The Gladiators needed a win in the worst way and got it tonight in front of a capacity home crowd that was on hand to celebrate Little League night. Once again, just like at Wilson on Tuesday, the sophomore class did the heavy lifting in this one, which is just fine because their consistent performances this season have helped to build excitement for the future of the program.
There were some odd statistical quirks in this one. First of all, the Gladiators scored their 59 points in just a little bit over three quarters. That is because there was a lid on the home basket early in the game and RHS did not get a shot to drop until the 2 1/2 minute mark of the first quarter. Fortunately Waynesboro was not doing much better and it was only 4-0 at the time. Gabe Milo then dropped in that first bucket and added two more by the end of the quarter as RHS led 8-4 after one.
The next oddity was the fact that Riverheads failed to score from the foul line all night, so all 59 points came on made baskets. They only went to the line maybe 4-5 times but failed to connect, a subject that might be brought up in practice this upcoming week.
So as you can tell from that stat, the Big Red shot well again tonight from behind the arc. They knocked down 9 triples on the night, with the sophomore trio of Will Gardner, Henley Dunlap, and Jackson Brammer accounting for eight of them. As for final point totals, Gardner led the way with 16 including four triples, followed in order by Milo with 12 on six two-pointers, Dunlap with three triples and 11 total, and Brammer with one triple and nine total points.
Waynesboro had its own share of ups and downs tonight. After that 4-0 start, they went cold for the rest of the first period and well into the second and had only 12 points at the break as Riverheads knocked down five second-quarter triples, including one at the buzzer, to take a 29-12 lead into the locker room.
But once the Little Giants saw how easy the rims were in Greenville tonight, they warmed up considerably themselves in the second half and scored 40 points to make the final respectable. The Gladiators were never really in danger in the second half, but the Giants did hit enough triples of their own to whittle a lead that once reached as high as 23 points down to that final seven-point margin.
As the game entered its final minute, the Giants needed to foul if they had any hopes of getting back in the game. So in another rather odd situation, the score was already 59-52 with about a minute to go when they started committing those fouls. However they had not fouled at all up to that point, which meant that they had to slap or grab seven times before the Gladiators toed the stripe.
As a result, Riverheads only had one miss on a 1 and 1 down that final stretch and as the Giants raced up the court with the rebound, perhaps still feeling at least somewhat hopeful, senior Bennett Dunlap drew a charge at midcourt for Waynesboro's eighth foul. The clock was down to about 17 seconds by that time, so Coach Spears saw the writing on the wall and conceded the victory as the Big Red dribbled out the clock.
So if you like to see teams racing up and down the court and firing up three pointers left and right, then this was your game. Riverheads has averaged around 8-9 per game this season and earlier this year they set a new school record by hitting 14, and then broke that record with 15 a few games later. Waynesboro based on tonight has improved not only their three point accuracy but their overall play as well, as they were well into the season this year before they tasted victory.
Tonight's win ties RHS for fifth in the district with Stuarts Draft. Each is now 3-8 in district play but unfortunately for RHS, their season-ending game takes them to Staunton Monday night to face the first-place Storm. However it is now confirmed that Riverheads will in fact qualify for the Region 1-B playoffs, which will begin on Monday the 20th. Most likely the opponent will be Carver Academy but I am not sure if that is set in stone yet.
With tonight's loss, Waynesboro drops to 2-9 in district play and will finish in the Shenandoah basement. Even if they pull a shocker in their season finale against Wilson, they would still finish in last place due to Riverheads having swept them this season.
In tonight's JV game, Riverheads trailed by 1 at the break, but came out strong in the third quarter to take control of the game, and although Waynesboro hung tough and would not let it get out of hand, RHS won 38-28. As for the Lady Gladiators, they lost at Waynesboro tonight 68-60 and my sources tell me that eliminates the Big Red ladies from regional play.
So we have the season finales on Monday, with a week's break between the start of regional play. To help fill the time, Gladiator fans might want to consider a trip down to Salem on the 17th-18th to watch the Big Red's Region 1-B champion wrestling team in action at the state meet. Could this be the year that they finally dethrone perennial power Grundy?
There were some odd statistical quirks in this one. First of all, the Gladiators scored their 59 points in just a little bit over three quarters. That is because there was a lid on the home basket early in the game and RHS did not get a shot to drop until the 2 1/2 minute mark of the first quarter. Fortunately Waynesboro was not doing much better and it was only 4-0 at the time. Gabe Milo then dropped in that first bucket and added two more by the end of the quarter as RHS led 8-4 after one.
The next oddity was the fact that Riverheads failed to score from the foul line all night, so all 59 points came on made baskets. They only went to the line maybe 4-5 times but failed to connect, a subject that might be brought up in practice this upcoming week.
So as you can tell from that stat, the Big Red shot well again tonight from behind the arc. They knocked down 9 triples on the night, with the sophomore trio of Will Gardner, Henley Dunlap, and Jackson Brammer accounting for eight of them. As for final point totals, Gardner led the way with 16 including four triples, followed in order by Milo with 12 on six two-pointers, Dunlap with three triples and 11 total, and Brammer with one triple and nine total points.
Waynesboro had its own share of ups and downs tonight. After that 4-0 start, they went cold for the rest of the first period and well into the second and had only 12 points at the break as Riverheads knocked down five second-quarter triples, including one at the buzzer, to take a 29-12 lead into the locker room.
But once the Little Giants saw how easy the rims were in Greenville tonight, they warmed up considerably themselves in the second half and scored 40 points to make the final respectable. The Gladiators were never really in danger in the second half, but the Giants did hit enough triples of their own to whittle a lead that once reached as high as 23 points down to that final seven-point margin.
As the game entered its final minute, the Giants needed to foul if they had any hopes of getting back in the game. So in another rather odd situation, the score was already 59-52 with about a minute to go when they started committing those fouls. However they had not fouled at all up to that point, which meant that they had to slap or grab seven times before the Gladiators toed the stripe.
As a result, Riverheads only had one miss on a 1 and 1 down that final stretch and as the Giants raced up the court with the rebound, perhaps still feeling at least somewhat hopeful, senior Bennett Dunlap drew a charge at midcourt for Waynesboro's eighth foul. The clock was down to about 17 seconds by that time, so Coach Spears saw the writing on the wall and conceded the victory as the Big Red dribbled out the clock.
So if you like to see teams racing up and down the court and firing up three pointers left and right, then this was your game. Riverheads has averaged around 8-9 per game this season and earlier this year they set a new school record by hitting 14, and then broke that record with 15 a few games later. Waynesboro based on tonight has improved not only their three point accuracy but their overall play as well, as they were well into the season this year before they tasted victory.
Tonight's win ties RHS for fifth in the district with Stuarts Draft. Each is now 3-8 in district play but unfortunately for RHS, their season-ending game takes them to Staunton Monday night to face the first-place Storm. However it is now confirmed that Riverheads will in fact qualify for the Region 1-B playoffs, which will begin on Monday the 20th. Most likely the opponent will be Carver Academy but I am not sure if that is set in stone yet.
With tonight's loss, Waynesboro drops to 2-9 in district play and will finish in the Shenandoah basement. Even if they pull a shocker in their season finale against Wilson, they would still finish in last place due to Riverheads having swept them this season.
In tonight's JV game, Riverheads trailed by 1 at the break, but came out strong in the third quarter to take control of the game, and although Waynesboro hung tough and would not let it get out of hand, RHS won 38-28. As for the Lady Gladiators, they lost at Waynesboro tonight 68-60 and my sources tell me that eliminates the Big Red ladies from regional play.
So we have the season finales on Monday, with a week's break between the start of regional play. To help fill the time, Gladiator fans might want to consider a trip down to Salem on the 17th-18th to watch the Big Red's Region 1-B champion wrestling team in action at the state meet. Could this be the year that they finally dethrone perennial power Grundy?
