Botetourt’s 12 Owen Prince gets a steal in the first half
Lord Botetourt HS, Daleville,VA – The Pulaski County Cougars rolled into
Daleville with designs on handing the
Cavaliers their first loss in the new basketball year. That didn’t happen. Pulaski’s explosive athletes were held at bay for the better part of the game. The Cavalier guards again sped up their opponents. Botetourt Coach Andrew Hart likes his front court’s intensity. “We need them to be bulldogs. That’s what this team needs them to do. 
Just let the other stuff fall into place. They have done a good job these first couple games.”
Part of that may have come from the fact that the Pulaski Cougars were Coach Hart’s former team He left there two year’s earlier. So to say the Botetourt coach understood what his Cavs were going to be facing may be a bit of an understatement. “They have athletes who can get offensive rebounds. Of course, I am very familiar with them. I coached those guys. I know just how good they are and they showed it tonight.” At game’s end, Botetourt pulled away in the fourth quarter again, 66-57.
Botetourt’s Forward 4 Kyle Arnholt scores against Cougar Forward 5 A.J. McCloud
For the second game in a row, Senior Forward 4 Kyle Arnholt led the Cavaliers in the scoring department. The Senior bagged 23 points in his second consecutive twenty point plus game. He’s averaging 24 points through the first two contests. Not bad for a young man heading to Appalachain State University on a football scholarship next year. Junior Forward 15 Conner Tilley pitched in 15 points on the night, most of his points came in the fourth quarter when the Cavs needed it most. Pulaski County’s result was more balanced. Forward 1 J.J. Gulley led the Cougars with twelve points, Forward 5 A.J. McCloud and Guard 2 Josh Bourne added eleven each, while Guard 3 Peyton McDaniel kicked in with nine.
Pulaski’s A.J. McCloud runs the court
First Half – Botetourt’s Arnholt wasted little time warming up in the game against the visiting Cougars. The big forward scored all of the Cavaliers first quarter points with two field goals and two three pointers. Pulaski spread their points around, but on 5/13 first quarter shooting could only push out to a 15-10 lead in the first stanza. When asked if the Cavs were a second half team this year, Coach Hart didn’t hesitate, “I don’t know yet. We really don’t know. With Covid (the pandemic) and everything, its all up in the air. We are just feeling it out. We’ve played two nights in a row. It was like our second scrimmage, and we’re just trying to figure things out.”
The second quarter was more Arnholt, adding three more points along with buckets by Guard 3 Dylan Salvi and Forward 15 Conner Tilley getting into the mix. Pulaski extended their lead to 23-18 at the half, on the play of Forward 5 A.J. McCloud and Guard 4 Jerze Johnson, who added two buckets each.
McCloud and Cavalier Senior Forward 11 Tanner Selkirk battled each other all night on both sides of the court, including on the boards and out in space. In essence, those efforts diminished some of both player’s scoring ability. If you weren’t at the game that important fact might go unnoticed. Selkirk, a Southeastern University signee, finished with six points and McCloud concluded the night with eleven.
Cavalier Guard 2 Logan Bramblett sinks a three pointer
Second Half – Botetourt, for the second night in a row came out in the second half on fire. Whatever Coach Hart’s halftime speeches entail, someone needs to bottle them up and sell them.
Botetourt’s second half pressure forced a couple turnovers that led to points. The Cavalier rotation of guards has been relentless – 3 Dylan Salvi, 12 Owen Prince, 2 Logan Bramblett, and 5 Jackson Crawford. “We are small, but we rotate our guards in, keep them fresh… keep the pressure on,” said Hart. Another second half difference was the fact that the Cougar’s McCloud made up his mind to go down swinging, collecting 7 of his 11 points. He began to take the ball to the basket to try and create some points for the visitors.
Forward 1 J.J. Gulley of Pulaski contests Cav Foward 11 Tanner Selkirk
Selkirk got his points in a quick span in the third quarter as well, while Arnholt added four more buckets in the quarter. Lord Boteourt outpaced the Cougars by 11-points to run out to a 48-42 lead going into the fourth.
In the final quarter, Tilley stepped up with 7 points, 4/4 at the charity stripe. Guard 2 Logan Bramblett added 5 points including a three pointer. Once again, foul shooting was a big advantage for the Cavs. Botetourt finished 12/14 or 86% from the line, while Pulaski was 5/9.
The Cavs were able to make up ground on the Cougars by sharing the basketball late in the game forgoing a good shot to let their teammate get a better one. Coach Hart highlighted that skill, “They are very unselfish, they make the right play. We can make “threes” in transition. We can get to the rim. We like our team. We’ve just got to get better and figure out how to put it all together for four quarters.”
Botetourt’s next game, if all goes well, will be this Tuesday at home versus Franklin County.
Lord Botetourt– Arnholt 23pts (7-FGs, 2-3ptr, 3/4 FTs) Tilley 9pts (2-FGS, 2-3ptr, 5/5 FTs) L Bramblett 8pts (2-FGs, 1-3ptr) Selkirk 6pts (3-FGs, 0/1 FT) Meade 4pts (2-FGs) Salvi 4pts, (2-FGs) Harrison 1pt (2-FGs)
Pulaski County – Gulley 12pts (5-FGs, 2/3 FTs) McCloud 11pts (4 FGs, 3/6 FTs) Bourne 11pts (4-FGs, 1-3ptr) McDaniel 9pts (3-3ptrs) Johnson 4pts (2-FGs) Southerland 4pts (2-FGs) Underwood 2pts (1-FG) O’Neal 2pts (1-FG) Nester 2pts (1-FG)
