The Craig County boys basketball team opened at home last week and let a halftime lead slip away in a 57-38 loss to visiting Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy.
“That was a tough one,” said Craig coach Ryan Frazier. “I thought at times we played well enough to win, but let emotions and first game jitters get the best of us.”
Craig got off to a slow start, falling behind 9-2 at the outset. Then Jaycob Wolfe got hot and the Rockets closed to 11-10 by the end of the quarter. Wolfe continued a streak of 12 straight points for Craig, including a pair of three points, and the Rockets raced to a 20-16 lead at the half.
Wolfe picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and sat out the rest of the quarter as the Craig offense stalled against the taller Ospreys. Smith Mountain Lake outscored Craig 22-10 in the third period to go up 38-30 heading into the fourth. Wolfe returned for the fourth period but picked up his fifth foul and the Rockets weren’t able to catch up.
“We had a good first half, mainly due to our defense and rebounding,” said Frazier. “We were able to hold them to one shot each possession. As the game went on foul trouble hurt us, and we started to lose our heads in the second half when things didn’t go our way. There were a lot of positives in how we played the first half, with it being first game and no scrimmages.”
Wolfe led the Rockets with 14 points and Talon Ritter had eight.
“Several guys stepped up off the bench and helped us,” said Frazier. “Some of our younger or inexperienced players did some good things. It will be important to get them some confidence early so they can really complement our returners.”
The Rockets were scheduled to play at Staunton River on Monday of this week but results were too late for publication. They play in Covington against the Boys’ Home tonight then go to Elliston Monday for their Pioneer District opener against Eastern Montgomery.
“We’ll keep working hard to improve our play and mindset to get ready for district play,” said Frazier.
