For the second time in just over a week, neighborhood rivals Stuarts Draft and Riverheads, separated by only about 8 miles, locked horns in a spirited battle, and for the second time the Cougars needed a big fourth quarter to turn back the Big Red. The final score was 63-49 but that certainly does not tell the story of how competitive this game was, or at least for a short period of time.
The Cougars had led 30-19 at the half and then stretched that out late in the third quarter to a 16 point advantage at 43-27. At that point, it looked like we could be headed to one of those 30 point blowouts but someone forgot to tell the Gladiators to give up. Instead they went on a 16-1 rampage straddling the final two quarters to cut the lead to a single point.
That rally started with an eight-point flurry to close out the third quarter. Freshman Jaxon Duff stroked his second triple of the game to open the fourth and trim the lead to 43-38. The Cougars managed to get a word in edgewise and hit a single foul shot before RHS senior guard J P Crawford decided to get into the act. He knocked down his second triple of the game and then immediately stole the ball and laid it in to complete the rally at 44-43.
But instead of Riverheads being able to complete the miracle comeback, the Cougars stepped up their intensity and closed out the game on a 19-6 run. Most of those final points came on second-chance baskets because the Gladiators were fatigued and in serious foul trouble.
Riverheads' strategy as you may have already picked up on was to try and win this one from behind the arc. For example, their 19 first half points came on five triples, one two-point basket, and a pair of foul shots. They would eventually hit a respectable 9 triples, with Will Gardner hitting four of them and Henley Dunlap scoring the 9th one. But they just had no match for the Cougars' depth and athleticism down the stretch.
Dunlap led the scoring for RHS with 13, followed by Gardner's 12 on those four triples. Crawford and Duff came close to double digits with eight each. Jackson Brammer and Joe George were the two inside threats trying to match all that physicality inside and they scored 5 and 3 respectively. The Gladiators' starting center, Grayson Ward, did not score but he is one of those guys who does the dirty work and makes plays that do not necessarily show up in the scorebook.
Tonight's JV game was also quite interesting and in my opinion was the best game the Gladiator Juniors have played all season. They had lost to SD by 25 the first time around so there was no reason to expect an upset tonight but they stayed right with the Cougars down to the wire. Sam Jarvis, one of our "itty bitty eighth-graders" as we called them back in my day, knocked down a triple in the final minute to tie the score at 43. Seconds later, he had a wide open shot at another one that would have tied the score again at 46, but it went halfway down and rimmed back out. That miss forced the Gladiators to foul and SD held on to win 48-43.
The Gladiators have three of those little dudes who can shoot the lights out and all three of them are fundamentally sound as well. If they reach a normal height for their age over the next couple of years, they could easily be a weapon other teams may not want to face. The Gladiators also have some capable freshmen and sophomores on that team, so they have all gained some valuable experience this winter.
Next up the Gladiators have to face Wilson twice in an eight-day period as they will travel to The Hive Tuesday before Wilson comes to Greenville on Wednesday of the next week. If you think that is rough, feel sorry for the Waynesboro Little Giants, who hosted Wilson tonight and have to turn right around and play them again in Fishersville tomorrow!
