As mentioned in my preview, this game featured two teams that desperately needed a win and for most of the evening, it looked as if Riverheads would be that team, but the Bison used a crucial 12-3 spurt early in the fourth quarter to grab a narrow lead and then held their breath as a wide open Riverheads three at the buzzer felt just short. If that final score sounds familiar, it is because Riverheads won the first match-up on its home floor by an almost identical 45-44 score a few weeks ago. That was a holiday tournament game and did not count in the district standings so the two will still have one more meeting at Riverheads in early February.
Things were rather sluggish for both teams in the first quarter as RHS got six early points from Jackson Brammer to lead 9-8 after one. Henley Dunlap, who would to go on to lead the Big Red tonight with 16 points, hit a triple to account for the other Gladiator points.
The key factor for the rest of the first half was the foul situation as each team had at least two key players in foul trouble by halftime. The most serious situation was RHS' JP Crawford, who picked up his third in the final seconds before halftime. Despite the fouls, Riverheads held on to its lead for most of the quarter and even took its largest lead of the night at 21-14 before the Bison hit a bucket to close the halftime deficit to five.
BG quickly got back in the game in the third but was only able to take a brief two point lead. Riverheads however regained the upper hand and led 31-28 after three. Dunlap then drove in for an acrobatic lay-up to open the fourth and RHS was up 33-28.
But for the next few minutes, the Bison found ways to consistently drive into the paint and either score or get fouled. As a result that 12-3 run gave them their largest lead of the game at 40-36. Following a time out, Riverheads only needed a few seconds to tie things up at 40, and from then on it was a matter of who had the ball last.
BG hit some crucial foul shots to take its 46-44 margin, but left the Gladiators 12 seconds to work with. They moved into the front court where the Bison used their remaining (fourth) team foul to disrupt the action, giving the Gladiators one final chance with 2.3 seconds left. Following a time out, Crawford got a decent enough look at the shot that would have won the game but it came up short as the Bison celebrated the hard-fought win.
With tonight's loss, Riverheads is now 4-11 on the season, but those of us who try to look for positives can actually think of three of them that hopefully the players, fans and coaches will all keep in mind. First of all, tonight's game was the Big Red's fifth loss by four points or less. So they are hanging with people and if they had won some or all of those five, their record could be as high as 9-6, which would be a completely different story. Secondly the Gladiators do not have a single senior on the team, which means that this time next year, we should be seeing much improved results in some of these games.
But perhaps the most hopeful of those three optimistic signs involves someone who did not even set foot on the floor tonight. His name is Joseph George and he is a sophomore who was injured back in game five of the season and has not yet returned to action. He is 6'2", which matches the height of his tallest teammate. In the last two games prior to his injury he had really come into his own and had scored 12 and 13 points and had shown a three-point range that was totally unexpected coming into the season.
Well tonight for the first time since the injury, he was in uniform and warmed up with the team and looked pretty good doing it. No word yet on when he can return to active duty, but it goes without saying that if the Big Red can get back one of its tallest players who can also step outside and shoot, he will certainly be a help for his remaining two seasons, whether or not he contributes anything meaningful over the rest of this season. Definitely a situation for the Big Red faithful to keep an eye on....
Tonight's JV game was every bit as tight as the varsity game as the Bison eked out a two-point win in that as well, winning 32-30. That one was ragged from start to finish and down the stretch, there were some odd calls that impacted the game. Just like we would ultimately see in the varsity game, Riverheads had the last possession, but could not get the tying or go-ahead bucket.
Looking at tonight's other two Shenandoah games I see that I was right but yet wrong. Staunton did bring Fort Defiance down to earth but it was not the lower-scoring pace I had expected. Instead The Storm apparently adapted just fine to the Indians' helter-skelter style and beat them at their own game, taking a resounding 106-80 win.
As for the Stuarts Draft at Wilson game, I should have realized that those two would stick to the pattern that I had mentioned they have had all these years, which was a tendency to win on the other's floor. Despite knowing that, I had predicted a Wilson win but I see that Draft won that one 78-72.
Because all of tonight's games were originally scheduled for Tuesday, that means that, weather-permitting, everybody has to put tonight behind them and possibly get ready for Friday night action. For the moment, let's just wait and see how much snow we get overnight and how that may impact the school closings and therefore those games.
Since everybody was hard at it tonight, it might be a blessing if some or all of those Friday games do get postponed. I will report back tomorrow morning, which is to say later THIS morning (!) to let you know where things stand.
Things were rather sluggish for both teams in the first quarter as RHS got six early points from Jackson Brammer to lead 9-8 after one. Henley Dunlap, who would to go on to lead the Big Red tonight with 16 points, hit a triple to account for the other Gladiator points.
The key factor for the rest of the first half was the foul situation as each team had at least two key players in foul trouble by halftime. The most serious situation was RHS' JP Crawford, who picked up his third in the final seconds before halftime. Despite the fouls, Riverheads held on to its lead for most of the quarter and even took its largest lead of the night at 21-14 before the Bison hit a bucket to close the halftime deficit to five.
BG quickly got back in the game in the third but was only able to take a brief two point lead. Riverheads however regained the upper hand and led 31-28 after three. Dunlap then drove in for an acrobatic lay-up to open the fourth and RHS was up 33-28.
But for the next few minutes, the Bison found ways to consistently drive into the paint and either score or get fouled. As a result that 12-3 run gave them their largest lead of the game at 40-36. Following a time out, Riverheads only needed a few seconds to tie things up at 40, and from then on it was a matter of who had the ball last.
BG hit some crucial foul shots to take its 46-44 margin, but left the Gladiators 12 seconds to work with. They moved into the front court where the Bison used their remaining (fourth) team foul to disrupt the action, giving the Gladiators one final chance with 2.3 seconds left. Following a time out, Crawford got a decent enough look at the shot that would have won the game but it came up short as the Bison celebrated the hard-fought win.
With tonight's loss, Riverheads is now 4-11 on the season, but those of us who try to look for positives can actually think of three of them that hopefully the players, fans and coaches will all keep in mind. First of all, tonight's game was the Big Red's fifth loss by four points or less. So they are hanging with people and if they had won some or all of those five, their record could be as high as 9-6, which would be a completely different story. Secondly the Gladiators do not have a single senior on the team, which means that this time next year, we should be seeing much improved results in some of these games.
But perhaps the most hopeful of those three optimistic signs involves someone who did not even set foot on the floor tonight. His name is Joseph George and he is a sophomore who was injured back in game five of the season and has not yet returned to action. He is 6'2", which matches the height of his tallest teammate. In the last two games prior to his injury he had really come into his own and had scored 12 and 13 points and had shown a three-point range that was totally unexpected coming into the season.
Well tonight for the first time since the injury, he was in uniform and warmed up with the team and looked pretty good doing it. No word yet on when he can return to active duty, but it goes without saying that if the Big Red can get back one of its tallest players who can also step outside and shoot, he will certainly be a help for his remaining two seasons, whether or not he contributes anything meaningful over the rest of this season. Definitely a situation for the Big Red faithful to keep an eye on....
Tonight's JV game was every bit as tight as the varsity game as the Bison eked out a two-point win in that as well, winning 32-30. That one was ragged from start to finish and down the stretch, there were some odd calls that impacted the game. Just like we would ultimately see in the varsity game, Riverheads had the last possession, but could not get the tying or go-ahead bucket.
Looking at tonight's other two Shenandoah games I see that I was right but yet wrong. Staunton did bring Fort Defiance down to earth but it was not the lower-scoring pace I had expected. Instead The Storm apparently adapted just fine to the Indians' helter-skelter style and beat them at their own game, taking a resounding 106-80 win.
As for the Stuarts Draft at Wilson game, I should have realized that those two would stick to the pattern that I had mentioned they have had all these years, which was a tendency to win on the other's floor. Despite knowing that, I had predicted a Wilson win but I see that Draft won that one 78-72.
Because all of tonight's games were originally scheduled for Tuesday, that means that, weather-permitting, everybody has to put tonight behind them and possibly get ready for Friday night action. For the moment, let's just wait and see how much snow we get overnight and how that may impact the school closings and therefore those games.
Since everybody was hard at it tonight, it might be a blessing if some or all of those Friday games do get postponed. I will report back tomorrow morning, which is to say later THIS morning (!) to let you know where things stand.
