The Glenvar boys won the first leg of a home-and-home series with James River Monday when they beat the Knights in Springwood, 71-63.
The two were scheduled to play again at Glenvar on Wednesday.
The unusual scheduling was necessitated by a postponement due to snow of a game originally scheduled for January 5. Monday was the best time to make it up for both teams, and it just so happened the second meeting between the two was also scheduled for this week.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but you have to get the games in,” said River coach Mike Goad. “You can’t do much about the snow.”
The temperatures were warmer Monday in Springwood, and the Highlanders were warm as well. Glenvar shot 61 percent from the field in the first half, and it was a good thing as the host Knights shot 50 percent. River led 47-46 after three quarters but Glenvar won out down the stretch, and hit their free throws to keep the Knights at arms’ length for a 71-63 win.
“It was a good win for us, especially since were down two players,” said Glenvar coach David Redding, as Dakota Francisco and Noah Lovelace missed the game for various reasons. “Some people stepped up.”
Hank Conner stepped up front and center. He scored 19 points and led the Highlanders with six assists on a night when the Glenvar team had 19 dimes.
“I love it when we get that many assists,” said Redding. “We were passing well, taking the extra pass to find the open man.”
Noah Duncan had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Highlanders while Logan Williams had 14 points. Landry Gerbers, seeing extra time with Lovelace unavailable, came up big with 12 points and five rebounds.
The win lifted the Highlanders to 9-6 on the season. Last Thursday in Radford Glenvar lost a 53-44 decision to the Bobcats, as Radford stayed unbeaten at 5-0 in the Three Rivers District.
“It was a brutal game,” said Redding. “It always is when we play Radford. It was very physical and both teams shot under 40 percent. It wasn’t pretty.”
Conner and Duncan had 11 points each to lead Glenvar in the low-scoring affair. Glenvar hit just three of 14 three point attempts. The Highlanders were just seven of 12 on free throws while Radford shot 35 and made 23, making for a 16 point advantage at the line in a game that was decided by nine points.
After Wednesday’s home game with James River the Highlanders will play their next four in a row on the road. Glenvar is at Auburn Friday, at Grayson County Monday, at Giles on February 1 and at Floyd County on February 3.
“It’s a tough stretch, and the games with Giles and Floyd are the ones that count in the conference rnakings,” said Redding.
