By Robert Anderson
Roanoke Times

FLOYD, Va. – At this rate, Floyd County High School is going to run out of basketballs.
School officials gave Caleb Tanner the game ball two years ago when he scored his 1,000th career point.
The handed him another one in December when he reached 2,000.
Tanner got a third souvenir later this season when he broke Floyd County’s career scoring record.
Thursday night the 6-foot-1 senior guard got the best one yet.
Tanner broke the VHSL career scoring record with a layup with 37.4 seconds left in first quarter against Giles, finishing with 36 points and leading Floyd to an 81-62 victory over the Spartans in a Group 2A Conference 38 semifinal.
Tanner needed 11 points to eclipse the previous record of 2,687 set in 1997 by Stacy Ervin of Twin Springs. He achieved that and more as the Floyd star has 2,713 career points heading into tonight’s championship game at home against Martinsville, a 52-31 winner over Glenvar in the first semifinal.
“I’m just glad we stayed away from elimination, to be honest with you,” Tanner said. “The past three years we’ve been knocked out early in the playoffs. I’m just happy to be able to move on to the next round.”
Ervin, who set the record at a small school in Scott County before a career at Western Carolina and UVa-Wise, drove up from Kingsport, Tenn. to witness Tanner’s feat.
“I really appreciate him,” Tanner said. “That just shows how good of a guy he is. He’s a class act. For him to drive all the way up here to see me break the record, that’s very classy.”
Floyd County (17-5) came out smoking as the Buffaloes built a 32-17 lead. Cole Harris opened Floyd’s scoring with back-to-back 3-pointers, then Tanner and Justin Conduff got in the act from long range.
Giles (12-8) cut the lead to 63-56 with 4:13 to play, but the early hole was too deep.
“We didn’t come to be part of the show,” Giles coach Seth Davis said. “We had eight seniors, and we had one of the best seasons in our program for a while.
“Obviously, you run into Floyd at Floyd, it’s always a challenge. They shot the ball extremely well. Everybody shot it well, and we didn’t.”
John Shelor, who set a Giles school record for single-season scoring average, fouled out with 22 points in his last game.
“John has been the perfect model for the kids coming up in our program for what hard work means,” Davis said. “He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever been around.”
Shelor was one of several Giles defenders who tried to slow Tanner.
“He’s tough,” Shelor said. “He comes out every night to compete. He’s the best player around in this area. You’ve got to give it to him. He deserves that record.”
Floyd County coach Brian Harman had to balance the hoopla over Tanner’s record pursuit with the bigger goal of qualifying for next week’s Group 2A West regional.
“It was a lot to deal with,” Harman said. “We knew they would come out and try to stop Caleb, so we wanted to get that over with early.
Harman summarized the weight of Tanner’s accomplishment.
“You’ve got to stay healthy and you’ve got have a really good four years,” Harman said. “I’ve been very blessed to have a kid like Caleb. It’s a huge accomplishment. Huge. The hard work he’s put in, he’s well-deserving.”
While Tanner made history, Floyd’s next game will be against the program that stands atop the VHSL record book with 13 state championships.
Martinsville (17-5) had no trouble with Glenvar, forcing 25 turnovers in the first three quarters, mostly with a halfcourt zone defense.

GILES (12-8)
Stephens 6 2-3 4, Shrader 2 0-0 4, Ray 6 0-1 13, Journell 0 0-0 0, Shelor 4 13-14 22, Wilson 2 0-0 5, Buchanan 0 1-2 1, Marshall 1 0-0 2, Palmer 0 0-0 0, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Gilbert 0 0-0 0, Skewes 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 16-20 62.
FLOYD COUNTY (17-5)
Conduff 3 0-0 9, Harris 5 2-2 16, Cook 4 0-0 8, Tanner 13 7-7 36, Neukirch 2 4-4 9, Clemons 0 1-2 1, Stanford 0 0-0 0, Hairston 0 0-0 0, Cromer 0 0-0 0, Woolwine 0 0-0 0, Agee 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 14-15 81.
Giles 15 14 17 16-62
Floyd County 26 16 18 21-81
3-point-goals - Giles 4 (Wilson, Shelor, Ray, Stephens), Floyd County (Harris 4, Tanner 3, Conduff 3). Total fouls - Giles 13, Floyd County 17. Fouled out - Shelor.