After Tuesday night's disappointing overtime loss to Wilson, Riverheads needed to get off to a good start and pick up a confidence-building win and they did exactly that as they jumped to a quick 8-0 lead and coasted to their eighth victory of the season. Actually it was senior guard Grant Painter, who finally appears to have shaken that rotten cold, who scored those first eight points in less than two minutes, and for that matter he had as many points in the first quarter (13) as the Indians did in the entire first half.
The weapon of choice for the Big Red tonight was the three pointer as it has been most of the season. Painter ended the night with five of them, younger brother Adam added two more, and Elijah Dunlap chipped in with one more with most of that production coming in the first half.
Grant's early shooting spree staked the Gladiators to a 16-7 first quarter lead, which they then expanded to their largest lead of the night, a 31-13 halftime bulge. Grant already had 19 by that time, outscoring the Indians all by himself on the way to a game-high and his personal season-high 25 points. He ended the evening as the only Gladiator in double figures although nine guys dented the scoring column.
However, as insurmountable as that lead may have seemed, the Indians did come out of the locker room determined not to go quietly. They produced exactly half their point total with a nice third-quarter effort, led mainly by junior Vincent Sipe, and as the fourth quarter began, the lead was down to 10 at 43-33.
The Indians then scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to trim the margin to 8, most likely making more than one person in the crowd go "hmmm." But that was as close as they would get as Riverheads' Honor Robinson, who had been quiet to that point, dropped in the first six points of the quarter for the home team. They were then able to squelch the Indian rally and move out to the comfortable win.
The JV game was much more competitive as the two teams, each enjoying a winning record, took turns snatching the momentum and every time it looked like one team had made its move, the other would surge back and tie or take the lead. Finally in the last minute or so, a key steal led to a three from the top of the key by Riverheads' Michael King that tied the score at 38. The Gladiators regained possession shortly thereafter and squeezed out a hard-fought 41-38 win. They are now 7-3 on the season, just one game behind their varsity counterparts.
Shortly after his key basket, young Mr. King took a spill in the Fort Defiance lane and needed some attention on the sidelines from Riverheads' always-dependable Dr. Moore. The Good Doc, who has been a Riverheads treasure for almost 60 years now, stopped some apparent bleeding, fixed him up with some new headgear, and he seemed fine roaming the crowd the rest of the evening.
With the double win, the two Big Red teams remain perfect at home this season, but that will certainly be put to the test when Staunton and Waynesboro visit the Coliseum on consecutive nights Tuesday and Wednesday. In the past the very idea of Riverheads (or any county team for that matter) stepping out on the floor against either of those "city big boys" was almost a sure-fire recipe for disaster but things have evened up these past few years.
So much so that Buffalo Gap upended Staunton tonight 61-57 and Stuarts Draft absolutely pounded Waynesboro 84-59 on its own floor just last night. Those two were back in action tonight with SD proving me right with a 75-71 road win at Wilson and Waynesboro snapped a four-game losing skid with a closer-than-expected 60-57 win over Turner Ashby. Putting all these scores together, I think the safest thing to say here at the halfway point of the season is that anybody can beat anybody on a given night.
In more great news for Riverheads fans, I understand the Lady Gladiators went on the road and knocked off Fort Defiance 39-35. I believe the Indians were at the top of the heap in the Shenandoah, but with this result, Riverheads is now 2-0 in district play. So congratulations to first-year coach Preston Woods and the outstanding job he is doing with the Gladiator girls. I believe that was at least their fourth or maybe fifth straight win.
The weapon of choice for the Big Red tonight was the three pointer as it has been most of the season. Painter ended the night with five of them, younger brother Adam added two more, and Elijah Dunlap chipped in with one more with most of that production coming in the first half.
Grant's early shooting spree staked the Gladiators to a 16-7 first quarter lead, which they then expanded to their largest lead of the night, a 31-13 halftime bulge. Grant already had 19 by that time, outscoring the Indians all by himself on the way to a game-high and his personal season-high 25 points. He ended the evening as the only Gladiator in double figures although nine guys dented the scoring column.
However, as insurmountable as that lead may have seemed, the Indians did come out of the locker room determined not to go quietly. They produced exactly half their point total with a nice third-quarter effort, led mainly by junior Vincent Sipe, and as the fourth quarter began, the lead was down to 10 at 43-33.
The Indians then scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to trim the margin to 8, most likely making more than one person in the crowd go "hmmm." But that was as close as they would get as Riverheads' Honor Robinson, who had been quiet to that point, dropped in the first six points of the quarter for the home team. They were then able to squelch the Indian rally and move out to the comfortable win.
The JV game was much more competitive as the two teams, each enjoying a winning record, took turns snatching the momentum and every time it looked like one team had made its move, the other would surge back and tie or take the lead. Finally in the last minute or so, a key steal led to a three from the top of the key by Riverheads' Michael King that tied the score at 38. The Gladiators regained possession shortly thereafter and squeezed out a hard-fought 41-38 win. They are now 7-3 on the season, just one game behind their varsity counterparts.
Shortly after his key basket, young Mr. King took a spill in the Fort Defiance lane and needed some attention on the sidelines from Riverheads' always-dependable Dr. Moore. The Good Doc, who has been a Riverheads treasure for almost 60 years now, stopped some apparent bleeding, fixed him up with some new headgear, and he seemed fine roaming the crowd the rest of the evening.
With the double win, the two Big Red teams remain perfect at home this season, but that will certainly be put to the test when Staunton and Waynesboro visit the Coliseum on consecutive nights Tuesday and Wednesday. In the past the very idea of Riverheads (or any county team for that matter) stepping out on the floor against either of those "city big boys" was almost a sure-fire recipe for disaster but things have evened up these past few years.
So much so that Buffalo Gap upended Staunton tonight 61-57 and Stuarts Draft absolutely pounded Waynesboro 84-59 on its own floor just last night. Those two were back in action tonight with SD proving me right with a 75-71 road win at Wilson and Waynesboro snapped a four-game losing skid with a closer-than-expected 60-57 win over Turner Ashby. Putting all these scores together, I think the safest thing to say here at the halfway point of the season is that anybody can beat anybody on a given night.
In more great news for Riverheads fans, I understand the Lady Gladiators went on the road and knocked off Fort Defiance 39-35. I believe the Indians were at the top of the heap in the Shenandoah, but with this result, Riverheads is now 2-0 in district play. So congratulations to first-year coach Preston Woods and the outstanding job he is doing with the Gladiator girls. I believe that was at least their fourth or maybe fifth straight win.
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