to the hoop as Salem’s Kam Brown looks to take a charge, but was called for a block. PHOTOS BY BRIAN HOFFMAN.
The Salem and Glenvar basketball teams went head-to-head in a girls-boys doubleheader on Monday night at GHS with the visiting Spartans sweeping the first of two border battles. They’ll meet again on February 2nd at Salem High in the Adam Ward Classic. The girls played first and it was a mismatch from the beginning, as a young Glenvar team was no match for a Salem team on the rise.
The Spartans led 41-3 at the half and went on to a 68-7 win with the clock running continuously in the second half. “We played well tonight,” said Salem coach Scott Jester. “Our scoring was balanced again. Anytime we have three players in double figures scoring, that is a good sign for us.” Everyone got in the game for Salem and saw plenty of action.
Gabby Crawley led the scoring with 16 points while Charlie Wynn and Emme Custer had 14 each. Rebecca Magruder had four points to lead the Highlanders, who are still looking for a win. Salem improved to 3-0. The second game was closer, with Salem leading 18-14 after one quarter and 36-26 at the half. The Spartans wore down the short-handed Highlanders in the second half, outscoring Glenvar 35-18 after intermission for a 71-44 win. “The flu got ahold of us on Monday night,” said Glenvar coach Cliff Bordewisch. “We had five players out with the flu.
I thought we played pretty well in the first half, we were down three with two minutes to go in first half, but in the second half our legs were gone and we started turning the ball over more. Tired bodies led to some bad decisions and Salem is tough this year.” Salem owned the boards, and that led to few second chances for the Highlanders. “Our first two games we struggled rebounding, but we were better Monday,” said Salem coach Kevin Garst. “They only got 16 percent of possible offensive rebounds, and we had 52 percent on our end.” Cam Boles led Salem with 15 points and seven rebounds, including five on the offensive board. Kam Brown had 13 points, Marvin Fields had a dozen and LaMarius Foxx had 11 points and five assists. Brody Dawyot led Glenvar with 18 points.
The Highlanders fell to 1-3 with the loss. Last week they dropped a 55-35 home game to Hidden Valley and lost at home to Blacksburg, 68-50. Adam Franklin had 17 against the Bruins. “I thought we played more as a team against Salem than we had the last couple of games, but we need to keep at it because the schedule doesn’t get any easier,” said Bordewisch. Glenvar was scheduled to play an early season Three Rivers District game at Floyd on Wednesday followed by a trip to William Byrd Friday. Salem is 2-1 after Monday’s win. The Spartans will host Cave Spring Friday and play a 7 pm game Saturday at Lord Botetourt in the Bob Johnson Classic.