The Red Pride made the longgggggg trip up to George Mason last night where they tangled with a bigger, quicker, and deeper Mustangs team that I believe had only lost one game all season. The Gladiators gave one of their better efforts of the year and were right in the thick of this one for all four quarters, so much so that the Mason student section didn't feel comfortable breaking out into any kind of victory cheer until there were only eight seconds left in the game.
Although the gym was smaller and more intimate than we were expecting, the Big Red took to it immediately and jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead. Zach Roberts scored first and Kendall Casto added two buckets, one coming on a sweet back door cut. Mason meanwhile seemed determined to establish its perimeter game but the first few shots and a couple of stickback attempts all came up short. Finally they connected for their first hoop at the four minute mark.
Casto immediately came downcourt and drained the first of his four triples as the Gladiators took their largest lead of the night at 9-2. This is the first time all season that any Big Red player connected for as many as four treys in one game.
Following that bucket, the Mustangs finally got started and made the first of their several big runs in the game, as they soon tied it up at 9-9. Riverheads regained the lead briefly before Mason tied it at 11 at the first horn.
GM then took its first lead of the game at 13-11 and in fact opened up the second quarter on a 6-0 spurt to take a 17-11 lead. But instead of letting them take charge of the game, Roberts and Casto each scored from behind the arc to tie it at 17.
The teams traded buckets for the rest of the half and even a breakaway dunk by the Mustangs' number 14 (sorry don't have the roster here with me at work) wasn't enough to keep Riverheads from sticking with them as the half ended with the home team on top by only 25-23.
Graham Cash tied the score for RHS to open the third quarter but GM answered with an 8-0 run this time to take their biggest lead of the night to that point at 33-25. Once again RHS refused to fold as the Gladiators scored the next five to cut it to 33-30, and a Casto triple at the horn made it 35-33 heading into the fourth.
Sophomore Harrison Schaefer capped off a 10-2 Gladiator run as he banked in a shot from the foul line area to tie the score for the final time at 35-35 before GM went on a final spurt that put the game away. They combined some Gladiator turnovers and charity stripe opportunities into a 13-0 run that only took about three minutes of clock time as they surged ahead 48-35.
At that point, it looked as if they might REALLY go haywire and turn what had just been a tie game into a blowout, but the Gladiators were not done yet as they made one final push, scoring the next seven points to close to within 48-42. That run was highlighted by RHS' sixth triple of the night, this one by Ben Agnor.
But Mason kept the Big Red from getting any closer and the game ended with Roberts connecting on a three-foul-shot opportunity to account for the final margin. That gave him 14 for the evening but Casto led the RHS scoring with 16.
The newspaper says that Tartt (maybe the same one that made the dunk?) was the leading Mustang scorer with 21, but they were also inspired by the defensive play of a spunky 5'7" spitfire name D'vontae something (he was misidentified on the roster that I don't have with me anyway). He was not a big-time offensive threat by any stretch, but his quickness and in-your-shorts defense harassed the Gladiators all night and forced a number of turnovers.
So all things considered, an excellent effort by the Big Red, especially considering that they were probably the biggest underdog in all the 36 vs. 35 match-ups. They lose five seniors off this team, so Coach Coffey will have a major rebuilding task next year, but this inspired outing against such a quality opponent should give them something positive to build upon.
This post was edited on 2/25 11:07 AM by longtimerhsfan
Although the gym was smaller and more intimate than we were expecting, the Big Red took to it immediately and jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead. Zach Roberts scored first and Kendall Casto added two buckets, one coming on a sweet back door cut. Mason meanwhile seemed determined to establish its perimeter game but the first few shots and a couple of stickback attempts all came up short. Finally they connected for their first hoop at the four minute mark.
Casto immediately came downcourt and drained the first of his four triples as the Gladiators took their largest lead of the night at 9-2. This is the first time all season that any Big Red player connected for as many as four treys in one game.
Following that bucket, the Mustangs finally got started and made the first of their several big runs in the game, as they soon tied it up at 9-9. Riverheads regained the lead briefly before Mason tied it at 11 at the first horn.
GM then took its first lead of the game at 13-11 and in fact opened up the second quarter on a 6-0 spurt to take a 17-11 lead. But instead of letting them take charge of the game, Roberts and Casto each scored from behind the arc to tie it at 17.
The teams traded buckets for the rest of the half and even a breakaway dunk by the Mustangs' number 14 (sorry don't have the roster here with me at work) wasn't enough to keep Riverheads from sticking with them as the half ended with the home team on top by only 25-23.
Graham Cash tied the score for RHS to open the third quarter but GM answered with an 8-0 run this time to take their biggest lead of the night to that point at 33-25. Once again RHS refused to fold as the Gladiators scored the next five to cut it to 33-30, and a Casto triple at the horn made it 35-33 heading into the fourth.
Sophomore Harrison Schaefer capped off a 10-2 Gladiator run as he banked in a shot from the foul line area to tie the score for the final time at 35-35 before GM went on a final spurt that put the game away. They combined some Gladiator turnovers and charity stripe opportunities into a 13-0 run that only took about three minutes of clock time as they surged ahead 48-35.
At that point, it looked as if they might REALLY go haywire and turn what had just been a tie game into a blowout, but the Gladiators were not done yet as they made one final push, scoring the next seven points to close to within 48-42. That run was highlighted by RHS' sixth triple of the night, this one by Ben Agnor.
But Mason kept the Big Red from getting any closer and the game ended with Roberts connecting on a three-foul-shot opportunity to account for the final margin. That gave him 14 for the evening but Casto led the RHS scoring with 16.
The newspaper says that Tartt (maybe the same one that made the dunk?) was the leading Mustang scorer with 21, but they were also inspired by the defensive play of a spunky 5'7" spitfire name D'vontae something (he was misidentified on the roster that I don't have with me anyway). He was not a big-time offensive threat by any stretch, but his quickness and in-your-shorts defense harassed the Gladiators all night and forced a number of turnovers.
So all things considered, an excellent effort by the Big Red, especially considering that they were probably the biggest underdog in all the 36 vs. 35 match-ups. They lose five seniors off this team, so Coach Coffey will have a major rebuilding task next year, but this inspired outing against such a quality opponent should give them something positive to build upon.
This post was edited on 2/25 11:07 AM by longtimerhsfan
