PHOTO BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
The Salem High boys remained undefeated in basketball with a 71-50 win over Lord Botetourt in Daleville Tuesday. The Spartans will put their undefeated record on the line Friday when they host Cave Spring in Salem.
Cam Boles led Salem in scoring against LB with 25 points. Tanner Overstreet had 17 and Jaydius Hamm had 13 as the Spartans improved to 5-0 on the season.
The Spartans kept their record clean in a thriller at Patrick Henry last Friday, pulling out a 60-58 win in Roanoke. It went down to the wire with Salem leading 50-45 after three quarters and surviving a wild finish.
The Spartans led 58-57 with just over a minute left in regulation after the Patriots were call for a flagrant foul and Boles hit both shots. Salem then tried to kill off some time but the Patriots stole the ball and, after a foul, tied the game at 58-58 with 7.2 seconds on the clock.
After Spartan coach Kevin Garst called a timeout the Spartans rushed the ball up the floor and Hamm took a three as time expired. Hamm missed the shot but PH was called for a foul and Jaydius sank two of three for a 60-58 lead with 0.3 seconds on the clock. At that point the Pats could only score on a tip-in with the entire length of the floor to cover, and Salem escaped with a dramatic win.
“That was a big win for us, especially against a district team,” said Garst. “Wins like that help you when it comes down to seeding for the region tournament.”
Boles led the Spartans with 26 points. Braylon Smith had 11, Hamm had nine, Elijah Paddyfote had eight and Overstreet had six points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Spartans also played Radford last week at home and won 66-46. Salem led 27-23 at the half and outscored the Bobcats 19-9 in the third quarter to pull away. Boles had 22 and five rebounds and Smith had 18. Overstreet had eight boards. Salem outrebounded Radford 35-25 and outscored the Bobcats in the paint, 38-16.
After Friday’s home game with Cave Spring the Spartans will be at Northside Monday for their final game before Christmas. Salem beat the Vikings for the first time in 11 years when the two met in Salem.
