The homestanding Gladiators faced adversity tonight even before the opening tip but still managed to give an inspired effort against Fort Defiance in a game that was closer than that score might sound. The Gladiators stayed within the 8-10 point range for about 3 1/2 quarters before a late flurry led by Gio Armendariz Cruz allowed the Indians to expand the margin.
The primary issue facing the Big Red tonight was numbers. We already knew about the Indians three-platoon attack, but hopefully the Gladiators were going to have all 11 of their healthy bodies available to make it as fair a fight as possible. However it did not take long to figure out that Gabe Lloyd was going to miss his second straight game due to a concussion, but more importantly the Gladiators were also without the services tonight of point guard and emotional leader Henley Dunlap, who I was told had been ill this week and was unable to play.
His 10 points per game and his intensity were definitely missed and the Big Red did the best they could with the nine available players. Two in particular came off the bench and had excellent games. Brody Phillips scored six straight points in one stretch midway through the first quarter to get the Big Red back in the game after a shaky start. He would go on to finish with 12 points, and being only a sophomore, that may have been a career high for him.
Perhaps even more encouraging for the Gladiators was the 10 point game of another sophomore, Joe George. As mentioned in previous games, he has missed most of the season due to an injury and tonight was only his third game back in action. The Big Red had no choice but to give him major minutes and he responded with a solid 10 point effort and a tremendous hustle game. He will definitely help the Big Red down the home stretch, not to mention his final two years.
The Gladiators had two other players in double figures as starters J P Crawford and Jackson Brammer finished with 17 and 14 respectively. Another starter, Grady Campbell finished with seven for a well-balanced Gladiator attack.
However the Indians did their usual thing of wholesale and frequent substitution and although this game was not as frantic as the earlier match-up between the two teams, you could tell that the 14-9 numbers advantage took its toll eventually. I would assume that Gio was their leading scorer because Sam Garber was unusually quiet tonight and I don't recall anyone else having a big scoring game.
For all practical purposes the Indians won this one in the first quarter. That was primarily due to the fact that the Gladiators were hit with a whole boatload of early fouls. One of those appeared to be given to the wrong player although I think that may have been eventually straightened out. Regardless, by the midway point of the first quarter, the team foul situation was something like 8-1 in favor of the Indians as they scratched out to an early 15-7 advantage.
Phillips then scored his six in a row to cut the lead to 15-13 before the Indians closed out the period on a 14-4 run to lead 29-17. Riverheads then kept itself in the game with a strong second quarter and had the lead down 36-31 at one point as the Fort led 45-36 at the break.
The Gladiators as mentioned stayed within striking distance for most of the second half. Brammer and Campbell in particular had good second halves as the third quarter ended 59-47. RHS kept the margin in that range until Cruz took over in the final two minutes to put it out of reach. Overall a decent effort by the Big Red considering their short-handedness.
The JV game featured the same general game plan on the part of the Fort but in this case, the Gladiators adapted to it well, as they had the first time around. Riverheads held the upper hand for probably 80 % of the game and still had a 44-38 lead with about three minutes left. But a late surge by the Indians, capped off by a triple from Connor Batten, gave them the lead at 47-46 in the final seconds. They then missed three out of their last four foul shots, which left the door open for the Gladiators. The Big Red had its chances, including the final possession, but just could not get the winning basket as the Fort held on to win that one 48-46.
Riverheads is now off until next Tuesday and their two games next week are at Waynesboro on Tuesday and home to Buffalo Gap on Friday. Hopefully it will be all hands on deck for both of those games, because the Big Red has scores to settle against both those teams.
The primary issue facing the Big Red tonight was numbers. We already knew about the Indians three-platoon attack, but hopefully the Gladiators were going to have all 11 of their healthy bodies available to make it as fair a fight as possible. However it did not take long to figure out that Gabe Lloyd was going to miss his second straight game due to a concussion, but more importantly the Gladiators were also without the services tonight of point guard and emotional leader Henley Dunlap, who I was told had been ill this week and was unable to play.
His 10 points per game and his intensity were definitely missed and the Big Red did the best they could with the nine available players. Two in particular came off the bench and had excellent games. Brody Phillips scored six straight points in one stretch midway through the first quarter to get the Big Red back in the game after a shaky start. He would go on to finish with 12 points, and being only a sophomore, that may have been a career high for him.
Perhaps even more encouraging for the Gladiators was the 10 point game of another sophomore, Joe George. As mentioned in previous games, he has missed most of the season due to an injury and tonight was only his third game back in action. The Big Red had no choice but to give him major minutes and he responded with a solid 10 point effort and a tremendous hustle game. He will definitely help the Big Red down the home stretch, not to mention his final two years.
The Gladiators had two other players in double figures as starters J P Crawford and Jackson Brammer finished with 17 and 14 respectively. Another starter, Grady Campbell finished with seven for a well-balanced Gladiator attack.
However the Indians did their usual thing of wholesale and frequent substitution and although this game was not as frantic as the earlier match-up between the two teams, you could tell that the 14-9 numbers advantage took its toll eventually. I would assume that Gio was their leading scorer because Sam Garber was unusually quiet tonight and I don't recall anyone else having a big scoring game.
For all practical purposes the Indians won this one in the first quarter. That was primarily due to the fact that the Gladiators were hit with a whole boatload of early fouls. One of those appeared to be given to the wrong player although I think that may have been eventually straightened out. Regardless, by the midway point of the first quarter, the team foul situation was something like 8-1 in favor of the Indians as they scratched out to an early 15-7 advantage.
Phillips then scored his six in a row to cut the lead to 15-13 before the Indians closed out the period on a 14-4 run to lead 29-17. Riverheads then kept itself in the game with a strong second quarter and had the lead down 36-31 at one point as the Fort led 45-36 at the break.
The Gladiators as mentioned stayed within striking distance for most of the second half. Brammer and Campbell in particular had good second halves as the third quarter ended 59-47. RHS kept the margin in that range until Cruz took over in the final two minutes to put it out of reach. Overall a decent effort by the Big Red considering their short-handedness.
The JV game featured the same general game plan on the part of the Fort but in this case, the Gladiators adapted to it well, as they had the first time around. Riverheads held the upper hand for probably 80 % of the game and still had a 44-38 lead with about three minutes left. But a late surge by the Indians, capped off by a triple from Connor Batten, gave them the lead at 47-46 in the final seconds. They then missed three out of their last four foul shots, which left the door open for the Gladiators. The Big Red had its chances, including the final possession, but just could not get the winning basket as the Fort held on to win that one 48-46.
Riverheads is now off until next Tuesday and their two games next week are at Waynesboro on Tuesday and home to Buffalo Gap on Friday. Hopefully it will be all hands on deck for both of those games, because the Big Red has scores to settle against both those teams.
