Fans of Group AAA basketball will have to show up a day earlier than usual in Richmond at this year’s state tournament at VCU’s Siegel Center.

Normally the VHSL semifinals and finals are played during the same week that most major NCAA Division I men’s conferences are conducting their league tournaments.

Not this year.

The college season is a week later. VCU will still be finishing its regular season when the state’s top high school teams hit town during the week of March 4-10.

And the Rams will have a home game smack in the middle of the VHSL tournament.

VCU is playing Richmond at home Wednesday, March 6. That means just two prep tournament games will be played that day at Siegel Center, a Division 4 girls semifinal at 11 a.m. and a Division 4 boys semi at 12:45 p.m. Then the arena will be cleared for the college game.

As a result, four games had to be moved. The Group AAA boys and girls semifinals will be played on Monday in two sessions beginning at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

That’s a tough deal for the kids, who will play a quarterfinal game either the previous Friday or Saturday and then make plans to travel Richmond.  Squeezing in a day of practice between the two rounds might require a crowbar.

So if you’re a fan of Group AAA school that has a shot at the semifinals, check your calendar.

Rockbridge County senior guard Andrew Rowsey, who is now fourth on the VHSL career scoring list, will make back-to-back appearances in the Roanoke Valley this weekend.

Rockbridge will play at Northside on Friday in a Blue Ridge District game, then the Wildcats will meet Patrick Henry at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Roy Stanley Memorial Shootout at Salem Civic Center.

Rowsey has 2,398 career points, placing him behind only Stacy Ervin of Twin Springs (2,687), Odell Hodge of Laurel Park (2,530) and Steve Marsee of Pennington (2,459). Rowsey trails Ervin by 289 points with a minimum of five games remaining. If Rockbridge can advance to the Region III Division 3 tournament, the 5-foot-11 senior might have a shot at the record.

Saturday, Rowsey could be matched against 5-foot-5 Patrick Henry guard Marcus Banks, who recently became the Patriots’ career scoring leader.

The five-game event features four Timesland teams that currently lead their respective districts, including one of the last of the state’s unbeatens – Carroll County.

River Ridge District co-leader Salem plays Three Rivers District leader Radford in the opener at 1 p.m. Carroll County, now 18-0, faces a Virginia Episcopal team coached by former PH and UVa star Curtis Staples in the second game.

The postgraduate teams from Massanutten Military and Hargrave Military are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Massanutten features Kansas recruit Frank Mason.

The final game sends Western Valley District leader William Fleming against High Point Christian (N.C.). Fleming sophomore Warren Craft already has committed to Virginia Tech.

Hidden Valley and James River are off to a good start in pursuit of the 2012-13 Wells Fargo Cup, emblematic of the top overall athletic program in each of the VHSL’s three classifications.

The Titans are No. 2 in Group AA with 105 points after a runner-up finish in volleyball, a fourth-place finish in girls cross country and a sixth-place effort in boys cross country.

Points are distributed on a 50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15 basis for top-eight finishes in state competition.

Grafton leads the Group AA standings with 117 1/2 points. Blacksburg is tied for third with 100, while Christiansburg and Salem are tied for fifth with 87 1/2.

Blacksburg and Hidden Valley have combined to win six of the last seven Group AA Cups, with the Bruins winning four times during that span including last year.

James River has 102 1/2 points, trailing only Wilson Memorial’s 142 1/2 in Group A. The Knights picked up 45 points for a runner-up finish in golf, 35 in girls cross country and 22 1/2 in volleyball.

Radford is seventh in Group A with 75 points. Giles is tied for eighth with 72 1/2 points.

Chantilly leads the Group AAA standings with 120 points. Patrick Henry is tied for 35th with 22 1/2 points.

The standings will be updated following the winter season, which includes basketball, wrestling, swimming and indoor track.

Snow claimed nearly the entire Timesland basketball schedule for Friday night.

Hidden Valley will play at Cave Spring in a boys and girls doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m. Aside from that, the only other area schools playing tonight will be Highland and Parry McCluer in a doubleheader in Buena Vista.

The Big Blue wrestling tournament in Christiansburg will get under way today with a 4 p.m. start.

Here is tonight’s list of basketball postponements and known makeup dates:

FRIDAY PREP BASKETBALL
BOYS
WESTERN VALLEY DISTRICT
Franklin County at Patrick Henry, ppd., Feb. 5
Halifax County at George Washington, ppd., today
BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT
Lord Botetourt at Northside, ppd., Jan. 30
Staunton River at Alleghany, ppd., Jan. 24
William Byrd at Rockbridge County, ppd., TBA
PIEDMONT DISTRICT
Bassett at Patrick County, ppd., TBA
Magna Vista at Martinsville, ppd., TBA
RIVER RIDGE DISTRICT
Christiansburg at Blacksburg, ppd., TBA
Hidden Valley at Cave Spring, ON
Pulaski County at Salem, ppd., TBA
SEMINOLE DISTRICT
Amherst County at Heritage
Brookville at E.C. Glass, ppd., today
Rustburg at Liberty, ppd., today, 3 p.m.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
Marion at Abingdon, ppd., Feb. 8
HOGOHEEGEE DISTRICT
Chilhowie at Rural Retreat, ppd., TBA
George Wythe at Holston, ppd. Jan. 28
Northwood at PH-Glade Spring, ppd., Feb. 6
MOUNTAIN EMPIRE DISTRICT
Fort Chiswell at Bland County, ppd., TBA
Grayson County at Graham, ppd., TBA
Narrows at Galax, ppd., TBA
PIONEER DISTRICT
Bath County at Craig County, ppd., Feb. 4
Highland at Parry McCluer, ON
THREE RIVERS DISTRICT
Giles at Floyd County, ppd., TBA
Glenvar at Auburn, ppd., TBA
VACA SOUTHWEST
SWVa Home School at Parkway Christian, ppd., Jan. 25
VIC DIVISION II
Hargrave Military at North Cross, ppd., TBA
NONDISTRICT
Roanoke Valley Christian at New Covenant, cancelled

GIRLS
WESTERN VALLEY DISTRICT
George Washington at Halifax County, ppd. today
Patrick Henry at Franklin County, ppd., Feb. 5
BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT
Alleghany at Staunton River, ppd., Jan. 24
Northside at Lord Botetourt, ppd., Jan. 23
Rockbridge County at William Byrd, ppd., TBA
PIEDMONT DISTRICT
Patrick County at Bassett, ppd., TBA
RIVER RIDGE DISTRICT
Hidden Valley at Cave Spring, ON
Salem at Pulaski County, ppd., TBA
SEMINOLE DISTRICT
Brookville at E.C. Glass, ppd., today
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
Marion at Abingdon, ppd., TBA
HOGOHEEGEE DISTRICT
Chilhowie at Rural Retreat, ppd., TBA
George Wythe at Holston, ppd., Jan. 30
Northwood at PH-Glade Spring, ppd., Feb. 6
MOUNTAIN EMPIRE DISTRICT
Fort Chiswell at Bland County, ppd., TBA
Grayson County at Graham, ppd., TBA
Narrows at Galax, ppd., TBA
PIONEER DISTRICT
Highland at Parry McCluer, ON
THREE RIVERS DISTRICT
Auburn at Glenvar, ppd., TBA
Giles at Floyd County, ppd., Jan. 21
Radford at Eastern Montgomery, ppd., TBA
NONDISTRICT
Roanoke Valley Christian at New Covenant, cancelled

Patrick Henry boys basketball coach Jack Esworthy needs one victory to become the school’s leader in career victories.
Esworthy has 213 wins heading into tonight’s home game against William Fleming, tying him with Woody Deans on PH’s career list.
Meanwhile, PH senior guard Marcus Banks is within 100 points of the school’s career scoring record, set in the 1980s by Chuck Kepley.
The PH-Fleming game is just one of several big matchups on tonight’s schedule.
First place is on the line in the Three Rivers District boys race as Floyd County (14-2, 4-0) visits Radford (13-2, 4-0). Radford defeated Floyd 84-59 in the semifinals of the Fort Chiswell holiday tournament.
Carroll County, one of the state’s few unbeaten teams, will host Marion with first place at stake in the Southwest District.
Northside, which has a one-game lead over Rockbridge County and Lord Botetourt in the Blue Ridge District boys race, plays at Rockbridge tonight.

Salem’s girls go to Hidden Valley. Both teams are 3-0 in the River Ridge District. Everyone else in the league has at least two district losses.
Lord Botetourt’s girls play at Alleghany. A win by Alleghany could possibly throw the Blue Ridge race into a four-way tie.

Check varsity.roanoke.com and the Timesland twitter site for scores tonight.

For tonight’s schedule, click here.

George Wythe has cashed in on its Group A Division 1 state football championship at the ballot box.
The Maroons took nine spots on the first and second teams on the Division 1 all-state team picked this weekend by the Virginia High School Coaches Association.
Congrats to George Wythe’s Hardy Lester, who was named Division 1 defensive player of the year; and Wythe’s H.S. Ingo, who was named coach of the year.
Unlike Group AAA and Group AA, the Group A coaches picked two all-state teams, one for Division 2 and one for Division 1.
The Group A teams are heavily tilted toward a small core of teams. The threesome of Franklin, George Wythe and Riverheads accounted for 27 of the 62 first- and second-team positions on the Division 1 team. Franklin had players named to TWELVE different first- or second-team spots.
Sixty-six, count ‘em, 66 players were named first-team All-Group A in football.
Is that too many? You tell me.
I guess there will be six different all-state teams next year, so perhaps the point is moot.
Below are the Timesland players named to the Group AA, Division 2 and Division 1 teams. We’re still trying to unearth the All-Group AAA team.
For the Division 2 and Division 1 teams, click here.
For the Group AA team, click here.
Here are the players of the year we have so far: Group AA offense (Trace McSorley, Briar Woods), Group AA defense (Wyatt Teller, Liberty-Bealeton), Division 2 offense (Dominek Broaddus, Essex), Division 2 defense (Nathan Adams, Goochland), Division 1 offense (Travis Brown, Franklin), Division 1 defense (Hardy Lester, George Wythe).

GROUP AA
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Guard — Alex Light, Salem
Tackle — Dylan Brucki, Cave Spring
Running back — Ethan Richardson, Marion
Defense
Lineman — DeAnthony Muse, Northside
Linebacker — Eddie Bowman, Bassett
Back — Jake Kite, Hidden Valley
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Guard — Curtis Fridley, Rockbridge County
Tackle — Lucas Holder, Carroll County
Tight end — Jordan Bryant, Cave Spring
Wide receiver — Chad Fisher, Salem
Quarterback — Porter Abell, Rockbridge County
Defense
End — Demetreus Ferebee, Northside
Back — Chad Fisher, Salem

GROUP A DIVISION 2
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Center — Coleman Thomas, Fort Chiswell
Running back — Daniel Hamm, Fort Chiswell
Running back — Ian Mann, Giles
Wide receiver — Mikey Rodgers, Grayson County
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Guard — Kearsley Dillon, Giles

GROUP A DIVISION 1
FIRST TEAM
Offense
Lineman — Chase Altizer, George Wythe
Wide receiver — Ron Ford, Eastern Montgomery
Tight end — Hardy Lester, George Wythe
Utility — Troy Helton, Covington
Defense
End — Hardy Lester, George Wythe
Lineman — Chase Altizer, George Wythe
Linebacker — Justin Snavely, George Wythe
Back — Isaac Baltazar, George Wythe
Back — Jalen France, George Wythe
SECOND TEAM
Offense
Caleb Findley, Radford
Defense
Lineman — Chaz Sizemore, Galax
Wide receiver — Reid Sturgill, Chilhowie
Running back — Dominique Crockett, George Wythe
Running back — Steven Peoples, Galax
Punter — Andrew Storms, George Wythe
Return specialist — Donte Peoples, Galax

BOYS
1. Patrick Henry (14-1)
2. Carlisle (6-0)
3. William Fleming (11-4)
Read more »

Are the George Washington Eagles the favorite to win the Western Valley District boys basketball title?
We will find out Friday night.
The unbeaten team from Danville, ranked No. 2 in Group AAA by Virginiapreps.com, rolls into Roanoke to face three-time reigning Western Valley District champion Patrick Henry in a 7:30 p.m. game.
GW has steamrolled Franklin County and William Fleming in its first two WVD games. One of the officials who worked the GW-Franklin County game in Rocky Mount told me GW had “at least 20 dunks” in the game.
I’m certain that’s an exaggeration, but it indicates the kind of athleticism people might see at PH tonight. GW is 12-0. PH is 12-1 it could be a good one.

On Saturday, Patrick Henry hosts another Northwest Region power, Potomac. The game is at 4 p.m., followed by a prep school game between Massanutten Military Academy’s postgraduate team and Southern Tech Prep of Charlotte. Massanutten is ranked No. 1 nationally among postgrad teams.

Elsewhere, Franklin County’s girls visit William Fleming in a matchup of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Timesland rankings. That could be the first of at least three games between the two rivals.
First place will be on the line in the River Ridge District boys race when Cave Spring visits Blacksburg. Both teams are 2-0. Cave Spring enters with three losses in its last five games, failing to reach the 30-point mark in any of the three.
First place in the Blue Ridge District girls race also is up for grabs as Staunton River visits Lord Botetourt. Both teams have losing records overall, but they are 2-0 in the league. Staunton River went 1-10 in the pre-district schedule, but the Golden Eagles stunned Northside on Tuesday.

Below is the schedule for Friday with the overall and district records prior to Thursday night in parentheses:

BOYS
WESTERN VALLEY DISTRICT
George Washington (12-0, 3-0) at Patrick Henry (12-1, 3-0)
William Fleming (10-4, 1-1) at Franklin County (12-3, 0-2)
BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT
Lord Botetourt (8-5, 1-1) at Staunton River (2-10, 0-2)
Rockbridge County (9-3, 2-0) at Alleghany (6-6, 0-2)
William Byrd (8-6, 1-1) at Northside (11-2, 2-0)
PIEDMONT DISTRICT
Magna Vista at Bassett
Tunstall (4-7, 1-1) at Martinsville (8-6, 1-0)
RIVER RIDGE DISTRICT
Cave Spring (7-7, 2-0) at Blacksburg (6-8, 2-0)
Christiansburg (2-10, 1-1) at Salem (4-8, 0-2)
Pulaski County (3-9, 0-2) at Hidden Valley (2-12, 1-1)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
Marion (7-2, 1-0)  at Tazewell (5-7, 0-1)
HOGOHEEGEE DISTRICT
George Wythe (3-6, 3-0) at PH-Glade Spring (4-10, 1-2)
Holston (3-10, 1-1) at Chilhowie (4-9, 1-1)
Rural Retreat (0-11, 0-2) at Northwood (4-7, 1-1)
MOUNTAIN EMPIRE DISTRICT
Fort Chiswell (5-5, 1-1) at Narrows (6-6, 0-2)
Galax (1-8, 0-2) at Grayson County (8-4, 2-0)
Graham (9-3, 2-0) at Bland County (9-4, 1-1)
PIONEER DISTRICT
Covington (1-9, 1-1) at Bath County (5-3, 1-1)
Craig County (0-12, 0-2) at Parry McCluer (9-5, 2-0)
Highland (2-4, 1-1) at James River (1-11, 1-1)
THREE RIVERS DISTRICT
Auburn (8-6, 1-2) at Floyd County (13-2, 3-0)
Giles (4-8, 0-3) at Eastern Montgomery (6-8, 0-3)
Radford (12-2, 3-0) at Glenvar (12-2, 2-1)
VACA SOUTHWEST
Faith Christian School at SWVa Home School
Parkway Christian at Roanoke Valley Christian (5-2, 2-1)

GIRLS
WESTERN VALLEY DISTRICT
Franklin County (10-3, 2-0) at William Fleming (10-4, 2-0)
Patrick Henry (6-8, 1-1) at George Washington (6-3, 1-2)
BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT
Alleghany (5-7, 1-1) at Rockbridge County (2-9, 0-2)
Northside (9-3, 1-1) at William Byrd (3-11, 0-2)
Staunton River (3-10, 2-0) at Lord Botetourt (5-8, 2-0)
PIEDMONT DISTRICT
Martinsville (4-8, 0-1) at Tunstall (0-10, 0-3)
RIVER RIDGE DISTRICT
Blacksburg (4-8, 0-2) at Cave Spring (4-9, 1-1)
Christiansburg (7-7, 0-2) at Salem (10-3, 2-0)
Hidden Valley (6-8, 2-0) at Pulaski County (2-11, 1-1)
SEMINOLE DISTRICT
Amherst County (7-2, 3-2) at Liberty (8-3, 2-3)
Rustburg (4-8, 1-4) at Jefferson Forest (8-3, 2-2)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
Marion (2-8, 0-1) at Tazewell (8-5, 1-0)
HOGOHEEGEE DISTRICT
Holston (0-10, 0-2) at Chilhowie (12-2, 2-0)
Northwood at Rural Retreat (6-6, 1-0)
PH-Glade Spring (8-5, 2-0) at George Wythe (4-8, 1-2)
MOUNTAIN EMPIRE DISTRICT
Fort Chiswell (7-5, 1-1) at Narrows (4-9, 1-0)
Galax (7-5, 2-0) at Grayson County (8-4, 1-1)
Graham (7-5, 1-1)  at Bland County (2-9, 0-2)
PIONEER DISTRICT
Highland (3-3, 0-2) at James River (10-3, 2-0)
VACA SOUTHWEST
Parkway Christian (8-3, 0-1) at Roanoke Valley Christian (2-4, 0-1)
BLUE RIDGE CONFERENCE
Carlisle (1-8, 0-0) at North Cross (1-10, 1-3)
NONDISTRICT
Halifax County (7-7) at Bassett (8-1)

Anyone bypassing a chance to watch Andrew Rowsey this year is making a mistake.

The Rockbridge County boys basketball star put on a show Tuesday night with 46 points in an 84-82 win at home over Lord Botetourt.

Rowsey missed his first four shots against Botetourt’s box-and-one as the Cavaliers ran an extra defender at the 5-foot-11 guard when he crossed the halfcourt line. Sitting at courtside I thought, ‘This could be a tough night.”

It was. For Lord Botetourt.

Rowsey had 17 points by halftime. He added 20 more in a sublime third quarter when Botetourt junior Justin Goode answered just about everything Rowsey made with a high-degree-of-difficulty bucket of his own. Goode is very impressive.

Then, when the game was almost hopelessly lost, Rowsey scored eight points in the final 23 seconds including a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to play.

After the game, Botetourt coach Chad Conner said next time he will put the box (four defenders) on Rowsey and the fifth man on Rockbridge’s other four players. I think he was joking. Maybe.

One thing jumps out while watching Rowsey this year. His body is much stronger, which allows him to split defenders for drives in the lane and gives him more range on his jump shot. The kid is as good as you will see at making a full-speed dribble, stopping on a dime and popping a 3-pointer with very little room to get off the shot.

It’s basically the same stuff I saw Rowsey do when I went to Lexington on a Wednesday morning in November to watch one of his 6:45 a.m. individual workouts. There were no defenders that day, and it seemed there weren’t any Tuesday night.

Rowsey’s 46 points moved him up to No. 26 on the VHSL career scoring list, passing former NBA stars Moses Malone and Alonzo Mourning. Rowsey’s next 100 points would move him past the likes of Mike Porter (Pulaski County), J.J. Redick (Cave Spring) and Bryant Stith (Brunswick).

Rowsey has a pretty good shot to move into either the No. 3 or the No. 2 spot all-time in the VHSL. He might not hold that position long though. Floyd County junior Caleb Tanner is just 605 points behind Rowsey with a year to go.

Here is the VHSL’s career scoring list, courtesy of state historian Marshall Johnson:

2,687 Stacy Ervin Twin Springs 1994-97
2,530 Odell Hodge Laurel Park 1989-92
2,459 Steve Marsee Pennington 1973-76
2,388 Joel Copeland Southwestern (VIA) 1967-70
2,368 Kenny Hunt Altavista 2000-04
2,346 Jason Lansdown Broad Run 1989-92
2,328 Tyrese Rice Lloyd Bird 2001-05
2,306 Scottie Reynolds Herndon 2002-06
2,290 Brad Nuckles Council 1999-02
2,275 Danis Simmons J.J. Kelly 1986-89
2,258 Tracy Poindexter Altavista 1976-79
2,257 B.A. Walker Nandua 2000-03
2,256 Winston Terry Jonesville 1982-85
2,251 Tyree Evans George Wythe-Richmond 2001-04
2,246 Terry Kirby Tabb 1986-89
2,236 Kevin Madden Robert E. Lee-Staunton 1982-85
2,232 Michael Crawford James Wood 1994-97
2,226 Lavon White Colonial Beach 1991-95
2,221 Bryant Stith Brunswick 1985-88
2,214 J.J. Redick Cave Spring 1999-02
2,177 Mike Porter Pulaski County 1981-85
2,158 Clyde Austin Maggie Walker 1972-76
2,157 Jeff Owen Cleveland 1965-69
2,149 Harold Jefferson Matoaca 1973-76
2,142 Antoine Willie Nansemond River 1993-97
2,138 ANDREW ROWSEY, Rockbridge County 2010-
2,134 Kendrick Warren Thos. Jefferson-Midlothian 1986-90
2,125 Larry Robinson Carver-Price (VIA) 1966-69
2,124 Moses Malone Petersburg 1971-74
2,124 Mike Collins Flatwoods-Thomas Walker 1986-90
2,105 Alonzo Mourning Indian River 1985-88
2,100 Marquie Cooke Nansemond River 2001-04
2,096 Barry Hamler Powell Valley 1972-76
2,094 Travis McKie John Marshall 2007-10
2,083 Montell Watson Alleghany 2000-02
2,080 Barry Wright I.C. Norcom 1976-79
2,073 Hunter Hoggatt Altavista-Staunton River-Varina1994-97
2,072 Darius Hargrove Brunswick 1998-01
2,061 Ricky Barnes Greensville County 1991-94
2,057 Tyler Crawford R.E. Lee-Staunton 2001-04
2,056 Ben Valley Honaker-Lebanon 1951-55
2,033 Adam Hood Rye Cove 2004-07
2,028 Grant Hill South Lakes 1986-89
2,027 Andrew Adkins Coeburn 2006-09
2,016 Leroy Keyes Carver-Newport News (VIA) 1962-65
2,014 David Mitchell Coeburn 1968-71
2,005 Darris Nichols Radford 2001-04
2,003 Frank Mason Petersburg 2009-12

The latest Timesland boys basketball top 10 omitted Carroll County by mistake.

I guess that’s what happens when you sit through nine basketball games in one day.

Here is the corrected top 10, with the Cavaliers at No. 4

1. Patrick Henry (11-1)
2. William Fleming (10-3)
3. Carlisle (5-0)
4. Carroll County (11-0)
5. Radford (11-2)
6. Franklin County (11-3)
7. Northside (9-2)
8. Glenvar (12-1)
9. Floyd County (12-2)
10. North Cross (5-3)