Castlewood Holds Off Galax For Close Quarterfinal Win

BRISTOL, Va. – Having three fouls to give in the waning moments of Saturday’s Group A, Division 1 state quarterfinal contest at Virginia High, most fans probably wouldn’t have blamed Castlewood coach Wayne Rasnick if he elected to have his team commit non-intentional – and more importantly, non-shooting – hacks for victory preservation.

But that type of purposeful switch was out of the question, especially for a team that had been whistled for just five total fouls the entire contest behind a yeoman-like defensive effort. And for that, most of those aforementioned fans understood Rasnick’s ultimate call with just over two ticks showing.

“I thought about it,” summed Rasnick, whose squad held off two last-second desperation attempts from Region C, Division 1 runner-up Galax for a gut-wrenching 46-44 victory. “I called a timeout and told the guys that what has gotten us here this year is our defense – and daggone, we’re going to ‘D’ somebody up. And we did that.”

After disappointing Group A, Division 2 quarterfinal setbacks to eventual state champion squads in both 2008 (George Wythe) and 2009 (Radford), respectively, the Blue Devils (23-4) will make their first-ever state semifinal appearance Thursday when they travel to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center for a 1 p.m. showdown against Madison County. Serving as the state’s top-ranked Group A squad for literally the entire season, the Mountaineers (24-0) dispatched Surry County 71-58 in other Group, Division 1 quarterfinal action Saturday.

In a game that saw neither team lead by more than four points at the Bearcat Den, it seemed so fitting that Saturday’s never-ending game – which also sported 10 ties and 14 lead changes – of supreme tug-of-war swayed all the way to the final buzzer. Doing a good bit of the tugging was none other than Blue Devils’ sharp-shooting guard Justin Smith, who buried 3-of-4 from behind the arc in the fourth – including two clutch triples during a 51-second span to give the Region D, Division 1 champ a 42-41 edge with 1:27 remaining.

Not only did Smith hit those long-distance jumpers against the outstretched arms of assertive Galax guard Deion George, it eradicated a 1-for-5 3-point shooting performance through three quarters – featuring an uncharacteristic air ball just before the third-quarter finale.

“I got a screen there and I was trying to just fade back off the shot – and I knew it really wasn’t a good one,” admitted Smith, who supplied Castlewood with four treys and 14 points. “I knew I just had to put that out of my mind and keep playing out there.”

Teammates Zach Bush, who tallied a game-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and Ruben Rasnick (12 points on 5-of-8 from the field) later combined for three free throws on four tries for a 45-41 advantage with just 29.4 seconds left.

After Galax’s Austin Pack swished home a high-arcing trey with 7.6 seconds to go, Bush was promptly fouled – subsequently hitting 1-of-2 foul shots to give the Maroon Tide (17-8) one last shot. From the mid-court stripe, Jerad Brown fed teammate Justin Hash off a double screen. The junior then peeled towards the lane before letting go a one-handed, 3-point attempt that looked dead on with about a second showing.

“That’s who I would have drawn it up for there,” said Rasnick about Galax’s final offensive possession. “[Hash’s] one of the best players I’ve seen all year – and we knew that. He’s a talented young man.”

Hash’s toss, however, fell on the front rim, eventually ricocheting off the window and over to an open George. And although the errant right-handed tip for George – who finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks – seemed to take place just after the red light blazed on the glass, the game’s final attempt would have counted, if successful.

Drawing the assignment of guarding Hash, and also George, over the final eight minutes was none other than Smith, who forced just 1-of-5 shooting combined from the talented Galax duo down the stretch.

“I’ve said it for two years,” praised Rasnick. “He’s the best defender that we bring to the table night in and night out. He just showed up again today. What can you say? He’s our stopper.”

Patrick Anderson hit his final five shots, ultimately finishing with a team-high 14 points for a Galax crew looking to prove something following a disheartening 16-point beatdown at the hands of Eastern Montgomery last Saturday during the Region C, Division 1 finals at George Wythe High School.

The Maroon Tide certainly proved quite a bit for their fans and veteran Galax coach Verl Brown, whose squad made their third straight state tournament appearance despite graduating eight players.

“We were worried all week, especially with [Castlewood’s] experience and their ability to shoot the ball,” summed Brown. “I didn’t know if we could contain them or not, but I thought our guys – for the most part – did a pretty good job … and that’s probably the best effort we’ve had all year. But [Rasnick’s] got a great ballclub, and I look for them to go far.”

Farther than any Castlewood boys’ basketball team has ever gone before.

“It’s unbelievable,” said guard Ethan Collins, who came into the game late in the fourth to notch a huge block against one of Hash’s potential game-tying 3-point attempts. “We’ve never made it past the quarterfinal game. It’s a really good feeling.”