The Craig County basketball team hopes to celebrate Christmas with a winning record as the boys have four games in the span of seven days before breaking for the holidays. The Rockets go into the stretch at 2-2.
Craig was scheduled to host Highland County on Tuesday, followed by a game at Narrows on Thursday. Saturday they’re at Bland, and the Rockets wrap up the pre-Christmas schedule with a trip to Roanoke Valley Christian next Monday, December 18.
The Rockets split two games last week, beginning with a 52-30 win over Buffalo Gap in New Castle. Hayden Reynolds led Craig in scoring with 18 points, Matthew Lucas scored 14, Jaycob Wolfe chipped in with seven and Talon Ritter had six.
“It was a great team effort,” said coach Ryan Frazier. “Defensively we played a really good game and held them to single digit points in each of the first three quarters. More importantly we were able to limit them to one shot on a possession with good solid rebounding.”
Seth Parson and Luke Potter provided a spark from the bench on defense that set the tone for the game. Craig was able to maintain the lead from halftime, 25-9, and expanded on it in the second half.
“We are showing some signs of maturity in being able to close out games like this,” said Frazier. “In years past we may not have had the cutting edge to see a game out and maintain the lead. We were able to move to 2-0 on our home floor this year, aided by some really good home support.”
A night later the Rockets hosted Roanoke Valley Christian and dropped a 41-33 decision.
“This was a tough one to take, as we played well enough to win,” said Frazier. “RVC is a solid team with some good size. Drew Duncan did a really good job keeping their big guys quiet for most of the game.”
Craig struggled shooting the ball, hitting just 11 of 48 attempts, including three for 26 from three point range.”
“Most games that teams shoot that poorly lose by 20 points,” said Frazier. “Our guys fought hard and worked to win this game, and given those percentages it was a five point game with about two minutes left.
“I am really proud of how our guys responded in this game and never stopped pushing until the final whistle. This is not the case of hanging our heads, as there were plenty of
Lucas finished with 17 points, Wolfe had seven and Potter added five.
“We made a lot of plays defensively to give us a chance,” said Frazier. “If we keep getting better and play defense like we did, we will have a chance in every game no matter how well we shoot.”
