The varsity Floyd County Buffaloes basketball squad that took down difficult opponents like the Radford Bobcats in a tough Senior Night home game a week ago, continued to master comebacks Friday night with a 76-68 win over the Carroll County Cavaliers on the Alan Cantrel Court of their home school.
Senor Kaiden Swortel, who is slated to play college football at the Citadel in South Carolina, had the lead in scoring with 17 points, dominating play on the boards. Cavin Herrington matched the point total of 17 and Micah Underwood’s 16. AJ Cantrell had 9, and Rylan Swortzel 8 for the night.
The Buffaloes got off to a rocky start, falling behind the Cavaliers by double digits right after the opening tip-off, but the Floyd team fought and trailed by just three points at the end of the first quarter.
The Buffaloes outscored the Cavaliers in the last three quarters, 22-17, 19-13, and 18-7 to a tight finish before a large, rambunctious crowd and foul shots helped make the difference as the second wound down in the final quarter.
Carroll County led Flod in three-point goals 11-4, but key shots came from Undewood’s two and single ones by Cantell and Isaac Bishop.
The win put the Buffaloes’ record at 7-2 in Three ®ivers District play and 16-4 overall.
The Senior Night set of games Friday included a loss by the Lady Buffaloes to the Lady Cavaliers, who dominated the game from the start, beating the host team 66-31.
In the JV match, the Buffaloes went down to the wire before pulling ahead enough to beat the Cavs 54-051 in an exciting game, a good sign for the future of Buffaloes basketball.
The usually-tough Lady Buffs appeared off-sync in the game, dominated by the Lady Cavs, 66-31. The Floyd squad fell behind 19-11 in the first quarter and were outscored 23-6 in the second, 17-6 in the third before tying the scoring seven all in the fourth. That wasn’t enough.
The usually-dominating score leader Kiley Hylton mustered 11 points and was the only Lady Buff in double digits. Mackenzie Thompson had 6, Carly Thompson 4, Destiny Harman 2, and Leah Hamlin 2. The Lady Buffs, often strong in three-point play, only had two with one apiece by Hylton and Carroll.
A tough loss late in the season, a time when final record counts determine positions in district and regional tournaments. Even so, the loss puts the Lady Buiffs’ record at 8-2 in district play and 16-5 overall.
More photos and details in the next edition of The Floyd Press.
