The James River Knights exploded in the second half to throttle the Floyd County Buffaloes 74-40 in a Class 2 Region C semifinal game.
The Knights led 32-26 at intermission, but they would go on a 20-5 run in the third quarter and outscored Floyd 31-7 in the period. James River outscored the Buffaloes 42-14 after intermission.
The Knights (20-3) placed four players in double-figures. Jayson Easton scored 21, Patrick Clevenger had 19, Corey Easton 13, and Ryan Steger chipped in with 11.
Floyd County senior Dylan Bond knocked down 14 points and Kaiden Swortzel tossed in 11 in a losing effort.
James River was up 18-15 after the first quarter and up only six, 32-26 at halftime. Jayson Easton tossed in 12 and Clevenger nine in the explosive third period.
For the Knights, it seemed like everything they threw up at the rim went in the basket.
"We got after it on the defensive end and it sparked us offensively in the second half," said James River Head Coach Ethan Humphries. "It feels amazing to win a regional playoff game. We share the ball and we placed I think four kids into double figures."
Floyd, which tested itself with a competitive schedule, saw its season come to an end at 11-13 overall. The Buffaloes just couldn't get on a run in the second half to match James River's firepower.
"They played hard and they got us playing their style there in the decisive third quarter," said Floyd Head Coach Brian Harman. "I thought we had the game where we wanted at half-time, but the third quarter was like a snowball rolling downhill."
Inside the Numbers from James River / Floyd:
James River - 18 - 14- 31- 11 = 74
Floyd County - 15 - 11 - 7 - 7 = 40
Scoring - J.River - Clevenger 19. J. Easton 21, C. Easton 13, Steger 11, Bailey 4, Toliver 2, Bell 2, Andrews 2, Floyd - K. Swortzel 11, Bond 14, R. Swortzel 4, Howard 3, Agnew 5, Herrington 3
3- PT. Goals - J .River - 7 (Steger 3, J. Easton 2, C. Easton 2), Floyd - 4 (Bond 2, Herrington, Agnew)
Total FG's - J. River - 31, Floyd - 13
FT's - J. River 5-7, Floyd - 10-11
Total Fouls - J. River - 13, Floyd - 9
Fouled Out - None
Technicals - None
Bobcats Make In-Game Adjustment:
Down 13-10 after one quarte of play, the Radford Bobcats went to a zone defense that seemed to confuse and definitely slowed down the Martinsville Bulldogs. The switch helped the Bobcats defeat the Bulldogs 50-39 in the Region 2C semifinals and punch their ticket to the State Tournament.
Radford (17-4) got 16 points from Landen Clark as well as eight apiece from Elijah Kelly and Gavin Cormany.
Martinsville received a game-high 21 points from senior guard Spencer Jones. Tyrell Dillard and Jaylon Long both scored five points apiece.
After being down three after the first quarter Radford took a 24-20 lead into halftime. The Bobcats hit four threes in the second quarter. They would expand their lead to 37-25 going into the final quarter.
Martinsville's Jones controlled the first quarter for the Bulldogs as he would drive, stop and rise above the Radford defenders, going toward the bucket and routinely getting into the lane. He was then held to just one field goal in the second quarter after Radford went to 1-2-2 and 3-2 zone.
"We had trouble stopping the Jones kid," admitted Radford Head Coach Rick Cormany. "The zone changed the momentum of the game."
Head Coach Jeff Adkins of Martinsville couldn't get enough outside shots for his group to fall or any consistent scoring outside of Jones.
"We didn't shoot the ball well against Radford's zone. It slowed us down and then we didn't make shots," Adkins noted. "It was important to get out in front in this game and they did."
James River and Radford will now play for the Class 2 Region C Championship. They split their two games in the regular season. They each won on their opponent's court.
Inside the Numbers from Radford / Martinsville:
Radford - 10, 14, 13, 13 = 50
Martinsville - 13, 7, 5, 14 = 37
Scoring - Radford - Clark 16, Prioleau 7, Cormany 8, Kelly 8, Mitchell 6, Wesley 5, Martinsville - Jones 21, Kirby 4, Long 5, Dillard 5, Dickerson 2, Manns 2
3- PT. Goals - Radford 8 (Clark 2, Cormany 2, Mitchell 2, Wesley, Prioleau) Martinsville - 2 (Dillard, Long)
Total FG's - Radford - 19, Martinsville - 16
FT's - Radford 4-9, Martinsville - 5-7
Total Fouls - Radford - 7, Martinsville - 12
Fouled Out- None
Technicals - None
