BRISTOL, Va. – The high school basketball season is just a few weeks old, but veteran Chilhowie coach Johnny Sabo is starting to get a good feeling about his team.
Monday night the Warriors picked up their third win of the year, easily dispatching host Virginia High 55-37 in the consolation bracket of the Highlands Union Bank Tip-Off Classic at the Bearcat Den.
It was Chilhowie’s second victory over VHS in 10 days, the other by a 36-34 margin on the Warriors’ home floor.
Last night’s game left Bearcat coach Jason Stevens scratching his head.
“We scored three points in the fourth quarter of that first game with them and they came from 10 back to beat us,” said Stevens, his club now 1-4. “We just couldn’t finish the deal in that one, but in this one we got outplayed all night.
“They outworked us.”
The Bearcats were never in this one, missing all 13 of their field goal attempts in the first quarter while scoring just one point against an aggressive 2-3 Warrior zone which shut down the lanes.
“We’ve been working very hard on our 2-3 zone and tonight it paid off,” said Sabo, whose club led 9-1 after one period.
Offensively, the Warrior guards moved the ball well against the Bearcat man-to-man and got it inside the lane with good passing, and pivotman Cameron Smith took advantage. A 6-foot-7 senior, Smith scored four times on baby hooks and reverse layups to help Chilhowie to a 25-14 lead at halftime.
Smith led all scorers with 17 points.
“He did a good job taking the ball to the basket,” said Sabo. “We’ve been working really hard with him and tonight he was a lot better than he has been in there.
“You know, we’ve played a pretty good schedule [Marion, Lebanon, Grayson County and VHS twice], and I think the competition has helped us.’’
Forward Jonathan Hayden played strong and finished with 11 points for the Warriors (3-2), whose biggest lead was 46-23 with 5:43 left in the game.
“Anytime you can come down here and beat Virginia High, it’s a good night,” said Sabo. “We’re coming along.”
Stevens, meanwhile, is searching for answers with his young club.
“We’ve got to find the right combination of kids out there,’’ said Stevens, who returned just one starter from last year’s Region D playoff team. “We’ve got to get some leadership.
“And it’s going to take everyone stepping up for us and playing harder and playing with more heart. We’ve got to play more to our capabilities.”
Coeburn 63, John Battle 53
The Blue Knights scored the last eight points of the game over the final 75 seconds to defeat John Battle in Monday’s opener of the consolation bracket.
The win lifts Coeburn to 2-2 on the season.
Battle (1-5) trailed by a bucket with just over a minute to play but could not produce the equalizer, and Coeburn pulled away from the foul line. Phillip Riner, who scored 15 points for the winners, hit on five of eight free throws in the final period to keep the Blue Knights in front.
“We were in it there but just couldn’t make the plays down the stretch,” said Battle coach Mike Posey. “We’ve got to learn to finish better in the fourth quarter.”
Andrew Pate led Coeburn offensively, pouring in a game-high 23 points. Teammate Holden Burke added 19 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Battle was led by Derek Maiden’s 13 points.
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