Riverheads exploded out of the locker room with a 10-1 third quarter burst and never looked back as they posted a surprising season-opening win tonight over Fort Defiance. This game marked the first time in 36 years that the two teams had met on the hardwood, going all the way back to the Dell Curry days.
It might be hard to call the win an "upset" so early in the season but at the same time, there were very few reasons for anyone to have gone into the game thinking RHS would come out on top. After all, Fort was playing at home, they are the larger school, they were playing their fifth game of the season to Riverheads' first, and of course there was the youth factor, as the Gladiators are carrying four freshmen on the roster this season.
But as it turned out, the question of whether those freshmen will help Riverheads was most definitely answered tonight as the duo of Grant Painter and Braeson Fulton scored the first 10 points of the game for the Red Pride and combined for 23 points to key the victory. A third freshman, Elijah Dunlap, provided some quality relief minutes at the point guard position and knocked down some key free throws in the final minutes of the game.
Fort took the early lead as both teams had trouble finding the range. It was only 8-7 after one period and the Indians would have taken their largest lead of the game (16-10) into the locker room if not for a three-pointer by Fulton just before the halftime horn. The Gladiators then made their move in the third, surging ahead 23-17 and eventually taking as much as a nine-point lead.
The Indians made it interesting however, cutting the advantage down to just two at 36-34 before Dunlap and junior Bradley Roberts closed out the game at the foul line. Roberts was the third leading scorer for RHS with 8 points.
If there was a key stat to the win, it had to be turnovers. I don't have any numbers for you, but RHS was by far the quicker team and they constantly knocked away passes and employed a tight trapping defense that the Indians just couldn't handle. Despite the low score, there were fouls aplenty as each team reached the double bonus by game's end and at least one player fouled out.
So it was not a pretty win, but considering how unexpected it was, Coach Coffey will certainly take it and build upon it. The Gladiators however will have very little time to celebrate as district play begins Friday with a home tilt against Luray.
The JV game was won by Fort 55-35, but that score is deceptive, as it was a nip and tuck game for three quarters and still tied at 32 before a late Indian surge put the Big Red away.
It might be hard to call the win an "upset" so early in the season but at the same time, there were very few reasons for anyone to have gone into the game thinking RHS would come out on top. After all, Fort was playing at home, they are the larger school, they were playing their fifth game of the season to Riverheads' first, and of course there was the youth factor, as the Gladiators are carrying four freshmen on the roster this season.
But as it turned out, the question of whether those freshmen will help Riverheads was most definitely answered tonight as the duo of Grant Painter and Braeson Fulton scored the first 10 points of the game for the Red Pride and combined for 23 points to key the victory. A third freshman, Elijah Dunlap, provided some quality relief minutes at the point guard position and knocked down some key free throws in the final minutes of the game.
Fort took the early lead as both teams had trouble finding the range. It was only 8-7 after one period and the Indians would have taken their largest lead of the game (16-10) into the locker room if not for a three-pointer by Fulton just before the halftime horn. The Gladiators then made their move in the third, surging ahead 23-17 and eventually taking as much as a nine-point lead.
The Indians made it interesting however, cutting the advantage down to just two at 36-34 before Dunlap and junior Bradley Roberts closed out the game at the foul line. Roberts was the third leading scorer for RHS with 8 points.
If there was a key stat to the win, it had to be turnovers. I don't have any numbers for you, but RHS was by far the quicker team and they constantly knocked away passes and employed a tight trapping defense that the Indians just couldn't handle. Despite the low score, there were fouls aplenty as each team reached the double bonus by game's end and at least one player fouled out.
So it was not a pretty win, but considering how unexpected it was, Coach Coffey will certainly take it and build upon it. The Gladiators however will have very little time to celebrate as district play begins Friday with a home tilt against Luray.
The JV game was won by Fort 55-35, but that score is deceptive, as it was a nip and tuck game for three quarters and still tied at 32 before a late Indian surge put the Big Red away.
