Lord Botetourt HS, Daleville, VA –
Last week’s rematch between Radford and Lord Botetourt was cancelled due to weather. Fortunately they rescheduled. In a game closer than the ten point final margin, Radford held off a feisty Cavalier group in Daleville 65-55. The game went back and forth with Radford salting it away at the foul line and on a few break away layups, once time got short in the final quarter. Botetourt needed to make something happen and had to start gambling on steals and fouls. Bobcat G 14 Cam Cormany led Radford with 23 points in a game where LB guarded him everywhere, mostly Botetourt G 3 Dylan Salvi. 
The Cavalier guard’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed by his head coach, “Dylan’s a great defender. Having him out there the entire game really helped. What you ask him to do something he is going to do it.
Radford G 14 Cam Cormany brings the ball up the court against Lord Botetourt G 3 Dylan Salvi
LB’s Tanner Selkirk goes up high for a rebound
Sophomore G/F 1 Tyler Meade strokes a three
Cavalier G 5 Jackson Crawford shoots a floater in the lane
He bothered (G 14 Cam) Cormany tonight and he still ended up with 23 points, so that tells you that he’s probably a pretty good player.” It was a quiet twenty-three, but twenty-three, non-the-less for the undefeated Bobcats. Sophomore G/F 1 Tyler Meade led the Cavaliers with sixteen points, providing some much needed firepower throughout the game. Coach Cormany expected a fight out of Botetourt, “I knew it was going to be a war. We needed to be tested like that. It was a great test for us.” The Cavs didn’t have their best night shooting from the field, only 32% from behind the arc, but again you have to credit the Bobcat defense. Botetourt was without the services on F 4 Kyle Arnholt. His scoring and rebounding were missed, not to mention his defensive play. If the Senior had been able to go, he, no doubt, would have shifted the defensive responsibilities around. It would have made last night’s contest even more interesting.
If you haven’t seen Radford play, and not many have this year due to the Covid restrictions, they are tough. Coach Rick Cormany’s club plays lock down defense. They run a tight ship on the offensive end, and when they set picks, they are set. Plus the Bobcats are typically a good shooting team. Last night in Daleville, they struggled from the floor as well, but that had something to do with Botetourt’s “cat and mouse” defense. The game, at times, reminded you of two swarms of bees having at it. Coach Andrew Hart’s Cavs would get the worst of that in the end, as Radford eventually drew enough fouls to spend the back end of the fourth quarter on the line shooting free throws. And the Bobcats quickly illustrated why they call them free, as they went 12/16 in the final quarter and 19/27 on the night. Compare that to LB’s 11/17 at the stripe.
Cam Cormany shoots over Conner Tilley
Coach Cormany expresses his opinion
G/F 1 Tyler Meade squares off with G 14 Cam Cormany
First Half –
Radford started like they were shot out of a canon, running off a quick lead until Senior G/F 11 Tanner Selkirk dropped the first bucket for the home team with nearly three minutes gone. The intensity, especially on defense, was stellar right from the first side out (they don’t jump ball to start the game in the Covid season). Radford may have gotten the early lead on the scoreboard, but LB was ahead on fouls committed. At the end of the first quarter, Radford led 18-11. The Cavs were up 3-0 in fouls. All of the Bobcats points came from inside the paint, with the exception of Cormany’s younger brother, G/F 20, Gavin’s two free throws.
The second quarter was a game of see-saw, as Radford couldn’t shake LB. The Cavs tightened it up a bit at 28-23 at the break. Two tres by F 15 Conner Tilley and G/F 1 Meade kept them in it. Radford didn’t make a “three” in the first half on seven attempts. Botetourt and Radford shadowed each other on both ends of the court.
Coach Cormany likes the series, “This was a physical game. I hope we can continue to play each other. The first game (in Radford) was closer than the score, every possession means something. (It was a) Great, intense basketball game, in my opinion… up and down… two hard playing defensive teams. (Two teams that) Take defense personal, taking being scored on personal.”
Dylan Salvi runs the offense as Bobcat 2 Landon Clark keeps him in check
A mid game scrum for a loose ball
Radford G 12 P.J. Prioleau uses his body for a shot against F 11 Tanner Selkirk
Conner Tilley gets a piece of a Cam Cormany shot in the paint
Second Half –
After the break, Radford turned the heat up a bit. Coach Cormany ran a half court trap where the Bobcats doubled the ball. This caused Botetourt a little bit of an issue, but they adjusted and even closed Radford’s lead to four at 30-26 at the 6:14 mark. LB would eventually get all the way back to a one point game after G/F 1 Meade’s three with three minutes left in the quarter. That’s when Radford’s big man, F/C 34 Alex Kanipe made his presence felt with some offense. Kanipe’s hustle on the court is unmistakeable for a big man. He’s physical and he battles. When G 14 Cam Cormany hit an awkward three at the buzzer, Radford had stretched their lead back out to six, 39-33. 
In the final stanza, F/C 34 Kanipe hit at two and a three on back to back trips down the court. Botetourt’s G/F 15 Tilley got a steal and a bucket to move the margin back to seven at 46-39, but the sledding was going to be tough to get back into the game for the Cavs. Still the Cavs clawed their way back to a one posssession game at 43-46 on one of two foul shots by G/F 22 Bryce Harrison with 2:46 left in the game. Bobcat Coach Cormany was very complimentary of the Cavaliers, “Let’s give Lord Botetourt a lot of credit. They were so scrappy. I thought they outscrapped us. I thought they were hungrier….aggressive, not quitting, making big shots when we would get a bit of a lead.” 
G 14 Cam Cormany answered with a three the old fashioned way on a, bucket and the foul. With six points separating the two clubs again, Tilley got fouled, but could only get one free throw to drop. From that point, Bobcat guards 12 P.J. Prioleau and 24 Nate Wesley both got run out layups off of overplays by LB on the inbounds passes. From there it was ‘tit for tat’ scoring for the most part and Radford was able to get out of town with the win. LB Coach Hart thought his team played hard, but still hasn’t gotten over the hump yet for where they want to be against teams like Radford. “We did a great job. Its a home and away thing… We went down there (Radford) and they played with an incredible amount of intensity and we weren’t just quite ready for them. We get them on the road, up here, where we do have some fans, and we were able to use that to our advantage. Both played really hard, played tough, played physical… pretty much a draw across the board. We fouled them more than they fouled us so that’s what it came down to.” 
Radford, still undefeated at 12-0, and Lord Botetourt (9-2) will both play on Thursday. Radford plays Alleghany and Lord Botetourt will host William Fleming.
Lord Botetourt – Meade 16 pts (2-FG, 3-3ptrs, 3/4 FTs) Tilley 12 pts (2-FGs, 2-3ptrs, 2/4 FTs) O Prince 8 pts (1-FGs, 2-3ptrs) Crawford 7 pts (1-FG, 1-3ptr, 2/2 FTs) Salvi 5 pts (2-FG, 1/2 FT) Selkirk 4 pts (2-FG, 0/2 FT) Harrison 3 pts (1-FG, 1/2 FT)
Radford – C Cormany 23 pts (4FGs, 2-3ptrs, 9/10 FT) Wesley 12 pts (3-FGs, 6/8 FT) Prioleau 11 pts (5-FGs, 1/2 FT) Kanipe 7 pts (2-FG, 1-3ptr) Mitchell 4 pts (2-FG) Clark 2 pts (1-FG) Baylor 2 pts (2/4 FT) G Cormany 2 pts (2/2 FT) Kelly pts (1-FG)
