The William Byrd boys will play host to William Fleming on Saturday in a big Conference 24 basketball game. The jayvee game will start at 4 pm with the varsity to follow at approximately 5:30 pm.
This game will be important for seeding for the post-season conference tournament. As it stands Byrd, Fleming and Pulaski County are all vying for the top seed in the tournament. The Terriers will play at Pulaski on Wednesday of next week.
“As far as seeding goes, all the games are important because they go by overall record,” said Byrd coach Kevin Tuck. “But if we can give Fleming and Pulaski a loss, that would certainly help our standing.”
Fleming won the first meeting, 48-41, in Roanoke back in December. A Byrd win on Saturday would keep the Colonels from owning a possible tie-breaker. Coming into the week Fleming was 9-4 and Byrd was 9-5.
We’re starting to get to the back half of the season,” said Tuck. “They’re all big at this point.”
The Terriers won both their games last week. On Wednesday they beat Lord Botetourt, 62-40, in Daleville. Byrd trailed by a point after the first quarter but broke it open in the second period, outscoring the Cavaliers 21-9.
Devon Kasey played just three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but still ended up with 17 points on seven-for-eight shooting with six rebounds. Kasey was also three-for-three from the line and the Terriers were perfect in 11 tries as a team. Steven Olsen contributed 12 points against Botetourt while Alex Fitch, Terrell Smith, Jaylen Wheeler and Shawn Williams had six each.
On Friday in Vinton Byrd came out smoking for a 64-48 win over visiting Rockbridge. The Terriers raced to a 20-4 lead and never looked back. Rockbridge outscored Byrd in the second half, but the game was never in doubt after the first quarter.
Fitch had his best game of the year for Byrd, scoring 25 points and hitting seven of 12 three pointers. He also had seven rebounds.
The Wildcats had no answer for Kasey underneath the basket as he finished with 17 points and eight boards. Smith had 10 points and Wheeler had 10 assists, and everyone on the team got in the game.
The win was Byrd’s third in a row, and the Terriers were scheduled to play at 2-10 Salem on Wednesday night. Next Tuesday, January 24, the boys meet Staunton River in the second game of a doubleheader with the girls. The girls will play at 5:30 pm, followed by the boys at 7 pm. The jayvee teams play Staunton River at Byrd on Monday, same times.
