By Sports editor Brian Hoffman
The William Byrd boys got off to a late start in basketball due to the pandemic, but they’re making up for it with a busy schedule of games. Byrd has four games scheduled in eight days beginning with Wednesday of this week.
The Terriers were home against Cave Spring on Wednesday, but results were too late for publication. On Friday they play at Hidden Valley, followed by home games against Northside and Glenvar on Monday and Wednesday of next week. The Terriers are only playing Roanoke County schools with “fanless” gyms due to the pandemic.
The Byrdmen opened at Glenvar last Friday with a 76-63 loss in a very unusual setting. Along with having no fans, the team sat “social distanced” in the bleachers behind the coaches and everyone not playing had to wear a mask. It was a quiet atmosphere save for the players on the bench making some noise and the Glenvar cheerleaders.
“It was like an episode of ‘The Twight Zone’,” said Byrd coach Josh Cunningham. “There was a weird feeling to everything. Some aspects were good, as the players could hear what you were saying. But we’re all competitive and you want that pressure of a packed gym. At the end of the day, I’m just glad we were playing. There was a point where I didn’t think we’d get to play at all.”
Byrd led 37-35 at the half before the wheels fell off. Glenvar outscored the Terriers 15-10 in the third quarter and 26-16 in the fourth, led by standout Stephen Barber, who had 30 points.
“I was a little disappointed in our defense,” said Cunningham. “I think both teams did some good things offensively, especially with a limited amount of practice, but our defense needs to be better.”
Trevor Ruble and Camden Richardson led Byrd with 15 points each. Cade Hanson had 13 and Ethan Tinsley had nine. Byrd was missing Jamie Cawley and Tyler Martin, two bigs who would have helped around the basket against Barber. They’re both expected to be back this week.
The Byrd junior varsity picked up a win against Glenvar. Jaylen Wheeler filled in for Tyler Goodman as coach and picked up his first win.
