong again, scoring six points. Marlena Morrison added five points and Sydney Anderson and Hannah Chaffin both had four points.

After playing two of the earlier games, the Cougars were forced to wait out most of the rest of the tournament before getting back into the action. A change of schedule led to them playing against both the Narrows junior varsity and varsity programs instead of Bland.

“We want to play first and last because these other schools are gracious enough to travel here,” Grubb said. “We don’t want someone to come in early and leave late. We try to get everybody in and out as quick as possible and then of course, we ask that our players help us set up the gym and clean up the gym and stuff like that. That is just the way it is done. We were probably a bit rusty and a little cold.”

After the long break, the Pulaski junior varsity squad was in their first action since the Floyd County scrimmage. The team came out and used strong defense to impressively work their way to a 21-2 lead after one quarter. Savannah Jones had five points in the early lead.

The Cougars frustrated the Green Wave with a barrage of steals and baskets off of a game-time defensive change by JV coach Tiffany Payne. She was pleased with her team’s defensive skill and ability to work together.

“They have been working a lot on transition and getting completely set up into their press,” said JV coach Tiffany Payne. “Normally, most teams are so used to running back after making a basketball from, but these girls have done really well at staying up the floor and giving the right amount of pressure that they need to and they are actually reading off of each other on defense. So they are able to get those steals and get those easy baskets and they are keeping their heads up when they get those steals so they see their teammates up ahead of them. They are very team oriented and are really looking for each other and not out for themselves.”

The Cougars JV squad continued to impress and led 29-6 after the second quarter. The score would be reset after that and the team’s played two more six-minute quarters. After starting out with a 5-0 lead, the Cougars would give some points back to Narrows, which led to the score being tied 6-6. However, Pulaski once again pulled out and scored 12 straight points, winning the second session 18-6.

“The best thing that I saw from my team was that from the first scrimmage we had to this scrimmage they came together more as a team,” Payne said. “They played hard as a group. That was the biggest change. At the very beginning, they were not worried about what each other was doing. This game, they came out, kept their heads up, they looked up the floor, they played well as a team, and they listened.

Following the impressive junior varsity performance was a varsity two quarter session between Narrows and Pulaski. Unlike the junior varsity game, both teams would remain fairly close. It would be 8-6 Pulaski after one quarter of play.

Heading into the second quarter, the Cougars would pull out to a large lead, 17-9. The Green Wave would fight back though, scoring a lay up and causing two Cougar fouls to get back in the game, 17-14.

With just 43.7 seconds left, the two teams would be tied 23-23. Both teams would fail to convert on opportunities to take the lead. Yet another chance for Narrows to win would be blown, as the in-bound would be intercepted by Kasey Holcomb and throw the ball under the basket to a wide open Sydney Anderson, who connected on a lay up as time expired.

“It is just fun” Grubb said. “It is a scrimmage. Whether you win or lose is not the biggest deal, but it makes you feel good when you win. It is just an exciting moment for the whole team this year. You can see that we played six quarters today and every one of our kids got to play in every one of them. Every one of them got experience and got to show what they can do. We found out what we need to work on.”

Coach Grubb believes that one of the more important benefits coming out of the tournament was that the Cougars got a live look at their regular season opening opponent for Wednesday, William Fleming.

“We did get to see William Fleming play and they’ve got a talented group,” Grubb said. “They already have a college signee. One of their players signed with Marshall University. They are going to be a tough bunch, but I think if we take what we accomplished today and improve on it a little bit, we can be in position to beat them.”

At the end of the day and tournament, many of the coaches from the teams who participated were pleased with the tournament festivities and their inclusion into the action.

“I think it is a nice basketball atmosphere, said Cave Spring coach Jessica Ficarro. “It is always nice to see this many girl’s competing in one gym. Basketball is a great sport. Coach Grubb does a very nice job of putting everything on. It is very organized. You do get to see some great teams in action, whether they are in your district or not. You may eventually see them if you have a pretty good season. Like any tournament, things can get off track as far as time. I think today went really smooth. We are happy we got to play three different teams.”

“I’m just happy that someone local has taken it upon themselves to do something like this,” Narrows Coach Wayne Gautier. “For a small school like us, we don’t have many opportunities. Jason Grubb has been really well and I told him if they were going to do anything to call me. We are just happy to be a part of it. It is real well run. It also gives the officials a chance to get ready for the season. We are pleased. We came to play and just to try work on some stuff and see what we need to work on. It’s a good run tournament. I’m very proud we are part of it and hopefully we can continue it.”

Grubb was also pleased with the outcome of the second of these tournaments in two such seasons.

“I want to say it was a very successful ‘Jamboree’,” said Lady Cougars varsity coach Jason Grubb. “I think all of the coaches were very thankful in being included in this. They really enjoy coming here. I talked to my kids about it and they were excited to be here. It was just nice to have scrimmages where there was a bunch of teams and a bunch of players in the gym.”

(11-31-09)

Pulaski Middle wrestling picks up first mat victory

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwestimes.com



DUBLIN – After a disappointing loss in their opening match of the year against Christiansburg on Thursday, the Pulaski Middle combined wrestling team picked up their first match victory on Tuesday against Andrew Lewis, 119-69.

“We didn’t wrestle really well against Christiansburg,” said coach Joe Levine. “We came out tonight and challenged them. I knew that Andrew Lewis had beaten Christiansburg. We were mentally ready to take on another challenged and I challenged them to and they brought it out today. They showed that they have learned something over the last four weeks and they’ve been working really hard. This was a good reward for all the hard work. I was surprised that we did as well as we did because they are such a strong team. The kids have a lot of pride and a lot of heart and they showed it here tonight that they’ve actually learned something.”

Two of the more impressive performances came from sixth graders Gage Levine and Elliott Pedigo. Pedigo, who is a former member of the Virginia Challenge (VAC) and travels around the nation to compete on the mat, won impressively by pin at the 105 lbs weight limit.

Gage Levine, who a former elementary state champion, also picked up a pinfall victory in the match on Tuesday. Sixth grader Logan Smith, who was second in the state last year at 112 lbs, lost a close, hard fought match to an eighth grader, which was also impressive.

Overall though, coach Levine wasn’t impressed with just one individual single wrestler on his team, but was proud of the team effort that was put forth to pick up the win.

“I don’t have one individual that I can actually say ‘wow I was surprised they did that’ because we had some really nice matches,” Levine said. “Even in the ones we weren’t successful in, we had some good matches. They didn’t match up with our 80 lb kids, but those two kids brought it out and went into overtime and sudden death. It turned out to be a really good match. “

Despite the victory against Andrew Lewis, coach Levine sees a few points that he needs to work on with his team before their next meet on December 1 against Carroll County on the road.

“We have a little intensity issue to work out,” Levin said. “We seem to be a little confused with some of our positioning and where we need to be in pinning combinations. We just need to be more aggressive and better on our feet. We got taken down too many times tonight. Those are things to go back and concentrate on. We work hard on those things every day, but we’ve got to keep reminding our sixth through eighth graders and try to keep it as fun as possible, while working as hard as we are.”

(11-25-09)

Lady Dukes building on strong ’08 season

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – After a strong 2008-09 campaign for the Dublin Dukes girl’s basketball team, the team will look to once again be extremely competitive and strong, despite losing most of their roster from last season.

Coming off of an impressive 18-2 last year, second-year coach Nicholle Douglas only returns four of her players from last year’s team and is looking to build on a young base of talent.

“Last year, I had a starting five that any coach would dream to have,” Douglas said. “They were quick. They knew exactly what to do. They had been playing together forever. We just dominated every game. I was really proud of them. This year, it’s a year where I’ve started with a new team. I only had four returning. Working with them and them being young, I’m seeing my coaching coming through. That’s very exciting and they are doing well with that.”

The team this year will include 7 eighth graders, 4 seventh graders, and 3 sixth graders. With having such a young and inexperienced team, Douglas has had a few issues with trying to prepare her squad.

“Just experience and them not being afraid of going out there and playing their hardest and having pressure on them,” Douglas said. “They need to get over that and that is what we have been working on in practice. They are getting a lot better. I play with them and they practice with them every day and they scrimmage. I push them. I saw that come true in Tuesday’s game against Carroll County.”

A few names come to mind that will contribute to the Duke’s doing well for the second straight season, but overall Douglas has tried to emphasize the team working together and not trying to focus so much on the individual.

“I try to encourage them all to go out and do their best,” Douglas said. “Different people do different things very well. Meredith Mitchell is a sixth grader and is just phenomenal all around. Maegen Memitt is decent all around. Carlie Clary is just unstoppable down low. Gracie White is always everywhere. All the girls are stepping up when they need to step up and that’s what I’m working on. We don’t work on ‘hey, you are the star player, so let’s get you the ball’. We work on this as a team and we work as a team. That was a hurdle, but we’ve gotten past that now.”

That value of the team over individual has seemed to work, as the team is already off to another great start this season and will look to continue to improve on each and every aspect of their game.

“What I see from my team is that we are a young team,” Douglas said. “We are really working hard to become a unified team. This week, we had a huge win against Carroll County and I finally saw the team come together. We came from behind in the second half and won. Now I see the team working together and doing the things that they need to be doing. That’s awesome and that’s what I want to see out of them.”

(11-20-09)

Lady O’s look to build on team concept

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

PULASKI – The 2009-10 edition of the Pulaski Middle School girl’s basketball team will look to use a new concept to help push them over the top this season and improve from last season.

The Lady Orioles, which are led by fifth-year coach Teresa Taylor, will look to improve on last year’s 2-10 record. The main focus for this team will be more of a dedication to the team and less on the individual aspects of basketball.

“It’s not just one person’s fault if we lose and it’s not one person’s responsibility if we win,” Taylor said. “We work as a team. I tell them all the time that ‘we win as a team, we lose as a team’. There might be one person who can help lead and motivate, but it takes everyone working together to achieve our goal.”

Through all the team has shown this year, Taylor has been impressed with her team, but is hoping they will continue to learn throughout the season to be positive on the court and certain of their abilities.

“The girls this year are very talented,” Taylor said. “We’ve had that in years past, but I just want them to be more confident in themselves and that’s what we’ve been working on. They are a good team. They really try to help one another out. If we can just set it up a notch and get them focused on the game and not be so nervous, I think we will do well this season.”

As in most teams, veteran leadership will look to be one of many key strengths in the team. Taylor has asked each one of her eighth graders to take a bigger leadership role on the team and the hope is it will lead to more team success.

“My eighth graders, I have asked to step up and be leaders,” Taylor said. “Several of them stepped up in the tournament and that helped us out a lot. I was proud of them and wanted them to keep that leadership role, especially for the younger ones. We are younger this year. We want to see what they have coming and what they can accomplish as well.”

One of the biggest obstacles the team has to overcome is some inexperience with the amount of time spend on the court. Despite that challenge, coach Taylor feels her team has met it well.

“We had a lot of eighth graders last year,” Taylor said. “Some of the girls didn’t get the playing time that they are getting this year. They have really been working hard and getting that on the court. I’m really proud of them. They are really aggressive. No matter what we ask them to do, they do it. That is all we can ask of them.”

(11-19-09)

Oriole boys, Dublin girls win games

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

After both the boy’s and girl’s middle school teams from Pulaski and Dublin had played all day in their respective tournaments, each brought the competition to a close with the renewal of the classic Orioles-Dukes cross-town rivalry.

Both of the boy’s teams played at Pulaski Middle School. It was Pulaski’s first contest since opening the tournament against Radford earlier that day, while Dublin had just played two games prior.

“I was worried that the kids were going to come out lackadaisical since we had the early game this morning and didn’t play all day since then,” said Orioles coach Daniel Goff. “Dublin’s players got to take a break before the game and got a chance to rest their starters. I told my guys at the beginning that they are going to come out fired up. Our boys played well, played good, and we showed our speed here tonight.”

That time off proved to be an aid for the Orioles, as they would start out strong in the first quarter. Lonnie Mattox scored six in the quarter and teammate Logan Alley added five points, as Pulaski took a big 14-4 lead after one quarter. The Orioles continued pressure defensively and kept the Dukes at bay in the second. They would equal their point total from the first quarter and only allowed Dublin to score seven points. Pulaski took a 24-11 halftime lead.

Coming out of halftime, Mattox would take over the game. He would score at will against the Duke defense, driving the length of the quarter for scores. Mattox would have six points in the quarter, as the Oriole lead swelled to 45-20.

“This game really showed Lonnie’s speed,” Goff said. “We hadn’t seen it all year until this game. He was in the zone and reading the defense. He knew where they were going to pass the ball and was in the passing lanes. He showed his speed up and down the floor. He took the game over at one point.”

In the end, the Pulaski advantage would be too much to overcome, as the Orioles finished undefeated (2-0) on the day and took a win from their rivals, 51-26. Mattox finished with 12 points, Tyler Blevins added 11, and Logan Alley score six points.

“I told the kids Monday and Tuesday that they looked like a totally different team from Wednesday and the two games today,” Goff said. “We didn’t even look like the same team. My expectations were so high coming in the first two games that I said ‘Are they as good as I thought they were?’. They really showed today how they can play defense and score the ball. I can’t stress how good we were defensively in both games today, as far as getting help side. The boys did it.”

Dublin coach Richard Lewis declined comment on the game and tournament.

Pulaski also won their first game of the tournament, defeating Radford in an extremely close contest, 44-41. Blevins and Alley scored 14 points each in that game and Mattox added 10 points.

Dublin’s lone win in the day’s tournament came against Christiansburg, when they won 41-28. Zack Bradley had 11 points and Kareem Calfee 8 points.

Patrick Henry finished the tournament an impressive 3-0, with wins over Radford (56-33), Ft. Chiswell (66-31), and Christiansburg (39-37). Overall, the Patriots went undefeated throughout the week. Both Radford and Dublin finished 1-2 in the tournament, Ft. Chiswell was 1-1, and Christiansburg was 0-3.

The girl’s tournament concluded with the second Dublin-Pulaski contest of the day. However, the Dukes would even up the score between the two schools with a 50-25 win over Pulaski.

“I think our girls played extremely well considering we had some struggles earlier today,” said Dublin coach Nicholle Douglas. “Pulaski came out and showed a great effort. I was excited about that. In the end, our girls pulled it together and then started listening more. They really did a great job.”

“I think we started out strong on defense, which helped us in our first game against Fort Chiswell,” said Pulaski coach Teresa Taylor. “This morning was a little rough. We didn’t play aggressively and missed some shots. I was proud of them for tonight because they were playing aggressive and going after the ball. We just have to improve on a few things and come back to play Dublin later on this season.”

Meredith Mitchell scored 23 points in the game for the Dukes, while teammate Chelsea Golden pitched in 10 points. Tyra Redd scored 17 points for the Orioles.

Dublin finished the girl’s tournament at 1-1, while the Orioles were 0-3. Floyd County was the most impressive team from the girl’s tournament, as they finished 3-0. They had dominating victories over Dublin (56-27), Ft. Chiswell (52-9), and Radford (58-10).
Also finishing 3-0 was Clifton Middle School, who won against Pulaski (23-11), Christiansburg (31-11), and Ft. Chiswell (24-9). Graham finished at 2-0 overall, followed by Christiansburg at 1-1. Both Radford (0-2) and Ft. Chiswell (0-3) were winless.
Throughout the week, Taylor has seen a lot of change from her squad, both individually and how they have functioned together as a unit.

“We’ve definitely come closer as a team,” Taylor said. “They have really learned to work together. They have worked on their individual skills. We did better scoring tonight than we’ve done so far. This has been our first look and we start our first game on Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see how we do.”

Overall, Douglas was pleased with the entire experience of the tournament, but hopes that there is room for expansion in the near future.

“The tournament is just such an awesome things for these girls to come from all over the place,” Douglas said. “I wish we could have more teams come. It is a good experience. I’m really happy with the turnout. I hope the fans for happy with it too.”

(11-19-09)

Orioles fall to Pioneers, Bobcats win on OT buzzer-beater

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwestimes.com



PULASKI – For the third straight day, middle school teams from around the area gathered at Pulaski Middle School for a chance to compete in the annual Preseason Invitational tournament on Wednesday.

Pulaski and Fort Chiswell opened up play in a tight early contest and would be tied at halftime. However, the Orioles would fall behind the Pioneers in the second half and drop their third game this week, 49-35.

Radford and Christiansburg played in the second and final game of the night. After the two teams battled for four quarters, it would be an overtime shot by Kyle Bishop in the waning moments that would give the Bobcats a tough 50-47 win.

Fort Chiswell would pull out to an early lead in the first game, thanks in part to post player Coleman Thomas. He would score three lay ups and knock down a free throw in the first quarter to lead the team with 7 points in the opening quarter of play. The Pioneers held an early 11-5 lead after one quarter.

The Orioles would thunder back in the second quarter with their fast break offense. However, Pulaski would lose a key offensive weapon when Tyler Blevins picked up his second foul with 5:06 to go in the second quarter.

Fort Chiswell’s lead would hold until a critical timeout by Coach Daniel Goff in the second. With the score 16-11 in favor of Fort Chiswell, Blevins would return to score three points, including a late basket, which tied the game at 16-16 heading into halftime.

Coming out of halftime, the Pioneer offense would explode with a barrage of points. Thomas would lead the way, as Fort Chiswell would score 18 points in the quarter. He scored six points in the quarter and 16 in the game to lead the Pioneers.

Despite being down 34-24 heading into the fourth quarter, the Orioles failed to give up and continued their pressure defense, forcing turnovers and many mistakes. Lonnie Mattox continued to score and teammate Logan Alley added to the cause.

In the end though, it wouldn’t be enough, as the strong third quarter by Fort Chiswell pushed them to the win, 49-35. Mattox lead the Orioles with 12 points. Blevins pitched in 11 and Alley added 6 points.

In the night cap, it was Radford going against Christiansburg in possibly the best game of the tournament. It was very defensive early on with both teams, as the scoring remained low. However, Christiansburg would gain the early edge with Tanner Cayton. He would score two early lay ups to give the Demons a 10-4 lead heading into the second.

Radford would use a strong press in the second after each of their scores to help pull back in the game. Anthony Miano and Isaiah Phillips would score two buckets each, tying the game at 14-14. Christiansburg would add two buckets at the end of the quarter, one by Cayton, to give them a 19-14 lead heading into halftime.

The Demons would extend their lead early with the help of Seth Wills, who had a couple of early baskets. Cayton would throw in a bucket, as Christiansburg pulled out to a 29-21 lead late in the quarter. However, Radford would fight back once again, scoring three of the quarters final four baskets to close to within three points, 31-28, at the end of the third.

In what continued to be a seesaw game between the two schools, Christiansburg broke open a big lead early in the fourth quarter. Wills had two jump shots for scores and the Demons were up 37-29.

Radford’s Phillips would guide his team back though, connecting on two three-point shots and hitting a free throw, which tied the game at 37-37. After Radford took a 39-37 lead, it would be free throws that would both aid and hinder the Demons.

Cayton would get to the foul line after four missed attempts at a lay up to tie up the game. He would sink both of his free throw attempts to tie the game at 39-39. After Radford failed in trying to take the lead, Christiansburg’s Wills would get to the line with a chance to potentially win the game. Unlike his teammate though, Wills would miss both of his attempts, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Radford would score eight early points and Christiansburg had only four, as the Bobcats led 47-43 with under a minute remaining. The Demons would come back though and tie the game at 47-47, with a key bucket by Cayton.

However, that run would be in vain. With just three seconds remaining, Radford guard Kyle Bishop would scramble to find an open teammate and hurled a shot towards the basket. He would make the three-pointer, just as the buzzer sounded, giving Radford the incredible 50-47 win.

Phillips led Radford in the win with 16 points, while Anthony Miano added 11 points. On the Christiansburg side, both Tanner Cayton and Seth Wills had 16 points each for Fort Chiswell.

All four teams will play next on Saturday, as Pulaski Middle School hosts a day long tournament. Games start at 9 am, when Pulaski plays Radford. The night cap will feature the always intense rivalry between Pulaski and Dublin. Check out the Sports Briefs for a complete schedule.

(11-13-09)

Orioles, Dukes suffer second day losses at PMS Tourney

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

PULASKI – Both Pulaski and Dublin Middle schools continued play on Tuesday at the Pulaski Invitational Preseason Basketball Tournament. Both teams suffered losses to Patrick Henry Middle School on Monday and they would both continue their tumble with two difficult defeats.

Pulaski Middle School opened play for the evening, as they played against Christiansburg Middle School. The Orioles took a strong early lead in the first quarter, 14-8. Logan Alley scored five points for Pulaski Middle and teammate Lonnie Mattox added four points in the lead.

However, Christiansburg would come back to tie the game with a strong second quarter effort, as the two teams went into their respective locker room’s knotted up at 24-24.

When the two teams resumed play in the third quarter, the Demons managed to pull away. The Orioles would struggle with ball control and Christiansburg Middle School continued to build their momentum, taking a small 39-30 lead heading into the final quarter.

Tyler Blevins, along with Alley, failed to let their team fall away from the game. The two combined for 14 of the Orioles 19 points in the fourth quarter. With just under two minutes remaining, Pulaski Middle would close to within 45-42.

However, Christiansburg would continue to score in the final minutes and the Orioles just couldn’t catch up, as three points would be as close as they would get. Christiansburg would win the game, 53-49.

Alley led the Orioles in scoring with 18 points, while Blevins added 13. Lonnie Mattox had 10 points as well.

“We definitely played better than we did last night against Patrick Henry,” said Orioles coach Daniel Goff. “I thought our defense played really well. We are still inexperienced. Our big men are getting lose underneath and losing their man. If we can turn up the defensive intensity, I think we can win some ball games.”

Dublin would play familiar foe Fort Chiswell Middle, who the Dukes played last week in a two-point contest. That game went in favor of Dublin, but Fort Chiswell looked for revenge in a victory over the Dukes.

The Pioneers came out like they had revenge on their minds. They held the Dukes to just four points in the quarter and took a small 8-4 lead after one quarter. The two teams remained fairly even in the second, but the Pioneers would extend their lead by one point, 15-10, heading into halftime.

The two teams played furiously in the second half, as both teams played some high scoring fast break basketball. Both of them would exchange end to end baskets, leading to a large scoring second half.

However, the Pioneers wouldn’t let the Dukes get them, despite the massive pressure being applied on the press, and the five point lead that they held at halftime proved to be a big difference in the game. The Pioneers would win the game, 40-33.

Dublin was led by Marcus Johnston, who had 10 points. Teammate Zack Bradley added 9 points in the loss.

“We started off slow,” said Dukes coach Richard Lewis. “We weren’t playing very good defense. We weren’t running the offense. There were too many turnovers and we just got ourselves into a hole that we just couldn’t quite catch up to. We played better in the second half, but we just dug a hole and we couldn’t quite catch up. We really played hard in the second half, but just couldn’t catch up.”

The Orioles will play again tomorrow at 4 pm against the same Fort Chiswell team. The night cap of the tournament tomorrow will be Radford Middle School against Christiansburg Middle.

“Tomorrow’s game is going to be tough,” Goff said. “Fort Chiswell always has a physical team. We are going to have to match their intensity and physicality. If we don’t do that, we will lose again tomorrow night. I’ve been telling the kids to get better every game, improve every game, and improve every practice. That’s all I can ask.”

The Dukes are finished with play in the tournament until Saturday, when they play against Christiansburg at 12 pm, Radford at 2 pm, and Pulaski at 4 pm.

(11-12-09)