Lady Cougars knock off Knights

Pulaski sets sites to Tuesday battle with RRD leader Hidden Valley

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – For the second time this week, the Lady Cougar basketball team was impressive in victory, earning a 50-27 River Ridge district victory over Cave Spring on Thursday at home.

“We came off of big win against Christiansburg and now a big win against Cave Spring, who are both district,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “It was a very important win for us. We want to get the ball rolling towards our next competition, which is Hidden Valley, Blacksburg, and Salem. I think we talked about improving in the second half of the district schedule. We did play better this game than the first time we played Cave Spring. We played better against Christiansburg than the first time we played against them. So we have made improvements there. So hopefully those improvements will correspond to improvements at Blacksburg and then Hidden Valley and Salem at home.”

The Cougars (9-10, 4-3) started out the game a 10-0. Hannah Chaffin scored two early lay ups, Brittany Lawson also scored on a lay up, and Kasey Holcomb hit a three pointer during the run. Pulaski held a 13-3 lead after the first.

What helped the Cougars a strong defensive performance that limited the Knights to shooting just 15.4% from the field in the first half. Cave Spring only had two lay ups in the first half. The Cougars also created 10 steals on the defensive end. Pulaski led 26-7 at halftime.

“We played excellent defense in the first half,” Grubb said. “We gave up a few more points than we would have liked in the second half, but it was still a good defensive effort. We held them to seven points in the first half and I think several of those were free throws. Our kids just hustled, contested every shot, switched on screens real well, and worked as a team. It was a really good effort.”

Pulaski had their best quarter of the game in the third, as they scored 15 points in the session. The Cougars would score eight of the first ten points of the quarter, as Daisy Ball and Sydney Anderson both scored four points each.

Ball and Anderson combined for 12 points in the third, as the Pulaski lead was 41-16 at the end of the quarter.

Cave Spring would outscore the Cougars in the final quarter, but just by two points. Pulaski would hold on to the lead their entire game and seal their fourth district win of the year.

Sydney Anderson led Pulaski with 13 points and five steals. Daisy Ball scored 11 points and had three blocked shots, while Kasey Holcomb and Brittany Lawson scored six points.

Grubb was pleased with his team’s ability to improve on the mistakes that they have made in past games and the objectives set before the game.

“We could have done more things to score more points tonight, but we were looking at some specific things offensively and defensively,” Grubb said. “I think our kids really stepped to the challenge early on. The goals we set were accomplished or close to accomplished. That was really good. We look forward to getting in there for practice and getting ready for Hidden Valley. I think that if we can play as focused as we did here tonight, then I think we will be looking at a victory.”

Next on the schedule is the most important game of the season for Pulaski. They will host Hidden Valley on Tuesday, which starts an important three-game stand against three of the top teams in the River Ridge district. However, two of those games – against Salem and Hidden Valley – will be played a home. Grubb talked about the significance of hosting these crucial games.

“We are already in a very tough district and probably the toughest in the state,” Grubb said. “Home court advantage is so important. The bus rides between here and Salem and here and Hidden Valley. You are on the bus 45 minutes to an hour. You are away from home. It’s tough to go into another team’s gym and win. I think we have the advantage when Salem and Hidden Valley come here. We’ve played close games with both of them in there place. That gives us confidence we can win against them here. Last year, we lost a pretty lopsided game at their place and then beat them pretty lopsided here. Hopefully, we can close the gap we had at their place and continue to make progress.”

Three Point Stance: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



Sports are can be a wonderful thing sometimes and at others, very frustrating.

In my short tenure here at the Southwest Times and as a sports writer, I’ve seen winning streaks for teams and the elation that goes along with them. I’ve also seen a few losing streaks that were painful to watch.

The truth is that you will very likely not win every game. Just look at the New England Patriots in the NFL a few years ago. They were denied by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl of having the second undefeated season in NFL history at 19-0.

Even the Cougar football team was undefeated at 12-0 a few years ago before losing to Amherst in the VHSL State Football playoffs. Does that loss hurt? Absolutely, but you focus on the fact that you won a River Ridge district football championship, held opponents to just 13 total points in the playoffs, and beat rival Salem twice (including a 38-0 win in the playoffs).

With that said, you shouldn’t dwell on the negative. Look at all the positives. If you go 1-9 in district play, look at the one victory you were able to achieve. Remember just how good it felt to pick up that victory and how much work was put in to prepare for the team you got the victory against.

What is the real definition of “winning” anyways? Sure, you can look at numbers, but I would consider a team that has all their members graduate from high school and go to college a real win, not only for the team, but for Pulaski County as well.

Clearly, no one likes to lose, but you don’t look at the student athletes as losers just because they have had a bad year in a sport. You applaud them for the hours spent doing something they love and working hard to get better at those individual sports.

Something to remember too is that these are young men and women in school. You can’t compare any of them to professional athletes like Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, or Tony Romo. Sometimes we get caught up in the moment and we forget to realize that.

Take the time to enjoy the victories and try not to focus on the losses. Those are just going to happen to every team. Focus on the good things that come from a season of hard work, dedication, and competition. Even as much as I love sports, you just can’t get caught up in everything bad that happens.

— Cody Dalton is sports writer for The Southwest Times. His column, “Three Point Stance”, appears every Friday. Contact him at sportsdude2125@hotmail.com.

Bobcats beat Buffaloes in Three Rivers thriller

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – The Radford boy’s basketball team kept their district record unblemished on Wednesday, overcoming a strong performance by Floyd County to take a 66-61 victory at home.

“We were lucky,” said Bobcats coach Rick Cormany. “We dodged a bullet. I’m doing a terrible job right now. I have a very unorganized basketball team. I’m not doing a good job of getting through to them. It’s my fault. I’ve got a team that is not very good right now and it is my fault.”

“I don’t have them organized. I don’t have them executing. I don’t have them disciplined. I’m just not a very good coach right now. I’ve got to find a way to get us better. We haven’t had enough practices to get better. We are playing so many games that we can’t get practices in. I’m just not very good right now. I am taking all the blame.”

The Bobcats (9-5, 6-0) returned a key piece to their lineup. Jerome Alexander played on Wednesday after breaking his arm during practice.

“He’s back, but he can’t do the things he did before,” Cormany said. “It’s good to have him back. He is limited. He played hard and I thought he battled. He is probably the only guy that I thought played all out.”

Through the early minutes of the game, both teams would be tied 6-6. Then, Radford broke free with a 7-0 run, led by William Minter and Dontae Carter. Minter would score five points and Carter added a bucket, giving Radford a 13-7 lead. Floyd (8-7, 4-2) would close the gap minimally before the end of the quarter, as the Bobcats held an 18-14 first quarter lead.

That lead would be erased to begin to the quarter, as Floyd would score on a lay up and two free throws, which tied the game. Radford would follow that up by scoring seven of the next nine points in the quarter, taking a 25-20 lead midway through the second.

Floyd County would pull back to within one point at 25-24 before Radford went on yet another run. Alexander, Palmer, and Dashon Devore all scored in a run that took the lead to 35-26 for Radford. A lay up by Floyd’s Joey Cundiff and a free throw closed the half and cut the Bobcat lead down to 35-29.

The Buffaloes would automatically go to work on that lead to start the third quarter. The team would go on a 13-7 run and tie the game at 42-42 midway through the first quarter. Radford would break away at the end of the quarter though, as Timmy Worles hit two free throws and a lay up, DJ Palmer scored a lay up, and Jerome Alexander hit a free throw. That took the lead to 51-46 heading into the fourth quarter.

Floyd refused to back down though and continued to claw back into the game for a chance to be the spoiler at home. The opening moments of the quarter saw a special moment, as Floyd’s Tucker Crawford broke the 1,000 point mark for his career.

That moment motivated the Buffaloes even more to get the victory. It took them nearly the entire quarter, but they would tie the game at 58-58 with just over two minutes to play, as Chandler Jones would score a fast break lay up. Dontae Carter would answer just seconds later with a fast break score of his own, giving Radford the lead back.

Time was winding down and it would take free throw misses by Radford for the Buffaloes to get a chance at the victory. Worles would make one of two free throws and open the door up with the Radford lead 61-59, but Floyd would not get the score on the following possession.

Jerome Alexander would be sent to the free throw line and once again, make just one of two attempts. Just like the first tries, Floyd would be unsuccessful on trying to tie the contest, as a pass to the left wing went out of bounds. Radford would score two more times – two free throws by Carter and a buzzer beating lay up by Josh Smith – that helped to seal the win.

D.J. Palmer led the Bobcats with 16 points. Dontae Carter scored 14 points, while Jerome Alexander scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had three blocked shots in his return.

Tucker Crawford scored a game-high 19 points for Floyd County. Joey Cundiff scored 15 points, Chandler Jones scored 12 points, and Cole Peters added nine points.

The Bobcats now prepare for a grueling two day home stand on Friday and Saturday, when they face off against district opponent Giles and Virginia’s No. 4 ranked team in Group AA, Cave Spring.

“I think every game we play will be hard because right now we just aren’t very good,” Cormany said. “We aren’t very organized. We aren’t in sync. I’m not even sure we are caring about each other. I’m not sure we aren’t caring about ourselves more than we are caring about the team.”

“This is a major nightmare for me. I can understand when Jerome was out and struggling a little bit, but we had too many breakdowns tonight and too many bad things happened in this game. We did not look very good. That’s a lack of coaching. That’s not a coach that has their team organized. I’m going to take the bullet on this one because I feel like it’s my fault.”

Three Point Stance: Having a big heart isn’t always a good thing

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



Last week, the sports world was marred by two extremely painful moments. Two athletes, Southern Indiana basketball player Jeron Lewis and Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams, died tragically in their early to mid 20’s.

The reason for both of these young men’s deaths was because of an enlarged heart disease called cardiomyopathy, which causes erratic beats and scar tissue in the heart. Those defects can lead to faintness in small cases or worst case scenario – death.

Just a few years ago, Adams was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was traded in October from Tampa Bay to Chicago for a second round pick. At just 26 years old, he was starting what looked to be a lengthy and fairly successful NFL career.

Lewis was just 21 years old and would be graduating from Southern Indiana with a Business Administration degree in May. Unfortunately, that would never happen.

Adams was 6’5” and 258 pounds and Lewis was 6’8”, 260 pounds. Lewis had actually lost 40 pounds over the summer, going from 300 pounds to 260 pounds. Both were towering figures, which might have added to the stress and pressure to their hearts, along with the physical activity that they both had daily on their bodies.

It’s early in this brand new year. Take the resolution in 2010 to lose some weight and get healthier. Also make it a habit to get to your doctor and do a check up to make sure everything is working properly. As stressful as it is as well, try to do something you enjoy, keep a positive attitude, and keep your stress level down.

When I graduated from college in 2008, I was out of shape after a less than usual college lifestyle, but I vowed to lose weight. Since then, I have lost 40 pounds. I know isn’t much in that time span, but I continue to work to get my weight down and get into the shape that I should be in for my age.

That’s why I’ve committed myself to losing even more weight this year. I want to make sure I live as long as I can and enjoy the life God has given me.

We all have to die or face death at some point, but changing a few things in your life and making sure you get checked on by a physician can lead to a much healthier and longer life.

Lady Cougars end skid with impressive win over Demons

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



CHRISTIANSBURG – Kasey Holcomb hit a three point shot to start the game and the Lady Cougar basketball never looked back, as Pulaski took an impressive 70-35 district win over Christiansburg on the road Tuesday.

The win ends a three game losing streak, which included heartbreaking losses to the No. 6 AA team in Virginia, Salem, as well as Hidden Valley, and Blacksburg.

“Tonight was a good victory,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “It feels good to get back on the winning side of things. The kids did a good job. We take every district opponent seriously. We had a very successful game against Christiansburg last time, so we were looking forward to getting out there and playing some good ball. The kids executed well, played hard, and did a good job.”

The Cougars (8-10, 3-3), who defeated Christiansburg (2-15, 0-6), 65-33, earlier this year, went with a different looking lineup to start the game, as they were without Raiven Patterson due to an illness.

“Raiven wasn’t there,” Grubb said. “She’s been sick. Everybody picked up the slack together, worked hard, and played really well to get the victory.”

Daisy Ball also did not start, but she made up for lost time. Following a Blacksburg timeout, Ball would drive and be fouled on back to back Cougar possessions. She would make three of four free throws.

Pulaski would play extremely good defense in the first quarter as well, forcing multiple Christiansburg turnovers. The Cougars would take the early 20-4 lead.

The combination of Kasey Holcomb to Daisy Ball would work early and often in the second quarter. It would lead to scoring situations and free throw opportunities for Ball and Holcomb would garner multiple assists.

Christiansburg would claw back in the quarter with a 20 point performance, but not to be outdone by the 23 points the Lady Cougars scored. The closing moments of the second saw three Cougars – Maddy Chitwood, Hannah Chaffin, and Kelli Duncan – all hit three pointers. The Cougars shot 57% from three point territory in the first half and took a commanding 43-24 lead into halftime.

“We shot the ball well and I think our focus going into the game was offensively to just have a good field goal percentage,” Grubb said. “At times, we shot under 40% and it was mostly due to poor shot selection. So we figured if we were more careful about it, we could have a really good shooting percentage this game.”

With a 19 point lead, the Cougars did not back down and continued to play strong on the defensive end in the second half. Steal after steal led to more Cougar points. In total, Pulaski had 30 steals in the game.

Chaffin would have three steals in the fourth quarter, all leading to wide open lay ups. She would finish with a team-high eight steals and led the Cougars with 14 points in the game.

“The thirty steals were great,” Grubb said. “Hannah led the team with eight steals. That is just athleticism, court awareness, and just being in position defensively. We like to pressure the wings and we felt like we could pressure the wings. We jumped in the passing and that led to transition buckets. Hannah may have had eight steals, but she also had 14 points. You can score a lot of points when you get steals like that.”

Daisy Ball scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had six assists. Kasey Holcomb had 11 points, six assists, and seven steals. Sydney Anderson had a near double-double with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Pulaski returns to court on Thursday when they play host to Cave Spring. The Cougars defeated the Knights earlier this year, 65-33, in Roanoke. A sincere token of good will from the Knights has Grubb’s respect, but he knows the Knights will give it their all come Thursday.

“Cave Spring has a really good program and we have a lot of respect for their coaches and kids,” Grubb said. “When we went up to their place a few weeks ago, that is when Shaniqua first injured her knee and tore her ACL. Their coaches and players were gracious enough to think of her and send her a card.”

“They called and asked how she was doing and signed a card. That is class act from a district competitor. We did well against them last time. I look forward to having a good game against them Thursday. I know they are going to give us their best shot. We have got to be ready for that. We pretty played good tonight, but we want to play even better Thursday night against Cave Spring.”

Spartans hand Cougars third straight loss

Pulaski rallies from 18 points down, only to come up short

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



SALEM – With both teams coming into the game holding two game losing streaks, something had to give on Friday when Pulaski met Salem in girl’s basketball. Unfortunately for the Cougars, things would go the Spartans way as they held off a late Pulaski charge for a 59-50 win in Salem.

The game started out rough for Pulaski (7-10, 2-3), as post player Daisy Ball would pick up two quick fouls within the first 1:30 of the contest. That hurt the Cougars both offensively and on the rebounding effort.

Salem (14-2, 4-1), who is ranked No. 6 in Group AA by the Associated Press, would come out of the quarter with a small 11-6 lead, as six Spartans would score in the session.

Salem would blow open the game in the second quarter, as both poor shooting and ball control issues hindered Pulaski. The Lady Cougars would shoot just 23% from the field in the first half and committed 18 turnovers. The halftime margin was 18 points, 29-11, in favor of Salem.

“In the first half, we made too many mistakes,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “At halftime, we had 18 turnovers and we missed 11 free throws. We were 3-for-14 at the free throw line. If you have 18 turnovers and miss 11 free throws in the first half, you can’t really expect to be in the lead or expect to be close, especially to a team like Salem, who is a veteran group, experienced team, and a very talented team.”

The Lady Cougars would rally despite being down by a large margin. Both teams played evenly in the second quarter and traded basket for basket early on. The Spartans built on their lead, 40-19, towards the middle of the quarter, but that marked a turning point for the Pulaski offense.

The team would score six straight points. Daisy Ball would convert on a three point play, Sydney Anderson scored a lay up, and Kasey Holcomb hit one of two free throw attempts due to a technical foul on Salem’s Kerri Belcher. It would be Belcher’s fourth and that foul would also prove to be advantageous for Pulaski later on.

After another lay up by Salem, Daisy Ball would score five straight points. Before the quarter was over, the nearly insurmountable Salem lead was down to a manageable 14 points.

“We knew that she was going to provide them with a match up problem,” Grubb said. “She got two early fouls and we sat her most of the first half. She picked up a third, so we sat her a while in the second half and picked up a fourth and sat her for a while. They couldn’t match up with her. She scored 12 points and she only played about half the game. If we could have kept her out there more, she could have been much bigger for us. A couple of those calls are tough on her. She is trying to alter shots and block shots in the post. I think if we could have had her out there more, it would have helped us out there more. She played a really good game and played hard. She really wanted to win and hustled really hard.”

Belcher would score an early basket for Salem, but would pick up her fifth foul on a charge call during the next Salem drive. That helped to swing valuable momentum in favor of Pulaski.

Salem would continue to score and match the Cougar’s point for point. A 14 point lead would dwindle down thanks to tremendous performances from Daisy Ball and Raiven Patterson. The duo would score eight combined points in the final minutes of the game.

After Patterson rebounded her own miss and scored a lay up late, the Salem lead was down to just five points. However, Salem would continue to hold the ball, run clock, and made their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Salem finished the game making 15 of 21 free throw attempts. Foul shooting plagued the Cougars in the game, as they only went 14-for-31 at the line. Pulaski did improve on their field goal shooting in the second half, finishing 40% from the field after starting out 23% on the first half.

“In the second half, we made much fewer turnovers,” Grubb said. “We shot a much higher percentage and we got the ball to the players that we wanted to get the ball to. We made that extra pass and made better decisions on offense. We made some free throws as well, even though free throw shooting wasn’t where it needed to be, but we shot better in the second half. We ended up missing 17 free throws all night long. It’s frustrating because we cut it to five with about a minute to play. If you make a few more free throws, then you have the lead there and we wouldn’t have to foul to put them on the free throw line.”

Patterson finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ball added 12 points and Sydney Anderson had eight points and five rebounds.

Next up for Pulaski is yet another River Ridge District road game, as they travel to Christiansburg to face the Blue Demons for the second time this season. The Cougars were impressive over Christiansburg the first time they met, 80-32.

“We had a pretty easy game against them at home last time,” Grubb said. “We’ve got to go to their place. We want to get district wins because those are the most important games. We’ve dropped three in a row, so it would be nice to get focused and get back on the winning side of things. I think that we’ve learned from our mistakes in the past three games and been close in some games. We’ve proven we have the ability to beat any team in the district. We just have to play a complete game. We played great in spurts against Hidden Valley, we played great at times against Blacksburg, and great at times against Salem. If we put a whole game together, there is no way that those teams can beat us. We know what to expect and we know how to get there. We just have to execute.”


NOTES FROM THE HARDWOOD:

Pulaski forward Shaniqua Banks is out for the season after tearing her ACL in a Jan. 6 win at Cave Spring. She will undergo surgery in two weeks to repair the ligament.

Five middle school basketball players – Carli Clary, Gracie White, and Meagan Memitt from Dublin Middle School and Shuby Shumate and Tyra Redd from Pulaski Middle School – were added to the Lady Cougar JV squad.

Cougars dealt second tough district loss by Blacksburg

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – Coming off of a tough one point loss to Hidden Valley on Saturday, the Lady Cougars ran into yet another road River Ridge District road block on Wednesday, falling to the Blacksburg Bruins at home, 50-45.

“Tonight, our players played hard and played with a lot of passion,” said Lady Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “We just came up short. We didn’t pressure their perimeter players enough and we didn’t rebound inside. We were out rebounded by Blacksburg, 32-19. We gave them ten offensive rebounds, which a lot of times led to a score. We just have to hit the boards harder.”

From the opening tip, the two teams would match nearly every point the other would score. The largest lead of the first quarter was just three points by Blacksburg (7-6, 2-2). The game would be tied after the first quarter, 14-14.

Pulaski (7-9, 2-2) would gain some early separation in the beginning stages of the second quarter, as Daisy Ball got a fade away jump shot and Elizabeth Thacker added a jumper of her own. The Cougars would hold the lead the majority of the quarter until Blacksburg’s Laura Priest made a jumper and Lacey McMahan drove the entire length of the court for a lay up, giving the Bruins a 23-22 lead.

It looked as if the Bruins would hold the advantage at halftime, as Kathryn Kipps hit two free throws, but Kasey Holcomb would change that. The junior would connect on a long three point attempt just seconds before the buzzer sounded, giving Pulaski the 26-25 halftime lead.

Blacksburg would get off to a great start following the halftime break. Their performance in the quarter would include two opportunities at a three point play. Both McMahan and Kipps connected on lay ups, would be fouled, and made their free throw attempts.

Just as impressive as their offensive performance was their defensive outing in the quarter. They held the Lady Cougars in check with their zone defense, limiting them to just nine points in the quarter. Blacksburg would take a 43-35 lead after the third quarter.

“Attacking the zone was difficult for us because we haven’t been real successful on the perimeter as a team,” Grubb said. “Kasey has been shooting the ball pretty good from the perimeter. She has a better than 30% average, but as a team we are really low as far as three point percentage. We always do a good job of attacking the paint. The packed in and kept us from getting into the paint. When we did get in, we weren’t real effective with it.”


Pulaski’s Raiven Patterson and Sydney Anderson would score two early lay ups in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit in half from eight to four points. However, the Cougar foul trouble was building, as Brittany Lawson, Daisy Ball, and Raiven Patterson all picked up their fourth fouls. Ball would pick up her fifth foul just moments later, disqualifying her from the game.

“I think the foul trouble definitely came from being out of position defensively,” Grubb said. “When on defense, you have to be constantly moving and repositioning yourself according to where the ball is and where your player is. We didn’t do that good enough. When they attacked the basket, we were out of position and got foul calls. Of course, we found ourselves in foul trouble again and trying to sub players in. We had some players foul out. It was hard to manage at the end of the game. It definitely didn’t turn out the way we had wanted it and the way we had planned it.”

The foul situation not only limited the Cougars offensively, but it helped Blacksburg build a lead. The Bruins went to the foul line a total of 25 times in the game and connected on 16 of those, while Pulaski was only 5-for-11 on their free throw attempts.

To make matters worse for Pulaski, the Bruins were also holding the ball and continued to run precious time, as the Cougars scrambled for opportunities to score and catch up. After a Blacksburg drive failed, Raiven Patterson would score a late lay up and the lead was down to just four, 49-45.

Pulaski knew they had to foul in order to stay in the game, so they would send the Bruins to the foul line twice and hope for misses. It would work, as the Bruins only made one free throw on four attempts. However, Pulaski would lose Holcomb to foul trouble.

The Lady Cougars would have a couple of chances at the end to score, but the Blacksburg zone defense continued to create offensive issues. The Bruins picked up the tough victory.

Raiven Patterson led Pulaski with 15 points. Daisy Ball scored 10 points, Kasey Holcomb had nine points, and Sydney Anderson added seven points.

The Lady Cougars now have the tough task of facing the Salem Spartans on the road Friday. The Spartans have lost two of their last three contests, including a tough 39-38 loss to Hidden Valley on Wednesday.

“Salem is a great team and they’ve had a great year,” Grubb said. “I think that our team is still confident. I think that if we take a look at this film and fix our mistakes, then we’ll be ok. If we don’t fix our mistakes, then we won’t fare too well against Salem or other teams in the district. It’s all about getting better. That’s something we did early on in the season. We made great strides and improved. During the seven game win streak, we didn’t play a whole lot of competition. Some of the teams were really weak. We got away from some of the things we did right and picked up some bad habits. It’s going to take some time to get back to where we were. I think our players have their eyes on the prize and down the road, they are going to have the opportunity to do well and show they can compete. The first time is Friday.”

Cougar wrestlers impress at Radford, set sites to “Big Orange”

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – Despite a rough showing last week, not even a few bloody noses could stop the PCHS Cougar wrestling team from having a tremendous performance on the mat Tuesday, as the team won two of their three matches at Radford High School’s auxiliary gymnasium.

The Cougars were victorious over both Patrick County and Lebanon High Schools. Pulaski defeated Lebanon, 58-24, in their opening contest of the night. They would close the night out with a 45-18 win over Patrick County.

During their meeting with Lebanon, four Cougars would pick up pin victories – Jacob Howard, Matt Morris, Trevor Southard, and Cameron Fitzwater. The Cougars would also receive three forfeits from Lebanon.

Four would also be the number of pins that the Cougars picked up against Patrick County, as Trevor Hess, Michael Howard, Tommy Wojcik, and Ethan Caldwell all would pick up pinfalls.

The team was coming off of a four match week, including a tough 52-9 loss against Salem at home and a six place performance at the Johnny Price Memorial Tournament at Franklin County. Coach Daniel Butler has seen a lot of changes in his team from last week’s rough performances to Tuesday’s impressive outing.

“They showed a lot more heart than they have shown over the last couple of events that we’ve had,” Butler said. “All the way down the line, I had kids who wanted to win rather than get through it. Wrestling is all about trying to win and not trying to get through it. If you try to win, you are probably going to win. You are definitely going to get through it, win or lose. So why go out and just try to get through it? They stepped up wrestling.”

Pulaski would lose one of their three matches to Radford on the night, 49-27, despite not having three key wrestlers due to injury. Still, three wrestlers picked up pin victories, including David Shelley, Corey Hale, and Fitzwater.

“We lost to Radford, but we’ve got three guys banged up in our lineup,” Butler said. “We might have been a little closer to Radford if we had them, but we’ll never know. That’s just the way it went down tonight. Radford was the better team.”

After the meet, Butler talked about which wrestlers on his team have been impressing him the most.

“I continue to be impressed with the newer guys, like our 112-pounder, Corey Smith,” Butler said. “This is his first year wrestling. He goes out there with more heart than anyone else on the teams who have been wrestling 10 to 12 years. You can’t coach heart. It’s something that just comes.”

The team now sets their sites to one of the biggest wrestling tournaments in Southwest Virginia, as they travel to William Byrd High School for the annual “Big Orange” Tournament. Pulaski will compete against teams from around the area for honors. Butler stressed the importance of Tuesday’s match heading into the “Big Orange”.

“It’s important mentally,” Butler said. “Some of those guys who are banged up and didn’t wrestle today now have something to look forward to and wrestling at Big Orange. They are hungry to wrestle. That is what I was hearing on the sidelines. That’s what they need to have all season. If it comes towards the end of the season, that’s fine. As long as it comes.”

Cougars edged by rival Titans, end win streak

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



ROANOKE – As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. Thus did the Lady Cougar basketball team’s seven game winning streak on Saturday, as the Hidden Valley Titans defeated Pulaski, 55-54, in what was yet another classic chapter to their River Ridge District rivalry.

“I know some things we did tonight were good and some things weren’t so good,” said Lady Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “We missed 14 free throws. We’ve got to get better at that. We had 18 turnovers. We’ve got to get better than that. We out rebounded Hidden Valley, but we shot 38% and they shot 44%. Those were the keys to the game for us. We have to come in here and work on our shooting percentage, work on our free throws, and work on playing a little more cautiously on offense without turning it over.”

The Titans (6-4, 2-0) would get off to a great start in the game, scoring six of the first eight points to take a 6-2 lead. Pulaski (7-8, 2-1) would play from behind in the first six minutes before clawing back at the end of the quarter with a strong performance by Daisy Ball.

She would score seven straight Cougar points and nine points in the quarter, which tied the game 11-11. Raiven Patterson would add a floater shot before the end of the quarter, as Pulaski led by two, 13-11, after the first.

Foul trouble would build quickly in the first quarter though, as Kasey Holcomb would pick up two fouls in a span of 24 seconds, taking a key defender and ball handler out of the game for Pulaski. The Cougars would have seven fouls in the first quarter, putting the Titans in the bonus early.

To make matters worse for Pulaski, Ball would pick up an early foul in the start of the second and the Titans continued to make their foul shots. Before the quarter was over, Ball and Holcomb would add their third fouls.

“We’ve got Kasey Holcomb, Raiven Patterson, and Daisy Ball as our returning leaders on the court,” Grubb said. “They are kids who started for us last year. We had all three of them in foul trouble in the first half. Kasey and Daisy were in foul trouble the whole game. Raiven wasn’t so much in the second half, but that is frustrating because it changes the way you play. It changes the kids play defense, hustle, and the way kids make decisions on the court. It also changed the way we rotated. We had to play kids in different positions. Sometimes out there we had some mismatches out there. Unfortunately we weren’t able to play people we wanted to for the right reasons all the time. We had to think about their foul situations. That is something we had to deal with.”

Hidden Valley would capitalize on the foul trouble by not only making their free throws, but began building a cushion between them and the Cougars. A two point lead grew to three, then four, and finally six, 26-20.

The Cougars once again showed resolve, pulling back with a Holcomb three just before she picked up her third foul. Though she exited the game, Pulaski would continue to get key contributions from both Patterson and freshman Sydney Anderson.

Both would score before the end of the quarter, as they created baskets and free throw attempts. A 27-23 Titan lead quickly turned into a 31-30 halftime lead for Pulaski.

“Sydney has done a good job for us all year long,” Grubb said. “She has been a starter. She had some real big games for us early in the season. She has been a little quieter because she is such an unselfish player. We’ve played a lot of games where we’ve had some lopsided victories. A couple times this year, she has stepped up her game. She did a good job. I think she realized she needed to be the one to step it up. They were keying on Raiven’s pentration and Daisy’s post up. She did a great job of taking the ball to the hole. She is proven before that she is capable of being a big scorer. Tonight was just a huge example where she did a great job.”

As it had played out in the first half, the momentum would switch, this time in favor of Hidden Valley. The Titans started out the quarter on an 8-0 run and took a 40-31 lead. They would get three lay ups from Jordan McDonald during the run. That forced Grubb to take a timeout and regroup

Pulaski would come back out and play aggressive, but the shots wouldn’t fall. Ball would pick up her fourth foul just 48 seconds into the half. Holcomb would also pick up her fourth and Patterson picked up her third just before the end of the quarter, as the foul trouble continued to mount. The Titans would make 13 of their 17 free throw attempts in the game.

However, Pulaski would manage to keep pace with the Titans and stay in the hunt for a win heading into the final quarter, as the lead remained nine, 48-39.

An early fourth quarter run would propel the Cougars back into the game. Anderson would hit two free throws, Patterson would make a lay up, and returning for the Cougars was Holcomb and Ball. Their impact was immediate, as Holcomb would drive and pass to Ball for a lay up, cutting the Titan lead to just three, 48-45.

Hidden Valley added another lay up from Lindsay Divers, but the Cougars would roll off five straight points and tie the game, 50-50. Ball would make a lay up. Anderson would hit a free throw after picking up the foul on a made lay up attempt to make a three point play.

The game was going to go down to the wire with the team making the biggest run at the end taking the victory. Meth Conner, who had been placed in the game to combat Ball’s size and try to get her to commit that final foul, added a late key basket. Hidden Valley left the door open though, as Jordan McDonald would hit just one of two free throws on the next Titan possession.

Anderson would get fouled on the next Cougar possession, but miss both free throws. However, Patterson was there for the rebound and put back, as the Titan lead was just one, 53-52, with under a minute remaining.

The Cougars would need to foul quickly and put the Titans on the foul line for a chance to tie or win. With just five team fouls, they would need two fouls to get Hidden Valley into the bonus. Pulaski would get the first with Holcomb and the second with Ball, as both fouled out of the game with just 13.2 seconds remaining.

“They [Holcomb and Ball] did a great job of playing with those fouls,” Grubb said. “They knew it was time to step up to the play. At the very end, they fouled out because we had to foul at the side in-bounds. It was unfortunate that those were the two kids that fouled out. They did a fine job playing with that many fouls. It’s tough trying to play with that kind of defense and having that many fouls.”

Jordan McDonald went back to the line with a chance to redeem herself. She would do so, making both free throws and Hidden Valley took a timeout to set up their defense. The ball would be in-bounded and get into the hands of Raiven Patterson. She would attempt to find a teammate open for three, but there was nothing there, so she decided to drive the lane for a quick score.

The clock would not stop though, as the remaining four seconds ticked away before the Cougars could foul and the game was over.

Sydney Anderson scored a game-high 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had five steals. Patterson added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ball scored 13 points as well for the Lady Cougars.

The Cougars must now shake off the tough loss and set their sites on the week ahead. Before a Friday encounter with the 12-1 Salem Spartans on the road, Pulaski will face their second River Ridge hurdle against the Blacksburg Bruins on Wednesday at home.

“We have a resilient bunch of kids who know how to bounce back and do bounce back,” Grubb said. “They understand there are only two ways to handle a loss and that is to come back with an attitude that you are going to work hard, make improvements, and get better or get frustrated and let it hold you back. I know that our kids are going to come in here on Monday and work hard, watch a little film, and be ready to play against Blacksburg.”

Three Point Stance: Cooperstown voting change has to happen

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



After last week’s column, I thought I would go a little national in this edition of my Three Point Stance. This past week marked another Hall of Fame announcement for players who are elected to Cooperstown and baseball’s biggest shrine.

In order to receive election to the Hall, players must receive 75% of the vote from those who cast their ballots. Elected to the 2010 class was former slugger Andre Dawson. Dawson, who played most notably for the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs. He recorded 438 homer runs and 1,591 RBIs in his long 21 year career.

While I agree with Dawson’s election into Cooperstown, it still leaves serious holes in the system for players to be elected. Bert Blyleven, who has been on the ballot for 14 seasons, still is not in the Hall of Fame. Blyleven has 287 career wins and 3,701 strikeouts in his career.

Also not receiving election was a first timer, Roberto Alomar. So in order to receive a chance to be in baseball’s biggest memorial, you must appear on at least three-fourths of the voters ballots. Kind of absurd, right?

Only players who are absolute locks get into the Hall on the first ballot. Just using basketball as an example, but everyone knew that Michael Jordan would get in on his first try. However, other players like David Robinson and John Stockton were able to be inducted in the same year.

The other problem that occurs with election into Cooperstown is that the players who don’t get elected in their first years get pushed down the ballot. If they fall far enough through the cracks, they will be forgotten and may never get a chance to get on the stage and accept their true place in baseball history.

Blyleven would be a great example of this and if Alomar doesn’t make it next year, he very well might fall into the same 14 year pattern that Blyleven has had to endure.

So let’s change the format. Lower the percentage of votes down to 65 or 70 percent. Maybe even play with the idea of throwing out the percentage system too and just induct the top three to five players who are voted for.

I’m even a staunch supporter of Pete Rose and believe he deserves to be in Cooperstown because he has more hits than anyone in baseball history with 4,256. He may have gambled on baseball, but his statistics will never lie, unlike those who take steroids to change the way they perform (but that’s an issue I’d rather not get into).
I always thought the Hall of Fame in any sport should include the best that there is (who have played cleanly) and so far, the voters and the system have failed to do so.

So for the fans sake and the sports sake, make a change. Baseball has lost the glory that it once had, but a change in voting may very well prove to be a breakthrough for Major League Baseball.

Spartans slam Cougars for mat victory

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – For the first time in five years, the Pulaski County High School wrestling team hosted a home match. Their opponents, Salem High School, weren’t gracious visitors though, handing the Cougars a tough 52-9 loss.

The match was the second of the week, as the Cougars traveled to take on both Fort Chiswell and George Wythe on Tuesday. The team was victorious against both of those schools. The long week has left some of the wrestlers exhausted.

“It is been pretty hard, especially people that go out on Sunday after the meet and eat a lot,” said junior Tommy Wojcik. “They come back in the room Monday and practice to lose all the weight. Then they have come in Tuesday and make weight. It’s hard on them. You can’t eat a lot. It is a hard transition, but if you put your heart and mind to it, you can do it.”

“It is definitely tough on the guys,” said senior Matt Bowman. “We had a practice on Monday, a match Tuesday, practice on Wednesday, a match Thursday, and then we’ll have a practice on Friday and tournament Saturday. It will be tough because we’ve got five matches in one day. We don’t really get to train that hard because we have to stay loose for each match. After tonight, we definitely have to step it up. Tomorrow will be a harder practice. We’ve got to go out there with more intensity on Saturday.”

Impressive in victory on Thursday were two Pulaski grapplers – Tommy Wojcik and Matt Bowman. Both had to fend off tough competition for last second victories. Wojcik, who was competing at 189 pounds, had to hold off Salem’s Devin Smith in the final minute to seal a tough 5-3 win on points. The victory gave Pulaski three team points.

Bowman also had to fend off a Salem grappler, Forest Short, in the 171 pound weight limit. Bowman’s margin was much tighter though, as he held a 6-5 lead in the final seconds against Short. He would play defense on the mat and watch the time tick away, as he picked up the win and Pulaski picked up another three team points.

“It was tough,” Bowman said. “You have to give your all for six minutes. That last minutes I was out of it and drained. You just have to keep your head and keep your composure.”



Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were outmatched by an extremely athletic group of Spartans. Salem would get three pinfall victories – Travis Swain at 160 pounds, Jake Simmons at 215 pounds, and David Woods at 285 pounds. Those performances helped them to pick up the 52-9 victory in the match

Next up for the Cougars is the Johnny Price Memorial Tournament at Franklin County High School on Saturday. Wojcik reflected on his team’s week and looked towards the meet at Franklin County.

“This week was a good week,” Wojcik said. “We’ve practiced really hard and came prepared. Tuesday, we had a match against Fort Chiswell and George Wythe. It was a good match. We won both of them. Tonight, I thought we came prepared. Some of us did. They just have some good wrestlers. We are just going to have to practice more. This weekend, we are going to Franklin County. It is going to be a tough tournament, but you can do anything if you practice hard and put your heart in to it.”

Alma Byrd spends some time indoors on a chilly Tuesday at Tony's Family Fun Center in Pulaski. Byrd competes in the Tuesday Senior League.

Lady Cougars win seventh straight, JV streak up to ten

Pulaski carries momentum into showdown with RRD foe Hidden Valley

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – What started as a first win of the season on Dec. 23 against George Wythe came full circle on Wednesday, when the Lady Cougar basketball team evened up their record against that same Maroons team, 63-23, at the PCHS gymnasium.

“We were kind of discouraged at first because we were 0-7,” said sophomore guard Sydney Anderson. “After we started winning and kept getting wins, it got better. We started playing as a team.”

“I think it was mostly the ‘Cougar Clash’ tournament,” said junior guard Elizabeth Thacker. “We got confidence back and we got into a rhythm. Now we are on a roll. Hopefully, we can keep it up.”

“Seven wins in a row,” said Cougars coach Jason Grubb. “I’m proud of them for battling back and evening up their record. We’ve talked about the most important games of the season. The next one is coming up. We’ve got the top half of our district in Hidden Valley, Blacksburg, and Salem coming up. We want to make sure we are ready to play them.”

Pulaski (7-7, 2-0) would start out the game in an early struggle with the Maroons, who kept things close in the opening moments, 2-1.

The Lady Cougars would break out of their opening slump and score 11 points in a row, taking their one point lead and stretching it out to 13-1. During that scoring run though, Pulaski’s Daisy Ball and Brittany Lawson would pick up their second fouls.

Kasey Holcomb would also pick up her second towards the end of the quarter, as the Cougars began to get into foul trouble. The Cougars led 24-3 after the first.

Once again, Pulaski would play physical and fast paced, but continued to rack up the fouls. Raiven Patterson, Brittany Lawson, and Daisy Ball would all have three fouls before the end of the quarter, which forced Jason Grubb to go to a smaller lineup.

“They had a kid, #50 [Kristen Atwell], who was doing a really good job inside and being really aggressive with the ball, which made it hard for us to defend her without us fouling,” Grubb said. “Our kids were getting frustrated because they were getting so many fouls on them. I wasn’t concerned from a game standpoint, but I was trying to keep our kids out of foul trouble. You never want anyone to foul out. So we kept rotating different players on her and several kids picked up fouls. I had confidence in the rest of our team that if some of the kids got in worse foul trouble, we would have been ok. We tried to keep them out of foul trouble, but it still didn’t work.”

Helping the Cougars with depth was a returning Alexis McCloud, who was playing in her first game since Dec. 28 against Pathway Christian. McCloud would injure her ankle on a three point attempt in that game. Grubb was pleased with her return performance.

“Alexis first came back and has been itching to play,” Grubb said. “I felt like she played well considering she has been out so long. We were anxious to get her out on the court and see how she moved on her ankle. She has been scrimmaging in practice and we just wanted to make sure she was going to be safe out there and not re-injure something. I think she did a good job. It is going to take her a while to get back to where she was before she was injured, but she is a hard worker and I’m sure she will bounce back fine.”

Atwell and the Maroons would continue to capitalize on the Cougar foul trouble. She would go to the free throw line four times and hit seven of her attempts, cutting into the lead. At halftime, the score was 35-14.

The Cougar offense and defense would shine in the third quarter. After coming out of the halftime break, Pulaski would score at will and hold the Maroon offense to just one basket in the quarter. The Lady Cougar lead grew from 21 points at halftime into 33 points at the end of the third quarter.

An exhausted George Wythe squad, who had been in a running game with the Cougars all night, finally gave way to exhaustion and frustration in the second half. Raiven Patterson guided the Cougars in the final quarter with eight points. She finished the game with 20 points and also had six steals and four rebounds.

Sophomore Sydney Anderson scored ten points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had foul steals. Kasey Holcomb led the Cougars with seven steals and also scored five points.

The winning streak continued for the JV squad, who picked up another impressive victory on the season against George Wythe, 41-22. This now marks ten straight victories for the team, whose last loss was against Carroll County at home on Dec. 7.

“After that loss, we kind of regrouped,” said JV coach Tiffany Payne. “We had a team talk. We had a lot of girls who weren’t focusing on the team aspect. There were a lot of ‘me’ and ‘I”. We’ve really honed in on that and really worked on things. If you do it the right way, you will win games. Everyone will generally get a score. Everyone will get time. When they finally started to realize that they lost two games playing their way and decided to do it my way and see what happens.”

“They’ve done a really nice job. They’ve started to work together and have really gelled as a team. They generally will do anything I ask without question. They work hard. This is one of the hardest working group of kids that I’ve ever had. I love this group of kids. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. They give me everything they’ve got every second on the floor. I wished I had ten more just like them.”

Sara Wright scored ten points for the Cougars in the first quarter and helped Pulaski (10-2) would pull out to an early 10-0 lead. She would finish the game with 12 points total. Savannah Jones added nine points and Carli Brewer added six points.

The George Wythe game marks the final non-district contest of the season, as the Cougars now face a tough district schedule that features a home game against Blacksburg and two tough road games against district powers Hidden Valley and Salem in the next week.

Many of the Lady Cougars are excited about the first of these challenges – playing Saturday against Hidden Valley on the road.

“It’s always a thrill to play Hidden Valley,” Patterson said. “I remember my freshman year that it was a pretty big game to play in. It still is. They are good competition.”

“It’s important that we win because it counts as a district game,” Anderson said. “We really want to beat Hidden Valley. We know we have a lot of tough competitors.”

“It’s going to be just as important as last year,” Thacker said. “I guess we kind of hold a grudge from last year. We want to beat them.”

Grubb offered his thoughts after the game about playing against the Titans on the road Saturday.

“They’ve got a very good team with very good players and are well coached,” Grubb said. “I think it is going to be one of our toughest tests of the season. I feel confident about our player’s ability. We will just have to see when we get down there. We have an hour bus ride. The kids have to maintain their focus and maintain their intensity when they get on the opposing court. We’ve had it kind of easy here recently because we’ve had some home games. We’ve done well. We just have to carry that intensity from our home gym to their gym.”

Sydnor reaches 1,000 points, as Buffs edge Bobcats

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – Above the Radford girl’s basketball locker room reads a sign saying “It starts now”. So it did on Saturday, as the Bobcats opened Three Rivers district play, dropping their first game of the season in a tough, physical contest against Floyd County, 57-46.

The big story coming into the game was the success of Radford forward Mariah Sydnor. The junior was just two points from achieving her 1,000th career point in just two-and-a-half years with the team.

It would take just 2:08 and three free throw attempts in the first quarter, but Sydnor would achieve the accolade. After going to the free throw line once and hitting one of two shots, Sydnor would return on the second Bobcats possession to knock down her third free throw attempt of the game for the century mark in her high school basketball career.

“It was definitely a weight lifted off of my shoulders because I had known about it for a couple of days,” Sydnor said. “They told me after they took me out of the East Mont game [about the record, so she wouldn’t break it on the road].
. So I’ve been thinking about it since that game. It was a cool moment. I’m a junior. Not many people can say they’ve scored 1,000.”

“I think it’s special,” said Bobcats coach Kevin Conner. “We haven’t had a whole lot of 1,000 point scorers here at Radford. For her to do it in less than two-and-a-half years, that shows you what kind of talent level she has. She works real hard on her game. I’m just really proud of her.”



Both teams struggled for scores in the opening quarter, as the two teams tallied just 13 points. Turnovers off of both teams press would be the catalyst. Radford (10-1, 1-1) would hold the 7-6 edge after the first.

Radford would get off to a cold start in the second quarter, as the Lady Buffs (8-2, 2-0) scored the first six points of the quarter. Jordan Nolen would score four of those points and Karina Miller had two points, which stretched the Floyd lead to 12-7.

“I think they overwhelmed us early,” Conner said. “The first half, we played them pretty even, but we played tight. They make you play that way. They have a good ball team. They run people at you, run the trap, they make you play tight and faster than you normally play, and we didn’t step up to the moment.”

Five would be the biggest lead of the quarter for Floyd, as Radford continued to work hard to keep it close. Sydnor would score two baskets on back-to-back Bobcat possessions. She would score a team-high nine points in the quarter, but Floyd would lead 21-19 at halftime.

The Bobcats would go cold on their shooting to start the third quarter, as Floyd continued to press the issue. Radford missed numerous attempts at three point baskets. They would shoot just 1-for-17 on the three-point shots during the game.

A 7-2 run early in the quarter propelled Floyd into a double-digit lead, as Sydnor was held scoreless in the ten point quarter for Radford.

What had been nerves early on for Sydnor and her potential accomplishment was just an afterthought in the final quarter. She was determined to get her team back into the game and worked hard to do so. She would score 12 of 14 points for Bobcats during a run in the beginning to middle of the fourth.

“At the end, I just got the ball and decided I was taking it,” Sydnor said. “I probably should have done that earlier. In the beginning, the whole 1,000 point thing, it shouldn’t have gotten to me, but it did.”

“I think she stopped thinking and started playing,” Conner said. “The moment got to her early. She finally decided she was going to play. I thought they were all like that early. Hopefully we can instill something in them so they won’t be like that next time around.”

That run by Sydnor and the Bobcats helped to cut the Floyd lead from 16 points early in the quarter to just four points, 50-46.

In the end, the nervousness of Radford along with a poor shooting performance from behind the arc kept them from competing with the Lady Buffaloes. A four point lead swelled to eleven, as the Bobcats were held scoreless in the closing minutes of the game.

“They shot the ball real well,” Conner said. “That is the difference in the two programs right now. We are just now getting some of our kids to start shooting in the summer and playing some in the summer to work on their game. That program is so solid and strong that they work on their games year round. Our girls are not back into that mode yet. We are trying to get them to understand the importance of working on their game a little bit throughout the year.”

“I think we did a pretty decent job of breaking their press, but we didn’t have anybody finish. We were dropping passes and I felt like we played a little bit intimidated.”

Sydnor scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had two blocks for the Bobcats in the game. Pip Pattison added 11 points, four steals, and three assists.

Radford returns to the court on Wednesday for another Three Rivers district contest, when they host the Giles Spartans. The action starts at 6 p.m. with the junior varsity game, followed by the varsity contest.

Radford beats Pulaski in hoops rivalry game

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



RADFORD – The Pulaski and Radford boy’s basketball teams added another chapter to their epic rivalry on the hardwood Saturday. After the Cougars rallied from down double digits to take the lead late in the fourth, Radford would pull back ahead and hold on for the tough 71-67 victory.

Foul trouble would be a key issue for both squads to begin the first quarter. Pulaski’s Oliver Samples would pick up two quick fouls within 30 seconds apart. That took away a critical offensive weapon the Cougars.

The Cougars wouldn’t be the only recipients of the foul issues. Three Bobcats – Dontae Carter, William Minter, and D.J. Palmer – would all pick up two early fouls a piece.

“I told Dontae at the end of the first quarter that I wasn’t going to hold him out of the second quarter,” said Radford coach Rick Cormany. “I told him that he had to play smart. I wanted him to try to finish the half with just two. We also had William and D.J. with two. So those three guys are three of my energy guys and get my team energized are sitting there with two fouls a piece.”

Despite the losses, both teams remained close until the end of the first. That’s when Radford would score six of the final seven points, giving them the early 14-7 lead after the first.



Radford would get off to a hot start in the second quarter, going on a 12-6 run in the early moments to extend their lead to 26-13. However, the Cougars would answer that run, scoring six of the next eight points in the game, pulling back to within five, 28-23.

A couple of key threes would help the Cougars down the stretch before halftime, as both Andrew Samuelson and C.J. Burgis would connect on three pointers. Samuelson led the Cougars with nine points in the quarter. Radford would take just a 33-32 halftime lead.

Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter and the game remained tight. However, Pulaski could not tie the game or take the lead in the quarter. Radford would retain the lead after three quarters of play, 47-45.

It looked as if Pulaski was headed for a meltdown in the fourth quarter. Jolly Martin would pick up a technical foul for an altercation with a Radford player. It would be his fourth foul. Fortunately for Pulaski, Dontae Carter would miss both free throw attempts.

Just moments later though, Pulaski’s Oliver Samples would pick up his fourth and fifth fouls in a matter of seconds, which would disqualify him from the game. On his way to the bench, Samples removed his jersey and appeared headed off the court and out of the gym. A technical foul was given to the bench.

“We were doing dumb stuff all night, like getting technicals and playing loose basketball,” said Cougars coach Geoff McCulloch. “Luckily they played loose too. We put a little pressure on them and got ourselves back into a position to win the game. It’s just a little bit of mental toughness that we don’t have right now that we are trying to work on.”

Radford would go on another scoring run, building their lead up to 55-49, when Pulaski would let their emotions get the best of them yet again. C.J. Burgis would slam the basketball down before a timeout, giving Pulaski their third technical of the game. That would lead to two Carter free throws and a 57-49 lead.

It looked bleak for a Pulaski win to happen, but the Cougars didn’t give up hope. A returning Ondre Powell would power his team. After a Burgis lay up, Powell would score on back-to-back possessions. He would hit two free throws after being fouled and follow that up with a steal on the next in-bounds and dunk that sent the Pulaski crowd into a frenzy. The lead was down to just three, 58-55.



Burgis and Powell once again continue to press forward. After a Palmer lay up for Radford, the Cougars would tie the game up, as Burgis connected on a three-pointer and Powell grabbed an offensive rebound, scoring a basket. Pulaski would take the lead on the next possession on two free throws by Matthew Greene. It was their first lead since 4-3 in the first quarter.

However, it would be their final lead of the game. The two teams would play down to the wire, but Radford held the upper hand and forced Pulaski to make their shots count. After Minter scored the 69-67 go-ahead lay up for Radford, Pulaski took a timeout to set up a game-tying or winning shot with just 13.3 seconds to go.

The Cougars had two chances to score. The first was a missed three point attempt that ended up being a tie-up. Fortunately for Pulaski, the possession arrow favored them and they had one more opportunity. With just 3.7 seconds remaining, Burgis would take a three, but miss.

The clock would stop despite the ball not traveling out of bounds or a foul occurring. That left 1.2 seconds on the clock. Carter was fouled on the in-bounds and only 0.1 seconds remained. He would make both free throws, sealing the four point Radford victory.

Carter scored a game-high 22 points for Radford, while Jerome Alexander added 11 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Samuelson led Pulaski with 16 points, C.J. Burgis scored 14 points, and Ondre Powell added 12 points.

Cormany talked about his young team’s performance after the game and the poise it gives them to win such a close game over a good Pulaski squad.

“I think it was a good win for this team in that respect,” Cormany said. “I think if we had kept our composure down the stretch, we could have won by ten. We had them where we wanted them, but we just didn’t execute the press break at all. I think it is a good confidence builder for a young team. Josh Little made some big plays for us as a freshman. William Minter is a freshman, Timmy Worles played hard as a sophomore, and of course, Dontae [Carter] and Jerome [Alexander] are both juniors. We are getting better, but we have a long ways to go. Our league is tough. Everybody knows how we like to play. They will try to get us in a slower paced game. I don’t know if you find a way to get us in a slow paced game. We are going to trap you on missed buckets and made buckets. We are going to try and get that thing in a hectic pace.”

Titans top Orioles on “Eighth Grade Day”

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



PULASKI – The Pulaski Middle School basketball teams took time before their games on Monday to honor their departing eighth graders in their final home game against Blacksburg. When all was said and done though, the Titans earned a sweep over both of the Orioles squads.

The boy’s game was close all the way through three quarters. To start the fourth, Pulaski would score six straight points to open the quarter, four from Tyler Blevins, and it looked as if the Orioles were headed for another victory on the season.

However, the Titans would charge back and score six straight of their own. They would also play strong defense, as Pulaski was scoreless in the last few possessions. Blacksburg held on for the tough 33-32 victory.

Blevins led Pulaski in scoring with 13 points. Lonnie Mattox added eight points and Alex Simmons scored six points for the Orioles.

“It’s been a fun group to work with,” said Orioles coach Daniel Goff. “They practiced and played hard and I hope to watch them next year as they join the Cougars.”

The Lady Orioles were also unsuccessful in their bid for a win against Blacksburg Middle. The Titans would start the game on 13-0 run and the Oriole offense struggled to score against a tough Blacksburg defense.



Blacksburg would extend their lead in each of the first three quarters. A 14 point first quarter lead would swell to 18 at halftime and 20 at the end of the third in route to a 44-25 Titans win.

Shuby Shumate scored 11 points for Pulaski. Erin Hamric and Kennedi Hart both scored four points, and Ericka Nash had three points.

Lady Orioles coach Teresa Taylor declined comment on the game, but took the time to reflect on her group of eighth graders.

“They are such a good group both on the court and off the court,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group. They work hard together and take care of each other. They are very cohesive. I think that says a lot about us. I know what happens out here is fun and they enjoy it, but what happens off the court is going to take them through the rest of their life and some of the skills they’ve learned here too. They are going to be doing really well at high school. I look forward to going and watching them play because there is a lot of talent here. They are going to be greatly missed.”

One final test remains for the Orioles in their season. They travel on Wednesday to play Dublin for the third and final time this year. The boy’s have split their two games with Pulaski winning the first game, 51-26, and Dublin taking a close second contest, 41-39.

The Dublin girl’s have won both meetings with Pulaski this season, opening with a 50-25 win over Pulaski in their tournament. The Dukes also won a close game on the road, 35-23, on Dec. 17.

Three Point Stance: Class act “Clash” brings flare Pulaski needs

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



For the first time in my recent memory, Pulaski High School finally hosted a holiday basketball event and in the process, succeeded in showcasing some of the best high school talent from around the Commonwealth.

Fans got to see many of teams from our area – like William Fleming, Patrick Henry, and Graham – play in the tournament. However, they weren’t the only ones we got to see.

It was also fantastic to see some talent from outside the New River and surrounding areas. Fairfax, Herndon, and Tallwood all brought their own interesting flavor to the competition and all had talent that hadn’t been seen in this area.

Not only were the teams a spectacle, but so were the players. We saw two Division 1 signees – Lauren Burford of Fairfax, who is committed to Villanova, and William Fleming’s Salesse Stovall, who is a Marshall commit.

Who can forget the ending too? Raiven Patterson nailing a game winning shot to give the Cougars the slim 39-38 win. What a moment for her after coming back from injury. I do smell a rematch though – Cougars vs. Rebels 2 in December 2010.

From speaking with many of the coaches who participated in the event, there wasn’t a complaint to be heard. Even the teams who didn’t fair as well in the tournament, like Pathway Christian and Tallwood, couldn’t complain.

I think overall that the best experience to come out of this for all the participating teams was a true bonding experience. Many of the teams stayed in hotels near the school, which gave them some time to hang out and just be kids.

The other teams traveling got to bond on the bus rides down and the Cougar basketball teams, both JV and varsity, were able to spend some time together and help them become better teams in the process.

A big thank you goes out to each and every player that the fans and I had an opportunity to watch. Without you, the tournament certainly wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you for dedicating your time and effort into making this a great tournament.

I would like to commend Coach Jason Grubb and his coaching staff for doing such a great job of hosting the event and planning everything. Another thank you to the many members of the Lady Cougar boosters, who were kind and did a fantastic job at the concession stand. That was some of the best barbeque I’ve had in quite some time.

Hopefully, the first annual “Cougar Clash” will grow into the second annual and this will become a staple in both the Pulaski and Dublin communities. Sponsorship is going to have to be the key. It would be nice to see a local business step out and support such a great tournament, so that Pulaski can have an annual event. Perhaps “The Southwest Times presents the Cougar Clash” next season? This sportswriter can only hope….

Go Cougars!

Lady Cougars extend win streaks, sweep Demons

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



DUBLIN – Both the Lady Cougar varsity and junior varsity girl’s basketball teams earned victories over Christiansburg on Tuesday. The JV squad has now earned nine consecutive victories, while the varsity extended their streak to six straight.

The varsity Cougars (6-7, 2-0) earned their second River Ridge district victory in their first two district contests of the season. The team defeated Cave Spring on the road Wednesday, 65-33.

Pulaski propelled themselves into an early first quarter lead with a tenacious defensive attack and full court press. Kasey Holcomb would get back-to-back steals on the first two Christiansburg (2-9, 0-2) possessions, converting one of those into a score by Sydney Anderson.

After a Demon score tied the game up, Pulaski would score 18 straight before Christiansburg would score again. Anderson scored six points during the run, which saw seven different Cougar players earn scores. Pulaski led 21-7 after the first.

The Cougar run continued in the second quarter, as they scored six straight points to open the quarter. Christiansburg did manage to put up more points that they did in the first, scoring 13, but they would still trail by double digits heading into halftime, 40-20.

Both Raiven Patterson and Kasey Holcomb had six steals at halftime, as the Cougars tallied 20 steals in the first half alone. Grubb talked about his team’s early performance and their key focus in each game – intensity.

“I feel like that if we can play with intensity, then we can play with anybody that we can see,” Grubb said. “So I’ve been focusing on that with the kids because we are athletic and we are strong. Just trying to get the kids to play intensity all the time is a big thing. We talk about that a lot and our kids came out with intensity tonight. They did a really good job of being intense.”

“I was impressed with Christiansburg too. They were pretty intense too. They brought the ball down the court against us. They tried to run up and down. Even though we got a lot of steals, we had a lot of wide open lay ups. They did a good job of playing back and forth with us. That was nice to see.”

Christiansburg was able to play closer to the style of basketball that Pulaski was in the third quarter. The Blue Demons scored 10 points in the third, but the Lady Cougars still managed to outscore them by five points.

More impressive than the first three quarters of play was a great defensive performance by Pulaski in the fourth quarter. They would hold the Blue Demons to just two points in the quarter with the only score in the final minute. That enabled the Cougars to outscore Christiansburg 25-2 in the fourth quarter and 42-12 in the second half overall.

“In the fourth quarter, we weren’t pressing, but we outscored them 25-2,” Grubb said. “That was just our kids getting steals and going to the other end with it. You could tell Christiansburg was worn out and our kids had the legs to run.”



Raiven Patterson scored 17 points for Pulaski. She also had eight steals and six rebounds. Sydney Anderson scored 12 points and had four steals, while Kasey Holcomb had a near double-double with nine points and eight steals.

The Cougar’s also got key bench contributions from both Maddy Chitwood and Hannah Chaffin. Chitwood scored 12 points and Chaffin had six points, four assists, and eight steals. Grubb talked about getting such important help from his bench players.

“I thought all along that this team has several kids that can contribute,” Grubb said. “I think every player and kid on this team can contribute to a winning effort. That’s what you saw tonight. Every player played double digit minutes. Everybody scored. Everyone was part of a winning cause. I think that whether we are playing Christiansburg and winning a lopsided game or a team that is very tough and it’s a close game, I really feel like all 12 kids on the team can contribute.”

The Cougars were without Shaniqua Banks in the game, who had been a force in the paint for Pulaski this season. Banks injured her knee on Wednesday against Cave Spring and it is not determined the extent of the injury or how long she will be out.

However, the Cougars returned Brittany Lawson, who filled in the post position well and scored nine points. Despite playing without Banks, Grubb was pleased with Lawson’s comeback performance.

“We hope Shaniqua gets well soon,” Grubb said. “It’s tough not having her. She actually was our leading scorer in our last four games combined. Brittany had been out and missed some practices and a game because she was injured in practice. She came back and had a pad or brace on her elbow. It bothered her a little bit, but she kept it on. She played really well. She jumped in there and had nine points off the bench. She played some real good defense and had some rebounds for us and played with intensity. We hope Shaniqua can come back into action, but it was nice to not miss both of them at the same time. We are happy Brittany was there and did a great job.”

The Lady Cougar JV picked up their second win of the week and ninth on the season with a 59-12 thrashing of the Christiansburg JV.

It was a 19-0 start for the Cougars (9-2) in their game against the Demons. Pulaski’s offense was kick started by Lauren Foster, who had six points in the opening quarter. Savannah Jones added five points.

Christiansburg clamped down early to stop the Cougar offense in the second, but Pulaski still managed to score their fair share of points. They would add 15 points in the second quarter to their 19 from the first, taking a 34-5 lead into the halftime break.

The second half would be more Cougar offense and defense. The offense wouldn’t equal their score, but would manage to tally 25 points in the second half and held Christiansburg to just seven points. That enabled them to pick up yet another win on the young season.

Lauren Foster led the Cougars with 10 points. Jordan Chrisley, Carli Brewer, and Savannah Jones all had eight points in a game where every Pulaski player scored.

Grubb reflected on both the JV’s and varsity’s winning streaks and the confidence that his players have been building with their success.

“I’ve said all along that our confidence was never down and we never got frustrated,” Grubb said. “We always knew we were a good team. We played some very tough competition early on. You look at William Fleming, Carroll County, Oakton, Radford, and some of those teams we played were really good. We were riddled with injuries basically all season. We are a little bit better know, but we have very few kids who haven’t miss a game.”

“Our confidence is still there, but our morale is up a whole lot. Our kids are more excited. Even if you play well and lose, it’s still tough, but if you get the win, the kids feel better about themselves and you can smile leaving the gym. Today, we are giving them an extra day off. This win will last them the whole weekend, so they think positive thoughts about the way they played and their teammates played. They are excited to get in here for practice on Monday. Winning is great and cures a lot of things.”

Both squads will be in action again at home when they host the George Wythe. Pulaski earned a sweep over the Maroons on Dec. 23, as the varsity won 81-46 and the junior varsity won 45-25. The action begins at 6 p.m. with the JV game with the varsity contest to follow.

Former Cougar Anderson finds lasting home in NFL

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com



After a long journey that included trips to Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay, a former Pulaski County football star has finally found a long-term home in the National Football League.

Brandon Anderson, who graduated in 2004 from PCHS and played football, basketball, and track for the Cougars, signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday.

“I was definitely excited about the opportunity,” said Anderson, while in attendance at the Cave Spring-Pulaski girl’s basketball game to watch his sister Sydney. “I never settle for anything less. I know that I am better than a practice squad player. I just want to be the very best that I can be. That’s not just in football, but in life.”

Like many kids, his dream was to play professional football on the gridiron. Despite the many times being cut and released by each team, Anderson kept up the hope and was determined to make his mark.

“I remember always telling my mom ever since I was five it was my dream,” Anderson said. “I always believe in myself. I knew that I could do it by just working hard and doing the things I need to do to be that kind of a player.”

Anderson was a River Ridge All-District First Team football player on both offense, as a running back, and defense, as a defensive back, for Pulaski County. He was also named the Southwest Times/PCHS Touchdown Club Player of the Year that season. Coach Jack Turner recalls his memories of Brandon during his first year under the Cougar’s helm.

“First of all, he is an outstanding young man,” Turner said. “He is a great family and great character kid. Not only is he an outstanding football player athletically, but he is a great character kid. I think in this day and age, that is what he has going for him more than anything.”

“He always had great speed. At that age, you don’t know if they are going to be an NFL football player or not. We knew he could go to college and play football. At a young age, he always had great instincts and speed on the football field.”

Anderson, who plays defensive back for the Bucs, joins former Cougars tight end Jeff King (Carolina), kicker Shayne Graham (Cincinnati), and wide receiver Gary Clark (Washington/Arizona), who all have played or are currently playing in the NFL.

It’s been a busy year for Anderson, whose journey began when he was contacted by the Indianapolis Colts and joined the team on April 30 as an undrafted free agent after the 2009 NFL Draft.

“I was surprised Indianapolis picked me up,” Anderson said. “They called me and said they wanted me to come there. So I was there throughout the summer, training, and I was with them all the way up until the day before camp and then the released me.”

On August 4, the Indianapolis Colts released Anderson and it looked like his dreams of playing professional football were over before they started. He reflected on that dim moment in his football career.

“It’s hard,” Anderson said. “I’m not really a person that takes rejection well. I don’t like to fail at anything I do. The first time was the hardest because I was just getting settled and didn’t know what to expect. After being cut the second time, I knew this wasn’t the end of it. I was going to keep working harder. I feel like every time I get rejected or released, I just have to keep working even harder to get that much better.”

While his football future seemed a little bleak, Anderson would get another chance even before he could get home. The Cleveland Browns would serve as his second home for a potential NFL future.

“I actually drove home that day and got a call from my agent and he said that Cleveland wanted me to come up tomorrow,” Anderson said. “I drove all the way to Dublin, Virginia and had to turn around and leave for Cleveland at about 1 or 2 a.m. I got up there and had a workout with Cleveland the next day. They liked me and signed me. I was with them throughout the rest of camp. We had four preseason games and I played in three of them. I thought I did pretty well there.”

Anderson looked to be in good shape to make the roster, but once again he would not get over the hurdle and be given the pink slip for the second time. However, Cleveland would keep him on the practice squad, giving him a chance to make the roster again.

“They had to make that final cut after the last preseason game,” Anderson said. “They actually let me go, but signed me to the practice squad and I came out at the first day of practice. I thought I had a pretty good practice. They ended up letting me go the next day though.”

Once again, Anderson was out of the NFL for the second time with two teams. Released on September 9, Anderson would get hope quickly and pick up another NFL stint on September 15, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him to their practice squad.

“I went home for a week and I got a call from Tampa Bay,” Anderson said. “They said they wanted me to come down and do a workout for them. I went down there, did a workout, and ended up staying there. I didn’t even come back home. I was there on the practice squad from Week 2 to Week 12, then I got activated for the Carolina Panthers game. I was active for three games total.”

So far, Anderson has seen some tough NFL competition in just the three games that he has been active for. Despite not playing much, there is one battle in particular that has been his favorite so far.

“I would say playing against the Carolina Panther’s Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith,” Anderson said. “That was my first game being activated. It was going up those two players in your first game. I was just focused on what doing what I had to do.”

Despite the team’s 3-13 record, Tampa Bay kept first-year coach Raheem Morris, who is just 33 years old and the youngest head coach currently in the NFL. That move enabled Anderson to keep his spot on the team and eventually seal the long-term deal that he long awaited.

“We were really young this year,” Anderson said. “Even our head coach is young. We’ve got the players and we’ve got the talent. It’s just learning how each of the guys plays beside us. As far as defensively, we started the season in a quarters man. The further we got into the season, we started to go more into our cover two scheme. I feel like it fits me real well because I’m good at covering. I can play the bump and run too.”

As for what the future and next season hold for Anderson, only time will tell. Next season, Anderson and the Bucs will play against NFC South foes New Orleans, Carolina, and Atlanta, along with the playoff teams like Baltimore, Arizona, and Cincinnati. That means Anderson will go again both King and Graham

The team will look to make some changes and improve on their disappointing 2009-10 record, but Anderson is excited about the potential future for the squad.

“I feel like adding anybody would help our team,” Anderson said. “We have a top pick, so we get a top player in the draft. I’m just looking forward to a brand new season and working hard.”

(1-8-2010)