Led by a senior who was determined to go out a winner and two hustling freshmen, Riverheads celebrated a highly-satisfying Senior Night with a 60-46 romp over neighboring rival Wilson. The win snaps a four-game losing skid and gives the Big Red a chance to reach the ten-win plateau, which might not seem that impressive to some teams but will be a major accomplishment for one that has started three freshmen on occasion.
But as stated, it was Senior Night and the Big Red only had two to send off, guard Brett Hostetler and 6'6" Austin Craft. Hostetler got off to a great start as he connected on his first attempted triple and added another bucket to score the first five points for the Gladiators, as they eased out to a 10-8 first quarter lead.
As the second quarter progressed, the Gladiators had their only real problem of the night with the visitors as their inside defense broke down for a brief stretch, allowing Wilson to score five buckets in the paint and take an 18-16 lead. But the Big Red made the necessary adjustments and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 lead in to the locker room. One of the freshmen, Braeson Fulton, started that run with a deep three from the right corner that gave the Big Red the lead for good.
Any thoughts the Hornets may have had for a comeback were quickly dashed as the second half became the Grant Painter show for Riverheads. The flashy freshman quickly scored the opening bucket of the half and in no time at all the Gladiators had a 16-point lead following his back to back triples from almost the same spot on the court.
Wilson did briefly rally and sliced the lead in half at 39-31, but Riverheads re-assumed control and soon had it back to double digits. Painter, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, added a pair of old-fashioned threes down the stretch, and as the game wrapped up, other Gladiators got in the act as 9 out of 10 dented the scoring column.
A pair of Bradley Roberts free throws gave RHS its largest lead of the night at 60-43, before a Wilson triple closed out the scoring. Toward the end of the game, and quite likely with the blessings of the coaching staff, Craft decided to try and go out with a bang and see if he could hit a three-pointer (remember he is 6'6" and not exactly your average outside threat). It would have brought the house down if it had been good, but he missed it and the game ended soon thereafter.
Joining Painter in double figures were Hostetler with 15 and Fulton with 13. Those three have been the most consistent scorers all season for the balanced Gladiators but just about every other guy on the squad has had his "big game" to be proud of. This team could quite possibly still make some noise in the playoffs and with potentially as many as eight returning next year, the future looks extremely bright for Big Red basketball.
In a nip and tuck JV game, each team gambled late on a three-pointer but Wilson's rattled in and Riverheads' did not as the Hornets held on for a 37-34 win. The teams were never more than six points apart and the final margin was actually Wilson's largest lead of the game. Zack Adams led the way for RHS with 17 points.
Riverheads wraps up the week with road trips to Nelson County Wednesday and Stonewall on Friday. The winner of the Stonewall game will lock down the number two seed for the Conference 44 playoffs and will most likely host Friday's loser in the conference semi-finals on Wednesday the 15th. We can assume that Friday will be Stonewall's Senior Night, which will of course be their primary motivation, but you can bet the Gladiators would love to host that playoff game instead of going back to Stonewall, so the Big Red will show up to play Friday. Count on it!
But as stated, it was Senior Night and the Big Red only had two to send off, guard Brett Hostetler and 6'6" Austin Craft. Hostetler got off to a great start as he connected on his first attempted triple and added another bucket to score the first five points for the Gladiators, as they eased out to a 10-8 first quarter lead.
As the second quarter progressed, the Gladiators had their only real problem of the night with the visitors as their inside defense broke down for a brief stretch, allowing Wilson to score five buckets in the paint and take an 18-16 lead. But the Big Red made the necessary adjustments and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 lead in to the locker room. One of the freshmen, Braeson Fulton, started that run with a deep three from the right corner that gave the Big Red the lead for good.
Any thoughts the Hornets may have had for a comeback were quickly dashed as the second half became the Grant Painter show for Riverheads. The flashy freshman quickly scored the opening bucket of the half and in no time at all the Gladiators had a 16-point lead following his back to back triples from almost the same spot on the court.
Wilson did briefly rally and sliced the lead in half at 39-31, but Riverheads re-assumed control and soon had it back to double digits. Painter, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, added a pair of old-fashioned threes down the stretch, and as the game wrapped up, other Gladiators got in the act as 9 out of 10 dented the scoring column.
A pair of Bradley Roberts free throws gave RHS its largest lead of the night at 60-43, before a Wilson triple closed out the scoring. Toward the end of the game, and quite likely with the blessings of the coaching staff, Craft decided to try and go out with a bang and see if he could hit a three-pointer (remember he is 6'6" and not exactly your average outside threat). It would have brought the house down if it had been good, but he missed it and the game ended soon thereafter.
Joining Painter in double figures were Hostetler with 15 and Fulton with 13. Those three have been the most consistent scorers all season for the balanced Gladiators but just about every other guy on the squad has had his "big game" to be proud of. This team could quite possibly still make some noise in the playoffs and with potentially as many as eight returning next year, the future looks extremely bright for Big Red basketball.
In a nip and tuck JV game, each team gambled late on a three-pointer but Wilson's rattled in and Riverheads' did not as the Hornets held on for a 37-34 win. The teams were never more than six points apart and the final margin was actually Wilson's largest lead of the game. Zack Adams led the way for RHS with 17 points.
Riverheads wraps up the week with road trips to Nelson County Wednesday and Stonewall on Friday. The winner of the Stonewall game will lock down the number two seed for the Conference 44 playoffs and will most likely host Friday's loser in the conference semi-finals on Wednesday the 15th. We can assume that Friday will be Stonewall's Senior Night, which will of course be their primary motivation, but you can bet the Gladiators would love to host that playoff game instead of going back to Stonewall, so the Big Red will show up to play Friday. Count on it!
