Northside HS, Roanoke, VA –
Lord Botetourt and Northside showed what area high school basketball is all about. The two rivals battled to a 66-66 tie at the end of thirty two minutes. Botetourt F 15 Conner Tilley buried a contested three in the corner in front of his bench as time expired in regulation to send it to an extra period. The high arching jumper hit nothing but net as it went through the iron. From there the Vikings really separated themselves on the foul line. That was the difference. The aggressive driving Vikes shot ten overtime free throws compared to only two for the visitors. All the extra time points from the field were inside the paint from both teams, as the two teams raced up and down the court. 
It was a great playoff game. The only thing missing was the rabid crowd that most assuredly would have been present. They most undoubtedly would have been loud and entertained if the current pandemic situation hadn’t kept them home. Botetourt’s play was not a surprise to their head coach Andrew Hart. “We have been proud of them all year. We did what we are capable of doing.
Northside G 11 Lawrence Cole
We just had a couple plays some-where there in the third quarter that kind of let them back in the game. Then it was going to be what we thought it was going to be all along – who was going to make the last shot. “Northside had to fight their way back into the tie in the second half as Botetourt had them down eight late in the contest.
Coach Pope was impressed with his team’s pluck, “They went up eight deep in the second half, but our guys kept battling… kept playing hard.
Viking G/F 10 Ayrion Journiette defends Botetourt G/F 1 Tyler Meade
The biggest thing that I am so proud about this group is that they never stop playing hard. It’s easy to say that but hard to actually do it.” And ‘hard’ is what it took.
Northside G/F 11 challenges Botetourt F 4 Kyle Arnholt
First Half – Botetourt came out firing and really attacking Northside’s full court press, with stout guard play and the occasional ‘baseball pass’ out of bounds for an easy two at the other end. That help keep the Vikings honest and made them defend the length of the court. LB jumped out to a 12-3 lead at 3:52 on a layup by (F 1 Tyler) Meade on a deep inbounds pass. Northside stormed back on a ‘hoop and harm’, bucket and foul shot by F 23 Jamison Foley.
G/F 23 Jamison Foley goes up with a jumper
He drew it on F 4 Kyle Arnholt. Both big men battled all night. Foley finished with sixteen. Arnholt chipped in with twelve. Both eventually fouled out. Foley hit a ‘rainbow three’ as the first period ended to tighten the game up at 18-17, Botetourt’s favor. Coach Pope gave the Cavaliers a lot of credit. “Botetourt was really terrific from start to finish. (They) did some nice stuff on offense… shot the ball…Wow! (F 15 Conner) Tilley was fantastic shooting but he wasn’t the only one. They just put a lot of pressure on us. We had to win a completely different way than we have won this year… and all on the spot.”
Cavalier G/F 15 Conner Tilley strokes a three
The man of the night for Northside was Sophomore G/F 11 Lawrence Cole as he poured in twenty six on the night. Matching that in the red jersey was Tilley, who also tallied twenty six. Cole got most of his points going to the rim and shooting foul shots. Tilley hit a game high seven three’s, two in the second quarter alone. The other noticeable action in this game was the sheer number of substitutes. Both teams played a lot of people and ran their stars in and out to give them a blow from time to time. The half ended with Botetourt extending their lead to 40-35.
Northside G/F 10 Ayrion Journiette draws contact
Second Half – Northside continued to drive the ball and pound the boards at the outset of the second half. Of their thirteen points in the quarter ten, came in the paint. Meanwhile LB maintained their lead. The Cavs also worked the ball inside, back door cuts and beating the press was what fueled them. Coach Pope was analytical and honest about the situation his Vikings found themselves in, “Every game is kind of like a fingerprint. They each have their own uniqueness. We have been behind in (big) games. We were behind last Friday night with :30 to go (vs Byrd). They (our kids) have amazing poise. I was really proud of that. It did not look good for us.” Botetourt was continuing to do what Botetourt does – run their offense, back cut and look for the open shot. Botetourt’s foul trouble was starting to mount.
Cavalier F 4 Kyle Arnholt shows great body control as he makes a contested reverse layup
F 4 Arnholt, G 3 Dylan Salvi, and G 12 Owen Prince had three fouls each. That on top of one of their normal Senior contributors, G/F 11 Tanner Selkirk didn’t make the trip due to Strep.
Lord Botetourt G 5 Jackson Crawford goes up against G/F 11 Lawrence Cole
LB was taking on water. Even so Coach Hart was pleased with his team’s effort. Junior F 15 Conner Tilley was filling it up from behind the arc and Sophomore F 1 Tyler Meade hasn’t been playing like a Sophomore. “Tyler’s (G/F 1 Meade) really come along… really impressed with what he’s done. He’s been a great player for us. Tilley can really fill it up and he’s really, really good when he gets going. He got going tonight. That really helped us get an early lead. Coaching wise, we didn’t do a good job of getting him more looks in the second half. We kind of needed to.” At quarter’s end LB still maintained a lead, 52-48.
Everything was contested in this battle
That’s when a fire was lit under the Vikings. Northside started to close the gap to 56-54 on two free throws by Cole at the 3:57 mark. Twenty seven seconds later it was tied at fifty six.
Cav F 4 Arnholt powers up against Northside defender 14 Keenan Bishop
LB F 15 Conner Tilley hits a three to tie the game in regulation
Foley put the Vikes up for the first time with a bucket inside but Arnholt tied it back up himself, with a strong move inside himself. Back an forth it went. Northside F 10, Aryion Journiette, who finished with a quiet twenty one, scored on a strong drive. Arnholt answered again. The Vikings were handing on to a precarious two point lead with 1:58 left. Cole buried a three for the Vikes on their next trip but Tilley answered with a tre of his own. Foley made one of two after a foul to give the Vikes a 64-61 point lead with :27 left. LB got a two and got the ball back. That set up Tilley’s regulation game-tying three as the buzzer went off.
Overtime – Fun fact, in overtime they flip a coin to determine who get’s the ball out of bounds first. Northside won the flip.
Northside’s one-two punch of G/F 11 Cole and G/F 10 Journiette put Northside up by four early in OT. The duo combined for nine of the Vikings fourteen overtime points.
Botetourt F 15 Tilley blocks a shot attempt by Viking G/F 10 Journiette
It became a hill that Cavs just couldn’t climb in this overtime, on this night. Northside made the free throws late and survived for another game. Cole was especially important on this night. Coach Pope talked about a few guys who made a big difference. “(G/F 11 Cole) He made some really big baskets when we were down eight. Lawrence (Cole) played really well. Sid (G 22 Webb) played fantastic tonight. We had a lot of good contributions. Jamison played terrific… a lot of guys.” 
Coach Hart gave the Vikings credit for what they do and the comeback win. “They (Northside) make it tough, are really, really good, physcial, (and) athletic. (They) do everything well that you need to do to win basketball games. But our guys are not going to back down from that. We are going to do what we do. We shot the ball well, drove the ball well, played decent defense. We just didn’t come out on top.
Lord Botetourt finishes their fine season at 10-4. Northside stays unbeaten (10-0) including two overtime wins now. The Vikings move on to the Region finals and will travel on Saturday to take on the the Abingdon Falcons, the number one seed in the region. The Falcons beat Cave Spring 60-46 tonight. Northside has also defeated Cave (twice) this year. Those were Knights only losses.
Northside – Cole 26 pts (8 FG, 1-3 ptrs, 7/9 FT) Journiette 21 pts (8 FG, 5/6 FT) Foley 16 pts (4 FG, 2-3 ptrs, 2/5 FT) Webb 13 pts (3 FG, 2-3 ptrs, 1/3 FT) Bishop 2 pts (1FG) Abshire 2 pts (1 FG)
Lord Botetourt – Tilley 26 pts (1 FG, 7-3ptrs, 3/4 FT) Meade 14 pts (4 FG, 2-3ptrs) Arnholt 12 pts (6 FG) Crawford 9 pts (2 FG, 1-3ptr, 2/3) O Prince 7 pts (3 FG, 1/1 FT) Harrison 4 pts (2 FG) Salvi 2 pts (1 FG)
