BOYS BB: John Battle 66 Virginia High 56 - FINAL
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Battle boys, girls defeat Virginia High
John Battle #22 Mikey Statti breaks to the basket as Virginia High #4 Jake Johnston looks to defend
BRISTOL, Va. – As badly as the Virginia High basketball team no doubt needs some wins, John Battle's boys felt a bit desperate themselves Thursday night.
The Trojans, who surprised a few by opening their season with six straight victories, hadn't won since before Christmas and were riding a three-game losing streak when they crossed town to take on the homestanding Bearcats in a non-district game between old rivals.
And in an up-and-down performance, Battle led pretty much from start to finish and returned home with a 66-56 victory.
“We're still down a starter but it's nice to get back into the win column following a long Christmas break,” said Battle coach Jon Odum, whose club lost to Holston on Tuesday. “Seems like it's been forever since we've had a win.”
With an assist from cold-shooting Virginia High, the Trojans ran out to comfortable leads throughout the game only to see the Bearcats rally back behind a strong zone, fullcourt press.
Battle led 13-1 before VHS scored the game's next 14 points to grab a brief edge, but then the Trojans (7-3) seized the advantage once and for all.
Caleb Goins scored seven points and led an 11-2 spurt to close the half, giving Battle a comfortable 35-24 edge at intermission.
“We started quick but they answered, and then we had that little run at the end of the half,” Odum said. “Although we were down a starter, you couldn't really tell it because we played good team basketball and that was the key.”
Battle, which got big games from point guard Cayden McConley (19 points) and slashing Isaac Deel (15 points), pushed its lead on up to 21 at 49-28 with a minute left in the third quarter before VHS rallied again.
The Bearcats got back to within 60-51 with still 2:35 to play, but in the end Wayne Rasnick's once-victorious club just didn't make enough plays to get over the hump.
Virginia High finished the game hitting just 20 of 68 floor attempts for 29.4 percent.
Battle, meanwhile, shot 38 percent and withstood committing 25 turnovers against the VHS press.
Goins contributed 11 points to a balanced attack.
“That's something we've been looking for, getting help from throughout the lineup,” Odum said. “I thought coming into the year we had a lot of kids who could score and contribute to the team and tonight that really showed up for us.”
Virginia High was led by the 10-point outing of hard-working John Clifton.
- Johnny Wilson | Sports Correspondent
- Jan 12, 2018 Updated 8 hrs ago
John Battle #22 Mikey Statti breaks to the basket as Virginia High #4 Jake Johnston looks to defend
BRISTOL, Va. – As badly as the Virginia High basketball team no doubt needs some wins, John Battle's boys felt a bit desperate themselves Thursday night.
The Trojans, who surprised a few by opening their season with six straight victories, hadn't won since before Christmas and were riding a three-game losing streak when they crossed town to take on the homestanding Bearcats in a non-district game between old rivals.
And in an up-and-down performance, Battle led pretty much from start to finish and returned home with a 66-56 victory.
“We're still down a starter but it's nice to get back into the win column following a long Christmas break,” said Battle coach Jon Odum, whose club lost to Holston on Tuesday. “Seems like it's been forever since we've had a win.”
With an assist from cold-shooting Virginia High, the Trojans ran out to comfortable leads throughout the game only to see the Bearcats rally back behind a strong zone, fullcourt press.
Battle led 13-1 before VHS scored the game's next 14 points to grab a brief edge, but then the Trojans (7-3) seized the advantage once and for all.
Caleb Goins scored seven points and led an 11-2 spurt to close the half, giving Battle a comfortable 35-24 edge at intermission.
“We started quick but they answered, and then we had that little run at the end of the half,” Odum said. “Although we were down a starter, you couldn't really tell it because we played good team basketball and that was the key.”
Battle, which got big games from point guard Cayden McConley (19 points) and slashing Isaac Deel (15 points), pushed its lead on up to 21 at 49-28 with a minute left in the third quarter before VHS rallied again.
The Bearcats got back to within 60-51 with still 2:35 to play, but in the end Wayne Rasnick's once-victorious club just didn't make enough plays to get over the hump.
Virginia High finished the game hitting just 20 of 68 floor attempts for 29.4 percent.
Battle, meanwhile, shot 38 percent and withstood committing 25 turnovers against the VHS press.
Goins contributed 11 points to a balanced attack.
“That's something we've been looking for, getting help from throughout the lineup,” Odum said. “I thought coming into the year we had a lot of kids who could score and contribute to the team and tonight that really showed up for us.”
Virginia High was led by the 10-point outing of hard-working John Clifton.
