Basketball Recap: Chatham Comes Up Short

After flying high against William Campbell last Tuesday, Chatham came back down to earth. The Chatham Cavaliers received a blow on Friday as they fell 54-40 to the Appomattox County Raiders. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Raiders this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 48-47 back in January.

Amare Word

Rebounds (Career)

02/07/25 @ Appomattox County	10
02/03/25 vs Patrick County	7
01/24/25 @ Altavista	7
12/17/24 @ Patrick County	7
12/16/24 vs Halifax County	7

Despite the loss, Chatham saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Amare Word dropped a double-double with 18 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave Word a new career-high in rebounds. Antonio Luck was another key player, putting up two points along with seven boards and three steals.

Even though they lost, Chatham smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 7.2 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 12.6.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Appomattox County to victory, but perhaps none more so than Owen Chavis, who posted 14 points and five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Riley Chandler, who put up 11 points and six boards.

Chatham dropped their record down to 8-10 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points over those games. As for Appomattox County, their victory bumped their record up to 12-7.

Chatham wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 63-60 loss against William Campbell on the 10th. As for Appomattox County, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 65-63 defeat against Nelson County on the 17th.