Bearcats Fall Hard to James River Knights in Group A, Division 2 Quarterfinals

SALEM, Va. – Virginia High basketball fans were forced to endure a massive traffic jam on Interstate 81 Friday afternoon. The frustration continued after Bearcat supporters finally arrived at the Salem Civic Center.

VHS shot just 12 percent from the floor en route to a 57-21 loss to the James River Knights in the Group A, Division 2 boys state quarterfinals.

“It didn’t matter if it was in the paint, on the perimeter or anywhere else – the shots just didn’t drop at all for us,” VHS coach Jason Stevens said.

The Bearcats (19-9) were making their first trip to the state tournament since 1996.  James River, which has just one senior regular, has been on a three-year chase to state glory behind coach Mike Goad.

The contrast in experience was evident from the start as James River (24-4) took a 12-2 lead behind the savvy direction of five-foot-10 junior Ethan Humphries, a three-year starter at point guard.

“James River is better than us, and their experience was a factor,” Stevens said.

The defense and depth of James River were the major factor in the decisive win. Both served to stymie the Bearcats.

“Gate City and Lebanon played better [man-to-man] against us this year, and that’s no disrespect to James River,’’ Stevens said. “We just couldn’t score tonight.”

That deficit for VHS expanded to 18-4 with five minutes left in the second quarter. A furious Stevens called a time out at that point in an attempt to motivate his team but the issue had been settled.

With 6-3 junior center Patrick Bennett collecting 13 rebounds, the Knights took a 27-6 lead into halftime. VHS connected on just 3 of its 26 field goal attempts in the first half as leading scorer Josh Moore was held scoreless until the 6:03 mark of the third quarter.

“Nothing went our way,’’ the 6-foot-5 Moore said. “James River has a lot of experience and they did a good job on defense, but we had our chances to score. We started slow, then things just got worse.

“I’ll definitely remember this season forever, though. This is the best team and best coach I’ve ever been involved with.”

The Bearcats attempted to work for high-percentage shots and apply full-court pressure at times in the second half, yet the Knights kept converting with precision. The score was 50-14 when the James River regulars took a bow from their rabid fans with 4:15 left to play.

Bennett, who led James River with 12 points and 18 rebounds, credited the decisive win to the pressure defense and aggression. Bennett and his teammates hone their skills over the summer on the busy AAU circuit.

“I think our defense was something that [Virginia High] hadn’t seen,” Bennett said. “They struggled really hard getting shots off. When they were able to get a shot, it was contested.”

James River relied on its defense to post emotional wins over George Wythe and Radford en route to Friday’s quarterfinal matchup, so Goad stuck to the same plan.

“We just thought that our pressure would bother [Virginia High],” Goad said. “We were able to limit what they could do due to the fact they were used to a 2-3 zone.”

“The nucleus of our team played in the final four two years ago. They know what to expect.”

Moore was shadowed on defense by athletic 6-2 sophomore forward Chris Ware, while Humphries checked VHS playmaker Corey Young

Senior post Ahmad Eccleston contributed three blocked shots for VHS, while Moore snared 10 rebounds. Senior Josh Tignor, who led the Bearcats with eight points, returned to the lineup Friday after missing the past two games due to illness.

Despite the frustrating day, Stevens said he enjoyed the adventure of his first season as a head coach at the varsity level.

“When I took this job, I heard that I would be lucky to win 8 to 10 games,” said Stevens, a former basketball standout.  “Nobody predicted us to be here at state. I’m so proud of kids.”

Stevens, who also works in the insurance business, remains an interim coach. He said he will announce later if he will return to the VHS bench full-time next season.