Last week after the Big Red stunned Stuarts Draft on its own floor with a buzzer-beating triple, at least one Cougar was quoted in the media as saying "we owe them something." Well revenge was sweet tonight in the re-match in Greenville as the Cougars came out on top 77-73 in a real slugfest.
It was the kind of game we often see in county rivalries where the play is so intense that the referees can't seem to keep it under control and as a result, it seems as if touch fouls are called and mayhem ignored. I lost count of the total number of fouls called tonight but I would guess it was in the 40s to maybe even 50.
The game featured a lot of momentum swings and lead changes, but was ultimately decided when Ryan Riley drained a triple to give the visitors a 71-67 lead, and shortly thereafter a technical was called on a Riverheads player for protesting what everyone on the home side considered an obvious foul that was not called. By the time the dust had settled from that confrontation, the score was 76-67, but Riverheads still did not go quietly as Adam Painter knocked down a pair of threes in the final minute, but the Gladiators just ran out of time.
Riverheads did a lot of things right in this game and certainly had their chances. For example, they rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit to forge a halftime tie, then took their first lead of the game early in the third. They placed four players in double figures with the aforementioned Mr. Painter finishing with nine points to almost make it five. Also they miraculously managed to avoid fouling out anybody in the game, even though only 9 Gladiators saw action (vs. 14 for the Cougars) and some of those were in foul trouble almost from the get go.
But in the end, "3diculous" as they call it got the job done as the Cougars hit some incredible shots at all the right times to hold off the Gladiators. In any given Stuarts Draft game it will come down to their success from behind the arc and tonight they hit just enough of them to finish out the night on top. Another key factor that helped the Cougars earn the win was the rebounding of junior Freddie Watkins, especially on the offensive end. He leaped out of the gym on numerous occasions to give the visitors second-chance opportunities.
Riverheads was led in scoring by junior Zack Adams, who apparently made a New Year's resolution to make life miserable for Stuarts Draft. He scored a career-high 27 in last week's win at the Draft and led Riverheads again tonight with 17, including an amazing sequence in the second-quarter Gladiator comeback in which he drove aggressively down the lane, risking life and limb, for three old-fashioned three-point plays within about a three minute span.
He cooled off in the second half but Grant Painter heated up, despite serious foul trouble, and finished right behind him with 16. Drew Bond added 13 and birthday boy Elijah Dunlap finished with 11 in the Big Red's highest-scoring game of the season. I did not stick around to listen for Stuarts Draft's scoring but considering their substitution pattern, I am sure they had their usual balance. With tonight's win, the Cougars may temporarily occupy the Number Two slot in the Shenandoah standings but it may not last as Riverheads has the more favorable schedule moving forward. Also teams such as Lee and Wilson may have something to say about all of that.
Despite the intensity of tonight's contest, it was arguably not even the best game of the night as the JV game was a real donnybrook. Stuarts Draft had pummeled the Gladiators by 25 last week, but tonight RHS pulled out all the stops and came out on top in a 66-62 overtime thriller, the Big Red's second OT win of the season.
An Aiden Miller triple that took a high bounce before dropping in tied the game at 59 to force the extra 3:30, and the Gladiators never trailed again. With RHS leading 64-62 in the final seconds, Bennett Dunlap stole the ball near midcourt and was fouled, enabling the Gladiators to hold on for the satisfying victory.
Riverheads' string of home games to offset a busy early season of travel will continue Friday night as Stonewall Jackson will make the trip to Greenville. Although RHS won big in Quicksburg in the season-opener, they should not take that one lightly as the Generals have been known to throw a scare into the Gladiators when they travel south.
It was the kind of game we often see in county rivalries where the play is so intense that the referees can't seem to keep it under control and as a result, it seems as if touch fouls are called and mayhem ignored. I lost count of the total number of fouls called tonight but I would guess it was in the 40s to maybe even 50.
The game featured a lot of momentum swings and lead changes, but was ultimately decided when Ryan Riley drained a triple to give the visitors a 71-67 lead, and shortly thereafter a technical was called on a Riverheads player for protesting what everyone on the home side considered an obvious foul that was not called. By the time the dust had settled from that confrontation, the score was 76-67, but Riverheads still did not go quietly as Adam Painter knocked down a pair of threes in the final minute, but the Gladiators just ran out of time.
Riverheads did a lot of things right in this game and certainly had their chances. For example, they rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit to forge a halftime tie, then took their first lead of the game early in the third. They placed four players in double figures with the aforementioned Mr. Painter finishing with nine points to almost make it five. Also they miraculously managed to avoid fouling out anybody in the game, even though only 9 Gladiators saw action (vs. 14 for the Cougars) and some of those were in foul trouble almost from the get go.
But in the end, "3diculous" as they call it got the job done as the Cougars hit some incredible shots at all the right times to hold off the Gladiators. In any given Stuarts Draft game it will come down to their success from behind the arc and tonight they hit just enough of them to finish out the night on top. Another key factor that helped the Cougars earn the win was the rebounding of junior Freddie Watkins, especially on the offensive end. He leaped out of the gym on numerous occasions to give the visitors second-chance opportunities.
Riverheads was led in scoring by junior Zack Adams, who apparently made a New Year's resolution to make life miserable for Stuarts Draft. He scored a career-high 27 in last week's win at the Draft and led Riverheads again tonight with 17, including an amazing sequence in the second-quarter Gladiator comeback in which he drove aggressively down the lane, risking life and limb, for three old-fashioned three-point plays within about a three minute span.
He cooled off in the second half but Grant Painter heated up, despite serious foul trouble, and finished right behind him with 16. Drew Bond added 13 and birthday boy Elijah Dunlap finished with 11 in the Big Red's highest-scoring game of the season. I did not stick around to listen for Stuarts Draft's scoring but considering their substitution pattern, I am sure they had their usual balance. With tonight's win, the Cougars may temporarily occupy the Number Two slot in the Shenandoah standings but it may not last as Riverheads has the more favorable schedule moving forward. Also teams such as Lee and Wilson may have something to say about all of that.
Despite the intensity of tonight's contest, it was arguably not even the best game of the night as the JV game was a real donnybrook. Stuarts Draft had pummeled the Gladiators by 25 last week, but tonight RHS pulled out all the stops and came out on top in a 66-62 overtime thriller, the Big Red's second OT win of the season.
An Aiden Miller triple that took a high bounce before dropping in tied the game at 59 to force the extra 3:30, and the Gladiators never trailed again. With RHS leading 64-62 in the final seconds, Bennett Dunlap stole the ball near midcourt and was fouled, enabling the Gladiators to hold on for the satisfying victory.
Riverheads' string of home games to offset a busy early season of travel will continue Friday night as Stonewall Jackson will make the trip to Greenville. Although RHS won big in Quicksburg in the season-opener, they should not take that one lightly as the Generals have been known to throw a scare into the Gladiators when they travel south.
