Free-throw shooting was a struggle early in the season for the Appomattox boys basketball team. The Raiders have found their groove from the charity stripe, though, in recent games, and that proved huge in a Dogwood District showdown with Dan River Wednesday night.
The Raiders hit big free throws down the stretch and held off the Wildcats 67-63 to move into a tie for first in the Dogwood standings.
The teams split the season series, with each team winning on its home floor.
Prep Basketball stats
“I was real pleased,” Appomattox coach Brantley Shields said of his team’s 22 of 27 free-throw shooting. “We struggled from the foul line early in the season. But the last three games, we’ve shot them pretty well. It ended up being pretty big for us.”
Brad Smith scored his only two points from the stripe with 10 seconds left, and after Dan River (14-3, 7-1 Dogwood) pulled back within two, Riann Pradia sealed the game with two more free throws with one second left.
“It’s a big win for our program,” Shields said.
Appomattox (14-2, 7-1) limited Dan River’s Darren White to 12 points, eight after halftime. Kenny Scott scored 21 points to lead the Raiders and Michael St. John added 19. Pradia scored 15.
Appomattox was better defensively against the Wildcats than it was in the first meeting.
“We did a better job attacking them off the dribble,” Shields said. “And we did a better job on the glass. We weren’t giving them a lot of second chances.”
GW-Danville 71, E.C. Glass 55
E.C. Glass senior Alvin Banks scored a career-high 27 points and the Hilltoppers gave GW-Danville a pretty good test before falling in Western Valley District action, Wednesday night at home.
The Eagles (15-1, 4-1 WVD) got 31 points and 14 rebounds from C.J. Barksdale and outscored Glass 25-14 in the fourth quarter to break open a five-point contest.
“We played hard and played well,” Hilltoppers coach Roy Roberson said. “There were just a couple of possessions where we broke down and lost our mental focus and they made us pay. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, they did what they had to do to break it open.”
Glass (1-14, 0-5) also got 13 points from point guard John Adams and 11 from Steve Pannell.
Chris White added 16 points for GW, which trails only William Fleming (17-1, 5-0) in the district standings.
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