The Riverheads Gladiators ended each half with a scoring spurt tonight and needed every one of those points to finally subdue a rapidly improving Waynesboro team 44-37. As you can tell from that score, it was a defensive slugfest and the Gladiators finally won it by breaking a 35-35 tie and outscoring the Little Giants 9-2 down the stretch. With the win, RHS is now 6-6 on the season, including a 2-3 district mark with Staunton coming to town Friday night to round out the first cycle through district play.
You might think that the Gladiator starters deserved the lion's share of the credit for the victory because ordinarily a team does have its key people on the floor during crunch time. But as already indicated, the shooting was off tonight for both teams and in the case of Riverheads, it was actually a pair of subs that made the most of their PT and saved the day during that final push.
So hats off to senior Chris Brooks and sophomore J P Crawford, each of whom tallied four crucial second half points but also played great floor games including snagging some important rebounds. Each one hit a key stickback basket and each connected on a pressure-packed pair of free throws to help secure the win.
As for the starters, they of course fought tooth and nail as well through a very rough-and-tumble game. In the early going, the two that were having the most success scoring were Carter Mooneyham and Gabe Milo. Each knocked down a first quarter triple and they were the eventual leading scorers with 11 and 9 respectively.
Normally Will Gardner and Bennett Dunlap would be in the leading-scorer discussion but each had an off shooting night. Gardner did manage a pair of triples and eight total points as he finally warmed up a bit in the third quarter. Dunlap only scored three points on the evening but those came in the final seconds of the first half when he drained a triple and followed that up with a nice pass to a wide open Aden Slack for a lay up that barely beat the horn. That five point swing took Riverheads from an 18-16 deficit to a 21-18 lead and although Waynesboro did manage the above-mentioned tie, the Gladiators never lost the lead in the second half.
As for Waynesboro's shooting, their leading scorer Charlie Haynes had an off night also as his long-distance shots just could not find the range. He had some success driving to the hoop and getting to the foul line but overall he was not the factor he often is for the Little Giants. Although I don't keep track of the opposing team's points, it appeared that their inside duo of Zavion Robinson and Javon Wells were the leading scorers for the home team.
As implied in the subject line, RHS is having an odd season in that they seem to be more comfortable on the road than at home. With tonight's win, they are now 4-2 on the road as compared to 2-4 at home. With their next three games at home against Staunton, followed by Liberty Bedford Saturday and Stuarts Draft next Tuesday, they would like nothing better than to right that ship and find themselves with a winning record heading down the stretch run.
Meanwhile the RHS JVs seem to be very much headed for a winning season. They jumped out to a commanding 13-1 lead tonight and although Waynesboro made little mini-runs here and there, the Junior G Men were never really in danger as they pulled away to a 49-25 win. They are now 8-3 on the season.
As much as I would like to report that the Lady Gladiators had the same success tonight, according to the Shenandoah website they lost both games at home tonight to Waynesboro. The Varsity score of 49-45 was a bit unexpected and damages their post-season chances. They have also been somewhat like the boys' team as their most satisfying win came on the road at Buffalo Gap.
Next up for all RHS teams will be Staunton as the boys will hold down the home court Friday and the girls will travel to Staunton to face the Storm. The boys then host Liberty Saturday but note that one will be a 5:30 JV start, presumably to assist Liberty in getting home at a more reasonable hour. The Gladiators swept the Minutemen down in Bedford so hopefully they can do the same again Saturday.
