After squandering a big early lead, Richlands outscored Carroll County 14-2 over the final four minutes to rally for a 56-50 Southwest District victory Dec. 22 in Hillsville.

Richlands (2-0) used its size advantage to build a 30-18 lead late in the first half before the winless Cavaliers began storming back to make a strong upset bid against the team many picked to win the district this year.

Carroll County (0-6, 0-2 SWD) scored the last four points of the first half to pull to within eight. The late second-quarter surge also ignited a larger 30-15 Carroll County run that gave the Cavs a 48-45 advantage with 5:15 to play.

Adam Crotts pulled the Cavs to within 32-28 with a free throw midway through the third quarter and scored inside off an assist from Mac Martin to make it 36-32. Richlands answered with back-to-back baskets before Martin scored off a Reavis dish to trim Richlands’ lead back to 40-34 heading into the final quarter.

Carroll took control early in the fourth as Eric Marshall scored inside and Ryan Gravley nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Cavs to within 40-39 with seven minutes to go. After feeding Martin for a basket, Marshall gave the Cavs their first lead of the second half at 43-42 after grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring off an assist from Martin.

Martin, who led Carroll with 15 points and 10 rebounds, increased the lead to 45-42 with 5:15 to play with a stickback of a Crotts miss. Devon Johnson and Gunner McGee gave the lead back to the Blue Tornado with back-to-back baskets, but Gravely answered with a 3-pointer to put Carroll back in front 48-46 with 4:05 to play.

After that it was all Richlands, however, as the Blues finished the game on a 14-2 run. After a made free throw, Richlands forced a Cavalier turnover and Crotts was whistled for his fifth foul with 3:22 remaining. Austin Johnson’s steal and layup put Richlands ahead 49-48 with three minutes to play, and Carroll did not score again until the final 12 seconds.

“That was a huge loss for us because Adam represents about 60 percent of our rebounding, at least half of our rebounds,” Carroll County head coach Brad Hawks said. “Sizewise, they had us outsized at almost every position.”

Devon Johnson’s stickback with 2:06 to play increased Richlands’ lead to 51-48. The Blues then made 4-of-8 free throws down the stretch to ice the game as Carroll was unable to make a field goal the rest of the way.

The Cavs made 9-of-16 free throws, but three of the misses were the on the front ends of one-and-one situations. The Cavs also committed 22 turnovers compared to just 16 assists.

“To me it is the same story — not making free throws down the stretch, giving up big rebounds and turning it over,” Hawks said. “They came out in that extended 1-3-1 and we were penetrating the wing and making layups against it and we did a great job for a while, but we have got to quit turning the ball over so much.”

Austin Johnson scored 19 points to lead Richlands, while James Patton added 10 points. With several key transfers and a solid nucleus of returning players, Richlands was tabbed by many as the favorite to win the district. The fact that Carroll has gone toe-to-toe with them and Abingdon gives the Cavs plenty of hope for the remainder of the district schedule.

“We are going to win some games. Those are supposed to be two of the best teams in the district and we were in the game with both of them,” Hawks said.

Martin’s double-double led the Cavs, while Gravely scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers.

Richlands 9 21 10 16 — 56

Carroll Co. 9 13 12 16 — 50

Richlands — Austin Johnson 8 2-3 19, Overton 1 0-2 2, Tatum 2 0-1 5, Patton 3 4-6 10, D. Johnson 4 1-2 9, McGee 3 1-2 8, C. Johnson 1 0-0 3. 3-pointers — Au. Johnson 1, Tatum 1, McGee 1, C. Johnson 1.

Carroll — E. Marshall 2 0-0 4, Reavis 1 6-8 8, Gravely 5 0-3 13, Martin 7 1-1 15, R. Marshall 0 1-2 1, Crotts 4 1-2 9. 3-pointers — Gravely 3.

Galax 83, Carroll Co. 66

Deion George and Justin Hash combined to score 48 points as Galax pulled away in the second half for an 83-66 nondistrict victory over Carroll in Hillsville on Dec. 23.

George led all scorers with 25 points, while Hash hit four 3-pointers and scored 23 to lead Galax (5-1) to the victory.

Behind a 24-point effort from Mac Martin and Tyler Reavis’ 13 points and seven assists, the Cavs trailed just 36-32 at the half. The Maroon Tide outscored Carroll 23-16 in the third to take a 59-48 lead into the final quarter, however. Galax added six more points to its advantage over the final eight minutes.

Galax 14 22 23 24 — 83

Carroll 13 19 16 18 — 66

Galax — George 25, Hash 23, Cox 10, McKinney 7, Brown 7, Bond 5, Goins 3, Martin 3. 3-pointers — Hash 4, George 1, Bond 1, Cox 1.

Carroll — Martin 24, Reavis 13, Crotts 9, Gravely 6, Noonkester 5, Alley 4, Frazier 3, E. Marshall 2. 3-pointers — Martin 2, Noonkester 1, Crotts 1.