The Craig County boys’ basketball team will play host to James River on Thursday night in New Castle. Game time is 6 pm.
The Rockets were in Elliston Monday looking for their first win, and it was also their Pioneer District opener. On Tuesday they were off to Pearisburg for a game with Giles.
Last week Craig dropped two games to Class 3 Staunton River, in Moneta on Monday and in New Castle on Friday. The game at Staunton River was a 70-24 Golden Eagles’ win as Craig got off to a slow start with just three points in the first quarter.
”It was a difficult game as we had trouble with their pressure and athleticism,” said Craig coach Ryan Frazier. “We held them to 10 points in the first quarter, but only scored three ourselves. We were never able to get much going offensively. We weren’t aggressive enough when we got the ball where we needed too.”
On Friday Staunton River came here and scored 70 again. This time the Rockets had 34 but that wasn’t enough to close the gap.
“I thought we played them much better at home, even though the score was only slightly improved,” said Frazier. “Jaycob Wolfe had a good game with 20 points and was very affective working the gaps in their zone defense. Unfortunately, turnovers hurt us again and they shot very well from three for the game. We are improving, and guys are getting valuable experience.”
After Thursday the Rockets are off until December 27 and 28 when they play in the Brookville tournament. The first night Staunton River and Appomattox will play at 5:30 pm followed by Craig against host Brookville. On Saturday, December 28, the two winners will play for the championship and Fridays’ losers will meet for third place.
The tournament is hosted by Brookville coach Cameron Shepherd, a former head basketball coach at Craig County High School.