Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Men’s Basketball invitational Results
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Virginia High downs Patrick Henry, 77-56
VHS advanced to the semifinals of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational with a 77-56 win over Patrick Henry.
“We’ve been working hard,” said Wayne Rasnick, back for his second tour of duty as head coach at Virginia High. “These kids took a step forward, they finished something and that’s important.”
The Bearcats used a pressure defense that led to Patrick Henry (1-5) turnovers and several transition buckets. They also frequently converted beyond the arc against the Rebels, finishing with nine 3-pointers.
“That was our gameplan going in,” said senior Alex Inman. “Run and jump, man-to-man, super aggressive, force them into turnovers. We were able to convert and score off of their turnovers.”
Virginia High led just 37-29 at halftime and that lead was down to 45-39 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, four consecutive turnovers by PH led to Virginia High buckets and it snowballed on the Rebels.
“Virginia High’s pressure all night just kind of wore down on us,” said PH coach Travis Viers. “We had one of our starters out [Zach Brown] so we didn’t have the depth that we normally do. We only went with a seven-man rotation and they wore us down.”
The Bearcats closed the third on a 12-2 run and put it away with a 20-point fourth quarter.
“A lot of people think ‘We will play a zone against them,’ “ Rasnick said. “But we have some shooters. This is a young basketball team that’s learning. I’m asking a whole lot of them, they are stepping up and maturing fast as young men. I’m really proud of them.”
It was a balanced attack for the Bearcats with five players reaching double figures: Inman (14 points), Bobby Medley (14 points), Gavin Austin (14 points), John Clifton (11 points) and Jake Johnston (10 points).
“Inman and Medley are two of the seniors on this team, they make good decisions,” said Rasnick. “They make my life a whole lot easier as a coach, especially with this young team. They have a lot of leadership qualities.”
Sam Fullen led all scorers with 19 points for the Rebels. Drew Miller (16 points) and Josh Presley (15 points) were also in double figures.
“I’ve been telling Sam to be more aggressive and look to score,” Viers said. “Tonight, he really played well for us.”
Tonight at 7 p.m. Virginia High faces Black Diamond District preseason favorite Honaker in the semifinals. Lebanon faces John Battle in the other semifinal.
“Honaker looked pretty good,” Rasnick said. “They will be ready, we will have to try to come up with a game plan to counter what they do.”
Honaker 92, University High 83
Grayson Honaker scored 29 points in his first official varsity game and Brandon Miller earned his first win at the helm of the Honaker Tigers in a first-round win.
Brett Boyd nailed seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points for high-scoring Honaker.
John Battle 54, Hampton 48
After not playing in nearly two weeks, the John Battle Trojans picked up their second win in as many outings.
“It felt like the first game of the year all over again; it had been so long since we had played,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “I felt like we had a chance to extend the lead [in the fourth quarter], slow it down at the end, but I’m glad I don’t have any hair to lose because they are going to make me lose it all.”
Battle led 41-32 after three quarters, but Hampton scored on its first four possessions in the fourth quarter to get back in the game.
“It’s a lot of these kids first year on varsity,” Odum said. “I’m trying to get them to understand sometimes you have to slow it down to make things happen. They want to play so fast, we’re encouraging them to push the ball, but they have to understand time and lead.”
Hampton (3-2) tied the game at 48 on a Jonah Jones bucket with a little more than a minute remaining. However, Landon Casteel converted the tiebreaking bucket and Mikey Statti sank a couple of critical free throws as the Trojans triumped.
Isaac Deel (15 points) and Cayden McConley (12 points) led the John Battle offense. Gavin Hardin had a game-high 16 points for the Bulldogs.
Lebanon 56, Rye Cove 44
Adam Hooker (15 points) and John Easton (14 points) led the way for Lebanon in a first-round win over the Rye Cove Eagles.
A 14-5 run in the second quarter put the Pioneers in control.
- Anthony Stevens | Sports Correspondent
- 8 hrs ago
- (…)
VHS advanced to the semifinals of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational with a 77-56 win over Patrick Henry.
“We’ve been working hard,” said Wayne Rasnick, back for his second tour of duty as head coach at Virginia High. “These kids took a step forward, they finished something and that’s important.”
The Bearcats used a pressure defense that led to Patrick Henry (1-5) turnovers and several transition buckets. They also frequently converted beyond the arc against the Rebels, finishing with nine 3-pointers.
“That was our gameplan going in,” said senior Alex Inman. “Run and jump, man-to-man, super aggressive, force them into turnovers. We were able to convert and score off of their turnovers.”
Virginia High led just 37-29 at halftime and that lead was down to 45-39 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, four consecutive turnovers by PH led to Virginia High buckets and it snowballed on the Rebels.
“Virginia High’s pressure all night just kind of wore down on us,” said PH coach Travis Viers. “We had one of our starters out [Zach Brown] so we didn’t have the depth that we normally do. We only went with a seven-man rotation and they wore us down.”
The Bearcats closed the third on a 12-2 run and put it away with a 20-point fourth quarter.
“A lot of people think ‘We will play a zone against them,’ “ Rasnick said. “But we have some shooters. This is a young basketball team that’s learning. I’m asking a whole lot of them, they are stepping up and maturing fast as young men. I’m really proud of them.”
It was a balanced attack for the Bearcats with five players reaching double figures: Inman (14 points), Bobby Medley (14 points), Gavin Austin (14 points), John Clifton (11 points) and Jake Johnston (10 points).
“Inman and Medley are two of the seniors on this team, they make good decisions,” said Rasnick. “They make my life a whole lot easier as a coach, especially with this young team. They have a lot of leadership qualities.”
Sam Fullen led all scorers with 19 points for the Rebels. Drew Miller (16 points) and Josh Presley (15 points) were also in double figures.
“I’ve been telling Sam to be more aggressive and look to score,” Viers said. “Tonight, he really played well for us.”
Tonight at 7 p.m. Virginia High faces Black Diamond District preseason favorite Honaker in the semifinals. Lebanon faces John Battle in the other semifinal.
“Honaker looked pretty good,” Rasnick said. “They will be ready, we will have to try to come up with a game plan to counter what they do.”
Honaker 92, University High 83
Grayson Honaker scored 29 points in his first official varsity game and Brandon Miller earned his first win at the helm of the Honaker Tigers in a first-round win.
Brett Boyd nailed seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points for high-scoring Honaker.
John Battle 54, Hampton 48
After not playing in nearly two weeks, the John Battle Trojans picked up their second win in as many outings.
“It felt like the first game of the year all over again; it had been so long since we had played,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “I felt like we had a chance to extend the lead [in the fourth quarter], slow it down at the end, but I’m glad I don’t have any hair to lose because they are going to make me lose it all.”
Battle led 41-32 after three quarters, but Hampton scored on its first four possessions in the fourth quarter to get back in the game.
“It’s a lot of these kids first year on varsity,” Odum said. “I’m trying to get them to understand sometimes you have to slow it down to make things happen. They want to play so fast, we’re encouraging them to push the ball, but they have to understand time and lead.”
Hampton (3-2) tied the game at 48 on a Jonah Jones bucket with a little more than a minute remaining. However, Landon Casteel converted the tiebreaking bucket and Mikey Statti sank a couple of critical free throws as the Trojans triumped.
Isaac Deel (15 points) and Cayden McConley (12 points) led the John Battle offense. Gavin Hardin had a game-high 16 points for the Bulldogs.
Lebanon 56, Rye Cove 44
Adam Hooker (15 points) and John Easton (14 points) led the way for Lebanon in a first-round win over the Rye Cove Eagles.
A 14-5 run in the second quarter put the Pioneers in control.
LEE FOUNDATION INVITATIONAL: Unbeaten Trojans down Lebanon
BRISTOL, Va. – The John Battle Trojans remained undefeated and will play in the finals of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational boys basketball tournament after a 46-38 win over Lebanon on Friday night.
Battle led most of the game, but could never put Lebanon away.
“It’s like we’re neighbors and we just fight it out every time we play,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “It was a hard-fought game. We know what we get when they come to town; they are physical, they play good defense, we never could pull away from them.”
It came down to who made the most plays in the fourth quarter and the Trojans (3-0) held the edge in that department.
Lebanon tied it at 33-all with 5:12 remaining, but the Pioneers came up empty on their next four possessions.
“We had some opportunities, but couldn’t convert,” said Lebanon coach Brian Hooker. “Then it kind of snowballed on us. Again, we played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win. I thought we played well defensively, I can’t fault our effort.”
The Trojans outscored Lebanon 13-5 down the stretch. Cayden McConley scored 10 of his 17 points in the final eight minutes for Battle, including making all four crucial foul shots to hold Lebanon (3-2) at bay.
“We weren’t really hitting our shots and someone had to step up,” McConley said. “Luckily I had some go in.
“It was crazy, we weren’t playing our best in the beginning. The second half we stepped up and played good D, I think that was the difference.”
After having 14 turnovers through the first three quarters, John Battle had only three turnovers in the final eight minutes.
“I kept preaching take care of the ball,” Odum said. “I told them I might have to learn a different language, because you’re not understanding English. Take care of the ball, we have some young kids, but we’re three games in and we should play more under control.”
In addition to McConley, Mikey Statti was also in double figures with 13 points, making three 3s in the first half and was also solid from the line in the fourth.
“Mikey with those 3s in the first half kept us ahead,” Odum said. “McConley stepped it up in the second half. He’s a natural scorer. When we settle down and run our offense, McConley gets some good shots and get to the free throw line for us.”
Adam Hooker led all scorers with 18 points for the Pioneers.
The Trojans will face Honaker for the championship tonight at approximately 8:30 p.m.
“We have some stuff we have to clean up, but we’re playing in the big one,” Odum said. “We saw them tonight, they have some shooters, but my guys are excited about the opportunity.”
Honaker 91, Virginia High 74
Host Virginia High kept it close for a half, but the Honaker Tigers pulled away.
A big second half powered Honaker into the finals.
The Tigers led just 34-32 at the break before turning it on.
“It was a matter of calming down,” said first-year Honaker coach Brandon Miller. “I told the guys, let the game come to us. We don’t have to panic or force tempo. We wanted to let our skill and experience take over and that’s exactly what happened.”
Honaker (2-0) began to pull away in the third quarter and the Tigers then they outscored the Bearcats 31-21 the final eight minutes to win it going away.
Grayson Honaker and Blake Stinson scored 23 points apiece for the winners. Brandon Sample (18 points) and Hartley Hilton (17 points) were also big factors.
Sophomore Tyler Strong led Virginia High (1-3) with 24 points. Gavin Austin (13 points) and
John Clifton (10 points) were also in double digits.
- Anthony Stevens | Sports Correspondent
- Dec 16, 2017
BRISTOL, Va. – The John Battle Trojans remained undefeated and will play in the finals of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational boys basketball tournament after a 46-38 win over Lebanon on Friday night.
Battle led most of the game, but could never put Lebanon away.
“It’s like we’re neighbors and we just fight it out every time we play,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “It was a hard-fought game. We know what we get when they come to town; they are physical, they play good defense, we never could pull away from them.”
It came down to who made the most plays in the fourth quarter and the Trojans (3-0) held the edge in that department.
Lebanon tied it at 33-all with 5:12 remaining, but the Pioneers came up empty on their next four possessions.
“We had some opportunities, but couldn’t convert,” said Lebanon coach Brian Hooker. “Then it kind of snowballed on us. Again, we played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win. I thought we played well defensively, I can’t fault our effort.”
The Trojans outscored Lebanon 13-5 down the stretch. Cayden McConley scored 10 of his 17 points in the final eight minutes for Battle, including making all four crucial foul shots to hold Lebanon (3-2) at bay.
“We weren’t really hitting our shots and someone had to step up,” McConley said. “Luckily I had some go in.
“It was crazy, we weren’t playing our best in the beginning. The second half we stepped up and played good D, I think that was the difference.”
After having 14 turnovers through the first three quarters, John Battle had only three turnovers in the final eight minutes.
“I kept preaching take care of the ball,” Odum said. “I told them I might have to learn a different language, because you’re not understanding English. Take care of the ball, we have some young kids, but we’re three games in and we should play more under control.”
In addition to McConley, Mikey Statti was also in double figures with 13 points, making three 3s in the first half and was also solid from the line in the fourth.
“Mikey with those 3s in the first half kept us ahead,” Odum said. “McConley stepped it up in the second half. He’s a natural scorer. When we settle down and run our offense, McConley gets some good shots and get to the free throw line for us.”
Adam Hooker led all scorers with 18 points for the Pioneers.
The Trojans will face Honaker for the championship tonight at approximately 8:30 p.m.
“We have some stuff we have to clean up, but we’re playing in the big one,” Odum said. “We saw them tonight, they have some shooters, but my guys are excited about the opportunity.”
Honaker 91, Virginia High 74
Host Virginia High kept it close for a half, but the Honaker Tigers pulled away.
A big second half powered Honaker into the finals.
The Tigers led just 34-32 at the break before turning it on.
“It was a matter of calming down,” said first-year Honaker coach Brandon Miller. “I told the guys, let the game come to us. We don’t have to panic or force tempo. We wanted to let our skill and experience take over and that’s exactly what happened.”
Honaker (2-0) began to pull away in the third quarter and the Tigers then they outscored the Bearcats 31-21 the final eight minutes to win it going away.
Grayson Honaker and Blake Stinson scored 23 points apiece for the winners. Brandon Sample (18 points) and Hartley Hilton (17 points) were also big factors.
Sophomore Tyler Strong led Virginia High (1-3) with 24 points. Gavin Austin (13 points) and
John Clifton (10 points) were also in double digits.
LEE INVITATIONAL: Trojans win over Honaker for title
BRISTOL, Va. – The Trojans kept their perfect record intact by claiming a tournament title.
A late Isaac Deel basket put John Battle ahead to stay in a 65-63 victory over Honaker on Saturday night in the championship game of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational boys basketball tournament.
“This feels great,” Deel said. “We’ve worked hard all offseason; we’ve been going after it since summer, so a lot of work has gone into this.”
With Honaker leading 63-60 after a couple of foul shots by Blake Stinson, both teams had a possession, but neither could score. Mikey Statti then hit an eight-foot jumper to pull the Trojans within one.
The Tigers missed a couple of free throws to provide an opening for John Battle as the Trojans called a timeout with 25 second remaining. Battle worked the ball and it ended up in the hands of Deel who scored on a spin move to the basket to give Battle a 64-63 lead with six seconds left.
“It wasn’t designed to go to me, we were trying to get Mikey open,” Deel said. “It just kind of fell in my hands and I did whatever I could to get to the basket. I just wanted someone to score, it just happened to be me.”
On Honaker’s ensuing inbounds play, the Tigers threw the ball away. Statti hit one of two foul shots and a desperation shot by the Tigers didn’t go as the Trojans claimed the title.
“If you would have asked me on Thursday if we would have a chance to do this, I wouldn’t have known,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “I have a resilient group. We don’t play perfect all the time, but we play hard enough to get it done.”
The Trojans’ biggest lead was at the start of the contest, when they scored the first five points. Honaker’s largest lead was seven points in the second quarter. It was tied nine times and there were nine lead-changes.
“Honaker is a great shooting team, they had been in the 90s in this tournament,” Odum said. “It was a big challenge for us, we challenged the kids defensively to get out on the 3-point shots. We did that, but we gave up a lot in the middle. You can’t guard it all against a good team like that. I’m just so proud of my guys, they worked so hard for this.”
Deel had a game-high 27 points for John Battle. Reed Samuel (16 points) and Cayden McConley (14 points) also had a big night for the Trojans. Deel was named tournament MVP for his efforts.
“Deel is all guts,” Odum said. “We asked him to do a lot of stuff for us. No hesitation on his part, he’s up to the challenge every night.”
The John Battle win didn’t put a damper on the outstanding game by Honaker’s Hartley Hilton. Hilton finished with 20 points and cleared the glass with 18 rebounds. Freshman Grayson Honaker also had 20 points in the loss.
“John Battle did an excellent job on defense,” said first-year Honaker coach Brandon Miller. “We missed a lot of shots at the rim, I don’t know if we had tired legs or what, but I think we left a lot of points on the floor.”
John Battle plays its first Mountain District game at Ridgeview on Tuesday. Not many expected the Trojans to be 4-0 at this juncture, even Coach Odum.
“I hoped we would, I can’t say I expected it,” Odum said. “I expect a lot out of my guys and they keep performing. Four-and-0 sounds great right now.
Lebanon 44, Virginia High 41
The Pioneers took third place in the tournament with a tough win over host Virginia High.
Adam Hooker scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Lebanon.
Gavin Austin paced the Bearcats with 13 points.
- Anthony Stevens | Sports Correspondent
- 13 hrs ago
BRISTOL, Va. – The Trojans kept their perfect record intact by claiming a tournament title.
A late Isaac Deel basket put John Battle ahead to stay in a 65-63 victory over Honaker on Saturday night in the championship game of the Coach Ballard Lee Foundation Bearcat Invitational boys basketball tournament.
“This feels great,” Deel said. “We’ve worked hard all offseason; we’ve been going after it since summer, so a lot of work has gone into this.”
With Honaker leading 63-60 after a couple of foul shots by Blake Stinson, both teams had a possession, but neither could score. Mikey Statti then hit an eight-foot jumper to pull the Trojans within one.
The Tigers missed a couple of free throws to provide an opening for John Battle as the Trojans called a timeout with 25 second remaining. Battle worked the ball and it ended up in the hands of Deel who scored on a spin move to the basket to give Battle a 64-63 lead with six seconds left.
“It wasn’t designed to go to me, we were trying to get Mikey open,” Deel said. “It just kind of fell in my hands and I did whatever I could to get to the basket. I just wanted someone to score, it just happened to be me.”
On Honaker’s ensuing inbounds play, the Tigers threw the ball away. Statti hit one of two foul shots and a desperation shot by the Tigers didn’t go as the Trojans claimed the title.
“If you would have asked me on Thursday if we would have a chance to do this, I wouldn’t have known,” said John Battle coach Jon Odum. “I have a resilient group. We don’t play perfect all the time, but we play hard enough to get it done.”
The Trojans’ biggest lead was at the start of the contest, when they scored the first five points. Honaker’s largest lead was seven points in the second quarter. It was tied nine times and there were nine lead-changes.
“Honaker is a great shooting team, they had been in the 90s in this tournament,” Odum said. “It was a big challenge for us, we challenged the kids defensively to get out on the 3-point shots. We did that, but we gave up a lot in the middle. You can’t guard it all against a good team like that. I’m just so proud of my guys, they worked so hard for this.”
Deel had a game-high 27 points for John Battle. Reed Samuel (16 points) and Cayden McConley (14 points) also had a big night for the Trojans. Deel was named tournament MVP for his efforts.
“Deel is all guts,” Odum said. “We asked him to do a lot of stuff for us. No hesitation on his part, he’s up to the challenge every night.”
The John Battle win didn’t put a damper on the outstanding game by Honaker’s Hartley Hilton. Hilton finished with 20 points and cleared the glass with 18 rebounds. Freshman Grayson Honaker also had 20 points in the loss.
“John Battle did an excellent job on defense,” said first-year Honaker coach Brandon Miller. “We missed a lot of shots at the rim, I don’t know if we had tired legs or what, but I think we left a lot of points on the floor.”
John Battle plays its first Mountain District game at Ridgeview on Tuesday. Not many expected the Trojans to be 4-0 at this juncture, even Coach Odum.
“I hoped we would, I can’t say I expected it,” Odum said. “I expect a lot out of my guys and they keep performing. Four-and-0 sounds great right now.
Lebanon 44, Virginia High 41
The Pioneers took third place in the tournament with a tough win over host Virginia High.
Adam Hooker scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Lebanon.
Gavin Austin paced the Bearcats with 13 points.
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