Carroll County defeated the Pulaski Co. Cougars 50-46 to win the First Community Bank / Fort Chiswell Christmas Tournament.
Pacing a balanced Carroll County attack was Bryce Smoot with 17 points. Big man Cody Reece scored 15 points, but also collected 12 rebounds for a double-double. Isaiah Easter added 11 points.
“A truly gritty, physical High School game," Cavaliers Head Coach Anthony Barnes declared. "People got their money’s worth tonight.”
The Cavaliers improved to 9-0 with their win. Five of those wins have now come by seven points or fewer.
Pulaski County trailed the entire game, but found themselves only down one, 47-46 with just under 20 seconds to go. A questionable intentional foul was then called against them, giving Carroll County two foul shots and possession of the ball. So after all that, the Cougars found themselves down 50-46 with just seven seconds to go.
Their last shot, a three -point jumper, was short as the horn sounded ending the game. It dropped the Cougars to 3-8 overall.
“The guys battled and I’m proud of them," Cougars Head Coach Anthony Akers commented. "Two teams battled and this is a hard pill to swallow.”
Earlier games saw Radford beat Fort Chiswell 61-50 in a very physical game. Radford got 17 points from Luke Woodard and 14 from Ashton Taylor. The Pioneers got 19 points from freshman Owen Jackson and 14 from Brayden Billings. T
he fifth place game saw East Wilkes (NC) defeat Grayson County 49-42. Wilkes was led by Reece Dobbins with 13 points and Andrew Tharpe chipped in with 11. Maverik Goad led Grayson County with 13 and brother Mac Goad tossed in 12. The Goad brothers helped Grayson County reach the VHSL Class 1 State Football Championship game earlier this month.
The seventh place game featured Narrows beating Rural Retreat 47-35. Elijah Knoetze scored 18 and Sam McGlothlin tossed in 10 for the victorious Green Wave. Rural Retreat's Indians were led by Conley Martin with 14 points, while Brody Childers finished with 11.
Inside the Numbers:
Carroll - 21, 9, 10, 10 = 50
Pulaski - 17, 9, 7, 13 = 46
Scoring - Carroll Co. - Smoot 17, Reece 15, Easter 11, Richardson 7, Pulaski Co. - Harlow 17, O’Dell 9. Hollins 8, Sweet 6, O’Neal 2, Turner 2, Lawrence 2
3 Pt. Goals - CC - 2 ( Richardson ) , PC - 5 ( Harlow 2, Hollins 2, O’Dell)
Total FG’s - CC - 17, PC - 19
FT’s - CC - 14-19, PC - 3-5
Total Fouls - CC - 9, PC - 17
Fouled Out-None
Technicals- None
