Saturday, January 28, 2012
Moats finds his hoops home
Matt Moats scores 13 points as his newest team, LCA, tops his first one, Lord Botetourt.
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ROCKY MOUNT - Matt Moats drives an hour from his home in Blue Ridge to get to school each day at Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg and another hour back.
So who pays for the gas?
"I got a little job to get some gas money," he said.
Moats earns his extra cash going door to door selling knives for a company based in downtown Roanoke. Friday night the 6-foot-7 senior put his wares on display against his former school, Lord Botetourt.
Moats, who played at Botetourt for two seasons from the fall of 2007 until the spring of 2009, scored 13 points as Liberty Christian defeated the Cavaliers 55-43 in the Member One/Time Technologies Classic at Franklin County High School.
The road to LCA has been a long one for Moats in more ways than one. After spending his first two years at Botetourt playing alongside star seniors Rick Alderman and Hunter Foley, he transferred to Roanoke Catholic where he reclassified as a sophomore. He played for the Celtics under Joe Gaither in 2009-10 and for Bill Hodges last year.
Moats' road map out of high school has not been the one he envisioned.
"Not exactly," he said. "I was hoping I'd be at Botetourt my whole career but things didn't work out. Just the team falling apart. All the seniors we had, then we were going to have a younger team and rebuild. It wouldn't be the same. There was stuff that was happening. I just wanted to get a fresh start.
"Then I went to Catholic and things didn't work out there. LCA just seemed like a perfect fit. It was like a family coming here, and I didn't know anybody."
Moats said he almost left Catholic after the 2009-10 season when Gaither became an assistant at another Lynchburg school, Virginia Episcopal. Instead, he stayed in Roanoke and played for Catholic on a front line that included 6-foot-11 Wake Forest-bound center Andre Washington.
After the 2010-11 season, Hodges left Catholic for North Cross. Washington followed suit and enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy.
"I wanted to follow Coach Joe to VES but some of the teachers and coaches, especially with Andre Washington coming in, persuaded me to stay," Moats said. "Coach Hodges left, I knew it was time for me to leave."
Moats said he chose LCA for a variety of reasons. One, he did not want to attend a boarding school. Also, he suffered a broken foot.
"After I broke my right foot, LCA was like the only school still chasing me. I was pretty pumped that they still wanted me there," he said.
Moats then broke his other foot in a pickup game, which prevented him from playing football this fall and slowed his progress this winter.
"He wasn't really even starting to practice until after the new year," LCA coach Jeff Platt said. "It's just been a slow process for him.
"He's skilled enough where he can turn and face and hit that little shot and drive. He'll get a little more lift once he can get in top condition. Even not at 100 percent, he's a presence for us. I think he's going to get better with every game."
Three years ago, Moats played for Botetourt against LCA in the Member One tournament on the same floor. Last year he played in the tournament for Catholic. Friday, he came full circle, facing the Cavaliers.
"I loved it," Moats said. "I've grown up playing with those kids since middle-school days. It was great to see them all again."
Moats said he's not certain what uniform he might wear next year. Platt, a first-year LCA head coach, doesn't have a read on college interest.
"He's a great kid, a fun kid to be around," Platt said. "Matt's got a bright future. What level he can play at remains to be seen."
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN (7-11)
Barrick 4 2-2 11, Clinton 0 0-0 0, Moats 4 5-6 13, Farrow 5 5-8 15, Broda 2 0-0 5, Pollard 1 3-3 5, Vestal 1 0-0 2, Hackley 1 0-0 2, Jauch 0 0-0 0, Swanson 0 0-0 0, Pendleton 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 15-19 55.
LORD BOTETOURT (6-12)
Hickman 3 0-0 6, Hassell 2 0-0 6, Smith 3 0-0 6, Goode 3 1-1 8, Matthias 1 2-2 4, Kelly 2 0-0 4, Hampton 0 0-0 0, Thacker 1 2-2 4, Oliver 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-7 43.
Liberty Christian 19 7 14 15-55
Lord Botetourt 11 6 12 14-43
3-point-goals - Liberty Christian 2 (Broda, Barrick), Lord Botetourt 3 (Thacker 2, Goode). Total fouls - Liberty Christian 12, Lord Botetourt 10. Fouled out - none.
Oak Hill 91, Blue Ridge 64
UCLA recruit Jordan Adams scored a game-high 20 points as the nation's No.1-ranked team in the USA Today prep poll cruised to its 31st win against no losses.
Georgetown signee D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and R.J. Currington scored 16 points apiece for Oak Hill. Tyler Lewis, an N.C. State recruit, added 15 points for the Warriors, who hit nine 3-pointers.
Blue Ridge was led by Jarod Williams with 15 points and Paris Maragkos with 10.
BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL
Williams 7 0-0 15, Fields 3 2-6 9, Maragkos 4 1-2 9, Smith 4 2-2 10, Jackson 3 3-4 9, Ramsey 0 0-0 0, Pegram 0 0-0 0, Roberts 1 0-0 2, Ginsberg 1 0-0 3, Enriquez 0 0-0 0, Gray 0 0-0 0, Burnashov 1 0-0 2, Francisco 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 8-14 64.
OAK HILL ACADEMY (31-0)
Hall 5 1-3 11, Clark 3 0-0 6, Smith-Rivera 6 1-1 16, Lewis 6 1-1 15, Adams 8 2-2 20, Tebbutt 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 1-2 1, Currington 3 8-9 16, Iroegbu 2 0-0 4, Ieronymides 1 0-0 2. Totals 34 14-15 91.
Blue Ridge School 18 12 15 19-64
Oak Hill 24 18 29 20-91
3-point-goals - Blue Ridge 4 (Fields, Williams, Ginsberg, Francisco), Oak Hill 9 (Smith-Rivera 3, Lewis 2, Adams 2, Currington 2). Total fouls - Blue Ridge 14, Oak Hill 11. Fouled out - none.
Stonewall Jackson 68, Franklin County 46
J.R. Washington hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the first quarter to power Stonewall to an easy win over the Eagles in the nightcap.
Washington finished with six 3-pointers and a game-high 36 points for Stonewall, which will remain in the Roanoke Valley to play at Patrick Henry at 2 p.m.
Mac Phillips scored 11 points for Franklin County, which trailed 39-23 at halftime. The Eagles played for the second straight game without starting center Jalen Robertson, who suffered a severely sprained ankle last Saturday. The 6-foot-7 Robertson might be sidelined for the remainder of the season, Eagles coach Lloyd Church said before the game.
STONEWALL JACKSON (15-4)
Stubbs 1 2-2 4, Lett 2 0-0 4, Ali 3 0-0 6, Washington 12 6-7 36, Finzel 5 0-0 11, Stroman 0 0-0 0, Judson 0 0-0 0, Dennis 1 0-0 2, Shrestha 0 0-0 0, Berchie 0 0-0 0, Lucas 0 2-2 2, Frye 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 11-13 68.
FRANKLIN COUNTY (8-11)
Phillips 5 1-3 11, R.Witcher 2 0-2 4, Adams 3 0-0 6, Flynn 0 1-2 1, Clements 1 0-2 2, Ellis 3 0-1 7, Lambert 0 0-0 0, Ridgeway 3 0-1 7, Ponder 0 0-0 0, Blankenship 1 2-2 4, Alderman 0 0-0 0, Harper 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 4-13 48.
Stonewall Jackson 22 17 15 14-68
Franklin County 7 16 14 11-48
3-point-goals - Stonewall Jackson 7 (Washington 6, Finzel), Franklin County 2 (Ellis, Ridgeway). Total fouls - Stonewall Jackson 16, Franklin County 11. Fouled out - Phillips.
GIRLS
Stonewall Jackson 61, Franklin County 54
Ryan Jordan scored 18 points to lead last year's Group AAA runner-up past the Eagles.
Sydney Jordan, a 6-foot freshman, added 10 points for the Manassas school.
Charmaine Hairston led Franklin County (12-8) with 12 points, while Destani Mitchell added 11. The Eagles trailed by as many as 12 points but cut the deficit to three with 2:12 to play.
STONEWALL JACKSON (17-3)
R.Jordan 8 2-4 18, S.Jordan 5 0-0 10, Hinton 3 2-2 8, D.Burns 1 6-8 8, Character 4 0-0 8, Nordike 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Kelly 0 0-0 0, R.Burns 1 0-0 2, Floyd 2 1-2 5, Cole 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 11-16 61.
FRANKLIN COUNTY (12-8)
Crockett 3 1-1 7, Mitchell 1 9-14 11, Martin 1 6-8 8, Mattox 3 3-5 9, Hairston 4 3-3 12, Dudley 1 -12 4, M.Brooks 0 0-0 0, Stephens 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 1-2 1, Hancock 0 0-0 0, E.Brooks 1 0-0 2, Holland 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 24-35 54.
Stonewall Jackson 15 11 19 16-61
Franklin County 12 11 12 19-54
3-point-goals - Franklin County 2 (Hairston, Dudley). Total fouls - Stonewall Jackson 23, Franklin County 13. Fouled out - R.Jordan, Hinton.
