The William Byrd boys will be looking to hold on to third place in the
Blue Ridge District standings when they play host to Lord Botetourt on Friday
night. Byrd is currently 3-3 in the district while LB is 2-2.
The top two spots belong to William Fleming and Northside, who are both
5-0 in district play and yet to meet. The first game between the two will be Friday
at Northside and they’ll play again to end the regular season on February 13 at
Fleming.
Byrd got a look at both of them in the past week and came up short both
times. Last Wednesday at home the Terriers lost to Northside, 80-56.
“I thought our guys really competed and played hard,” said Byrd coach
Brad Greenway. “We handled their press well and we hung as long as we could.
We just cannot match their scoring at the end of the day.”
The game was tied at 14-14 after one quarter before the Vikings opened a
10 point lead at the half, 37-27. Cy Hardy scored 11 points in the third quarter as
the Vikings pulled away. He finished with 18 and running mate Mykell Harvey
had 17. Freshman center Brayden Ragland led Northside with 21.
“Between the two guards and that post player they are extremely difficult
to defend,” said Greenway.
Isaiah Board and Hayden Eads led Byrd with 13 points each.
On Saturday the Terriers played the second game of a doubleheader with
the girls and came out on top, 59-48, against Staunton River in Moneta. The game
was tied at the half, 27-27, but the Terriers outscored the Eagles 20-4 in the third
quarter to open a big lead.
“We did a good job of coming out in a Saturday afternoon game and
getting the job done,” said Greenway. “Sometimes playing a game in the
afternoon in someone else’s gym, when it’s a little bit quiet and not a lot of
energy, can present problems. Our guys handled that. Always a good win beating
the guys down 24.”
Eads led Byrd with 18, including 10 in the second half.
“I thought Eads had one of his best games in our uniform with a double-
double and just one turnover,” said Greenway. “I was really proud of how he
played in that game. He is quietly having a good second half of the season for us.”
Board had 12 points and Jaden Holmes had 10.
On Tuesday Byrd got a taste of the other district leader when the Terriers
travelled to Roanoke to take on Fleming. Byrd hung tough, trailing by just four at
the half and seven after three quarters, but the Colonels had too much firepower
and took a 56-37 win. Board had 10 points for Byrd, Eads had eight and Luke
Helton battled underneath to finish with seven.
“We just weren’t able to match up with them well enough,” said
Greenway. “They crushed us on the boards, and they shot it well in the second
half. Between their athleticism and their size they present a lot of problems for
us.”
With the loss Byrd fell to 8-9 overall. The Terriers were scheduled to play
a non-district game with Christiansburg on Wednesday but results were too late
for publication.
After Friday’s home game with LB the Terriers won’t be home again for
the rest of the regular season. They finish up with four games on the road,
beginning Tuesday night in Rocky Mount against Franklin County.
