The Glenvar boys advanced to the semifinal round of the Region 2C basketball tournament in stunning fashion Monday as Stephen Barber hit a 60 foot shot at the buzzer to beat James River, 57-54. With the win Glenvar advanced to the semis against undefeated Radford on Wednesday.
Monday’s game at James River was a close game between two very evenly matched teams. No one led by more than five and the lead changed hands many times. Glenvar led by two after one quarter, River led by one at the half and the game was dead-even, 39-39, after three.
River had a one point lead at 47-46 with 1:27 on the clock but the Highlanders went six-for-six from the line as Christian Housh, Garrett Hendrick and Barber made two shots each while denying River on the other end to take a five point lead at 52-47 with 34 seconds to go. Then River mounted a comeback.
Patrick Clevenger got inside for a layup to cut the lead to three and River fouled, with Tyler Johnson hitting one of two. River’s Jayson Easton scored to cut the lead to two and again River fouled and Hendrick made one of two as Glenvar led 54-51 with 12 seconds on the clock.
After a timeout Easton took a shot from two steps behind the line at the top of the key, and it bounced on the rim before settling into twine with 2.5 seconds to go.
“I told our guys to foul them on the drive to let them shoot two shots,” said Mann. “We don’t foul and they drain a three with 2.4 seconds to tie.”
Mann called a timeout with the ball under the River basket. Barber took the inbounds pass and fired one up from the opposite foul line. The buzzer sounded with the ball in the air and it hit paydirt, sending the Highlanders into a frenzy as the Knights looked on in disbelief.
“That loss was a knife to the gut for sure,” said River coach Ethan Humphries, who played at Roanoke College.
Barber’s three game him 25 for the game to lead all scorers and Hendrick finished with 14. The win lifted the Highlanders to 3-6, with all six losses coming against Roanoke County teams from larger schools.
The semifinals were scheduled to be Wednesday, and the Highlanders drew top-seeded and unbeaten Radford on the road. Only the tournament winner advances to the state tournament.