Boys Region 1B QF: Riverheads 83 Central-Lunenburg 58 - FINAL
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The Gladiators showed no ill effects from their 11-day lay-off as they jumped out to the huge early lead and coasted in this one. They will now host Carver Academy Thursday in a first-ever meeting between those two programs.
Big Red fans might have done a double-take when they walked into the gym tonight and got their first look at Central's Ethan Hoover warming up. Although no heights were given on the roster, he looked like he goes about 6'6" and maybe 250, and as we all know, the Gladiators are vertically-challenged in just about any match-up. But as the game got underway, it soon became apparent that the Chargers' point guard L. J. Watson was their true go-to guy, or at least he would be on this particular evening. He was all over the floor for the visitors and would ultimately lead all scorers with 22 points. Hoover and Darryl Jones also scored in double figures, but the Chargers had little depth beyond those three, whereas Riverheads got solid contributions from quite a number of guys, with 10 out of 13 players scoring in the contest.
For all practical purposes, this one was settled with that 23-6 first quarter explosion. The Gladiators quickly established a working margin as Braeson Fulton scored 7 points in the first stanza. Elijah Dunlap hit the first of eight Gladiator triples on the evening, Drew Bond added the next one, and Zack Adams came off the bench to close out the first quarter with an old-fashioned three. The Chargers on the other hand just could not get anything going, scoring only 6, although they would average a respectable 17 points per quarter over the remaining three.
Grant Painter opened the second with an NBA range three, and in fact three-pointers would be the name of the game in that period. The Gladiators added four more of them as Bradley Roberts and then Fulton became the fourth and fifth sharpshooters to hit from behind the arc. RHS did not hit a single two-pointer or foul shot in that quarter and the Chargers warmed up themselves as the teams went to the locker room with a "maybe somewhat still in doubt" 13-point advantage for the home team.
Dunlap hit his third three of the game to open the second half, and Bond worked his way inside for a couple of scores as the Big Red kept their margin intact. By the end of the quarter, Bond became the fourth Gladiator to hit double figures. RHS led 57-41 after three.
Painter opened the fourth period with a nice drive-and-dish to Adams, then scored the next five points himself as the margin ballooned over 20. Watson was doing his best to keep the Chargers in the game, but Riverheads' fast break was just too much for the visitors as the Gladiators converted some nice transition baskets, including an especially pretty Painter-to-Roberts-to-Fulton combination that looked for sure as if it was headed out of bounds before an amazing catch and assist by Roberts saved the two points.
Coach Coffey had substituted freely throughout the game, and in the final minutes, the four JV players who have been brought up for the playoffs got their share of the action, and to the delight of their older teammates as well as the Big Red fans, three of them scored in the waning moments of the game. Tyler Davis had the honor of pushing the Gladiators over the 80-point plateau for the first time this season on a pair of charity tosses, and his JV buddies Michael Robertson and Tristan Bartley also made it into the box score.
Painter led the balanced RHS attack with 21, Fulton added 16, Bond had 12, Dunlap 11, and Roberts hit for 9 as they barely missed having the starting five in double figures. All five connected from behind the arc, as they combined for 7 of them in the first half, but after Dunlap's to open the third quarter, the attack shifted to the transition game and the baskets became easier to come by.
Thursday's semi-final with Carver will give the Gladiators the chance to earn their first state tournament berth in a number of years. If they can pull it off, that will be quite an accomplishment for such a young team with only one starter over 6 foot.
Big Red fans might have done a double-take when they walked into the gym tonight and got their first look at Central's Ethan Hoover warming up. Although no heights were given on the roster, he looked like he goes about 6'6" and maybe 250, and as we all know, the Gladiators are vertically-challenged in just about any match-up. But as the game got underway, it soon became apparent that the Chargers' point guard L. J. Watson was their true go-to guy, or at least he would be on this particular evening. He was all over the floor for the visitors and would ultimately lead all scorers with 22 points. Hoover and Darryl Jones also scored in double figures, but the Chargers had little depth beyond those three, whereas Riverheads got solid contributions from quite a number of guys, with 10 out of 13 players scoring in the contest.
For all practical purposes, this one was settled with that 23-6 first quarter explosion. The Gladiators quickly established a working margin as Braeson Fulton scored 7 points in the first stanza. Elijah Dunlap hit the first of eight Gladiator triples on the evening, Drew Bond added the next one, and Zack Adams came off the bench to close out the first quarter with an old-fashioned three. The Chargers on the other hand just could not get anything going, scoring only 6, although they would average a respectable 17 points per quarter over the remaining three.
Grant Painter opened the second with an NBA range three, and in fact three-pointers would be the name of the game in that period. The Gladiators added four more of them as Bradley Roberts and then Fulton became the fourth and fifth sharpshooters to hit from behind the arc. RHS did not hit a single two-pointer or foul shot in that quarter and the Chargers warmed up themselves as the teams went to the locker room with a "maybe somewhat still in doubt" 13-point advantage for the home team.
Dunlap hit his third three of the game to open the second half, and Bond worked his way inside for a couple of scores as the Big Red kept their margin intact. By the end of the quarter, Bond became the fourth Gladiator to hit double figures. RHS led 57-41 after three.
Painter opened the fourth period with a nice drive-and-dish to Adams, then scored the next five points himself as the margin ballooned over 20. Watson was doing his best to keep the Chargers in the game, but Riverheads' fast break was just too much for the visitors as the Gladiators converted some nice transition baskets, including an especially pretty Painter-to-Roberts-to-Fulton combination that looked for sure as if it was headed out of bounds before an amazing catch and assist by Roberts saved the two points.
Coach Coffey had substituted freely throughout the game, and in the final minutes, the four JV players who have been brought up for the playoffs got their share of the action, and to the delight of their older teammates as well as the Big Red fans, three of them scored in the waning moments of the game. Tyler Davis had the honor of pushing the Gladiators over the 80-point plateau for the first time this season on a pair of charity tosses, and his JV buddies Michael Robertson and Tristan Bartley also made it into the box score.
Painter led the balanced RHS attack with 21, Fulton added 16, Bond had 12, Dunlap 11, and Roberts hit for 9 as they barely missed having the starting five in double figures. All five connected from behind the arc, as they combined for 7 of them in the first half, but after Dunlap's to open the third quarter, the attack shifted to the transition game and the baskets became easier to come by.
Thursday's semi-final with Carver will give the Gladiators the chance to earn their first state tournament berth in a number of years. If they can pull it off, that will be quite an accomplishment for such a young team with only one starter over 6 foot.
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