By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — Doggone. Carroll County came to T-Town cold but took advantage of opportunity some Tazewell generosity and slipped away with a 62-50 Southwest District victory over the Bulldogs Tuesday.
The Cavaliers (13-2, 6-0) maintained their hold first place hold in the district as the Bulldogs (8-7, 2-2) were left to ponder what might have been.
Carroll held the Dogs to only 21 first half points, grabbing a second quarter lead they never surrendered. The Cavaliers played smart over the final two quarters to maneuver to their second victory of the season over Tazewell, which could not overcome a second-half injury to dependable Noah Walker. Walker left with a leg injury, missing nearly half the third quarter and the Cavaliers rallied to take a commanding lead.
Sharp-shooting Ryan Gravely, hitting 6-for-7 at the line in the fourth stanza, was pivotal for the Cavaliers and he was ably assisted by Austin Horton, whose inside play seemed to spark Carroll County at opportune times all evening. Gravely took game scoring honors with 20 points and Horton added 13.
“We were very fortunate to get this win and get that lead in the second half,” noted Cav coach Brad Hawks. “We came out cold as ice there for a while and we were able to step it up a little after halftime and get ahead. It looked for a long time like this game could go either way. It feels good, though, to get a big district win on the road. I’m proud of our guys for doing what had to be done to make that happen.”
Noah Walker skied for a couple of early lay-ups and Jalen Jordan hit a shot off the glass before Chris Smoot ended the opening stanza with a long trey as the Cavaliers grabbed an 11-10 advantage.
Both Walkers started hot in the second stanza for the Bulldogs as John hit a 3 from the corner, then dropped in a paint bucket before Noah blocked a shot at one end and came down to lay one up at the other to give Tazewell a 19-16 advantage.
Duncan Reece’s bucket tied the score at 19-all nearly two minutes later, and Smoot’s spin move in the lane put CCHS ahead 21-19 with 2:15 to go in the second period. The Cavaliers methodically worked their way to a 27-21 lead at the break, capitalizing on three consecutive Bulldog turnovers at one point.
“We had them where wanted them (Carroll County) at one point but we let it slip away,” sighed Tazewell coach Lee Walker. “I am not taking anything away from Carroll but they were not playing their usual game tonight and we just could not take advantage of that. Too many turnovers. We have to step up and help each other. We were not patient. There were times we just didn’t work the ball to the right side and we were off balance. I’m disappointed that we didn’t work as a team to make this a better ball game.”
Tazewell made an early run in the second half, cutting the Cavalier lead to two points, at 36-34, on Jalen Jordan’s lay-up with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
Smoot then scored, Gunner Beamer got a bucket, and Conner Lundy’s deep corner trey combined to work around a couple of Bulldog baskets and Carroll emerged with a 45-38 edge at the end of three quarters.
In the final frame, the Cavaliers patiently worked the ball around, giving Tazewell a scant opportunity for a comeback. Carroll ran almost three minutes off the clock at one point as the Bulldogs were held scoreless while the seconds ticked away, getting — and missing — just two shots during that span from the 5:50 mark to the 2:20 mark, when Noah Walker’s lay-up broke the scoreless string.
By then, Carroll was ahead by 10 and methodically controlled the pace to the end. Jalen Jordan was saddled with 4 fouls for much of the second half and fouled out near game’s end.
Noah Walker had another dandy game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots in less than three full quarters of play.
“When he (Walker) took time out with that injury, we just went right inside and got a lead,” said Cavalier Austin. “Coach (Hawks) saw that the middle was wide open and we tried to take advantage of that. It helped us there in the second half when Tazewell was making a run. My job was to help control the pace of the game and I knew what I was supposed to do. The guys on the outside were taking care of business, too.”
Christian Lewis and John Walker both chipped in with 11 points for the Bulldogs and Ryan Hankins grabbed 6 rebounds.
“We came out flat-footed in the second half,” noted Lewis. “We know we have to do better than that. It’s difficult to look back right now at this game because if we had played better defense mid-way through the second half we could have turned this around. We just didn’t score enough in the first half, either. We had our chances. We’ll see Carroll County again pretty soon, and next time we have to take better shots.”
Carroll County was a steady 12-of-18 at the free throw line were close with 10-for-19 at the stripe.
Tazewell plays tonight at Galax and Carroll County will travel to Richlands Saturday for an approximate 3:30 start.

At Tazewell Middle School
CARROLL COUNTY (13-2, 6-0)
Ryan Gravely 20, Chris Smoot 5, Gunner Beamer 6, Conner Lundy 6, Cody Keith 4, Wes Smoot 4, Duncan Reece 2, Austin Horton 13, Lucas Holder 2. Totals 19 4 12-18 62.
Tazewell (8-7, 2-2)
Noah Walker 13, Blake Hash 5, Christian Lewis 11, John Walker 11, Jalen Jordan 8, Ryan Hankins 1, Mikal Moore 1. Totals 17 2 10-19 50.
Carroll County..................11 16 18 17 — 62
TAZEWELL.......................10 11 17 12 — 50
Three-point goals: CC, 4 (Lundy 2, Smoot, Beamer). TZ, 2 (C. Lewis, J. Walker). Fouled out: TZ, Jordan.