The Region 4D basketball tournament is set to begin next week and Salem High is set to host a girls-boys doubleheader on Monday in the South half of the split bracket. The girls will open play against a team still to be determined at 6 pm Monday followed by the boys at 7:30 pm, who will likely play George Washington of Danville.
The girls are the top seed in the tournament and will be home for as long as they win in the region. The South final is February 25 and the South and North winners meet for the Region 4D championship on Friday, February 27.
The Salem boys are the number two seed behind E.C. Glass and G.W.-Danville is the third seed. If the Spartans win Monday they would travel to Lynchburg to play Glass next Wednesday, providing the Hilltoppers win their opening game Monday night. If Glass is upset and Salem wins then the Spartans would be home, and the boys’ South-North final is also on February 27.
Both the girls and boys teams played Hidden Valley on Tuesday after a full week of rest. The girls won 64-16 to up their record to 21-1 and put some icing on the River Ridge District championship. Emme Custer had 18 points, Lexie Hart had a bakers’ dozen and Bailey Rider had 11
The boys played host to the Titans and won a thriller, 69-67, on a stick back by Camden Boles with two seconds left in the game. The win improved Salem’s record to 18-3 on the season and avenged a prior loss to Hidden Valley in south Roanoke County.
Salem led for most of the game and took a 49-42 lead into the fourth quarter. However, Hidden Valley went on a 10-2 run to open the quarter and take a 52-51 lead with five and a half minutes to go.
At this point Salem’s Elijah Paddyfote took over. The sharp-shooting Spartan scored 11 points in the final five minutes, including three three-pointers, the last putting the Spartans up 66-60 with two minutes to go.
However, it wasn’t over just yet. The Titans battled back to tie the game on two free throws with 10.7 remaining. Salem got the ball in quickly and Tanner Overstreet raced down the floor. He got to the rim only to have his layup attempt spill off the front, but Boles was trailing the play and rebounded the ball and laid it in with two seconds on the clock. Hidden Valley couldn’t get off a shot and the Salem student section exploded onto the floor and enveloped the Spartans in celebration.
“Just like we drew it up,” said Salem coach Kevin Garst with a chuckle. “Games like that make you better. It was a playoff environment. They made some tough shots, too, but our guys played with poise in the fourth quarter.”
Paddyfote led four Spartans in double figures with 18 points. Braylon Smith had 14, Overstreet had 13 and Boles finished with 11.
Both the girls and boys have one more game to play before the Region 4D tournament begins. The boys will play at Christiansburg tonight while the girls host the Blue Demons in Salem.
