After suffering a couple of tough road losses last week to begin the season, Riverheads opened its home schedule this evening and almost pulled off the upset as they took Nelson County into overtime before the Governors pulled out a 61-53 victory. It was the classic David vs. Goliath match-up as Nelson brought a 16-man roster that features a whopping TWELVE seniors, whereas Riverheads only has ten bodies on the team, with only one of those a senior and three of them freshmen.
Considering the athleticism that Nelson exhibited, RHS was lucky to be in this one at all but the Big Red just would not go away. Nelson's main weapons were Anthony Lee and Denzell Foster with Mason Robey getting some key buckets inside.
As for the Gladiators' scoring, it was almost a case of "it's your turn now." Team leader Brett Hostetler had an uncharacteristically off night, so that meant that others had to step up and one by one they did just that. The front court of 6'5" Austin Craft and 6'1" Dakota Cave each had a consistent game with 14 and 8 points respectively, and more importantly each avoided fouling out of a very physical game.
When the Gladiators needed an outside bucket, they first turned to sixth man Dylan Craig, who came off the bench and immediately dropped in a pair of triples that gave RHS a 14-12 lead after one. Nelson then moved ahead 29-23 at the break, only to see Riverheads sophomore Bradley Roberts explode for a nine-point third quarter to keep the Gladiators in the game. He then added the first bucket of the fourth quarter as he drained his third triple to start the Big Red's final rally that would send the game into overtime.
Then down the stretch, it was freshman Drew Bond's turn to step up as he scored on a nice give-and-go that actually put RHS ahead 51-50, and moments later he calmly sank a pair of free throws to tie the score at 53 and force overtime.
It momentarily appeared that the Governors had won the game in regulation as someone hit a foul line jumper with only 1.4 left in the game. But the refs ruled that Coach Garrett had called time out just before the shot was released. They then missed badly in that final 1.4 and we headed for overtime.
Nelson had the first chance to score in the extra session as Foster drove the lane and scored. However the basket was waved off on a charge call, which almost earned Garrett a technical. That then gave RHS the chance to go ahead. They held the ball for a while but then threw up something wild and from there on out, it was all Nelson as they outscored the out-of-gas Gladiators 8-0 in the OT.
This was only my second time seeing the Big Red as I missed the Luray game, but I can honestly say this one was a 300% improvement over the East Rock season opener, especially considering the superior depth and talent advantage the Governors had. So this game, which I choose to put in the moral victories category, should have them confidently fired up for Buffalo Gap when the Bison visit on Saturday.
Earlier in the evening, the Gladiator crowd was thoroughly entertained by our spunky little JV team. As I had mentioned after the East Rock game, they too are comparatively young, with 7 eighth-graders on an 11-man squad. Tonight they hustled all over the court in a fast-paced game and pulled away down the stretch for a 49-34 win, their second in a row. I don't keep score for them but two of those eighth-graders, Braeson Fulton and Grant Painter, combined for either five or six triples, to complement the five that the varsity would later hit. Looks like the refs in the area will be extending both arms skyward quite a few more times over the next few years as each Gladiator team seems to have found its strength.
Considering the athleticism that Nelson exhibited, RHS was lucky to be in this one at all but the Big Red just would not go away. Nelson's main weapons were Anthony Lee and Denzell Foster with Mason Robey getting some key buckets inside.
As for the Gladiators' scoring, it was almost a case of "it's your turn now." Team leader Brett Hostetler had an uncharacteristically off night, so that meant that others had to step up and one by one they did just that. The front court of 6'5" Austin Craft and 6'1" Dakota Cave each had a consistent game with 14 and 8 points respectively, and more importantly each avoided fouling out of a very physical game.
When the Gladiators needed an outside bucket, they first turned to sixth man Dylan Craig, who came off the bench and immediately dropped in a pair of triples that gave RHS a 14-12 lead after one. Nelson then moved ahead 29-23 at the break, only to see Riverheads sophomore Bradley Roberts explode for a nine-point third quarter to keep the Gladiators in the game. He then added the first bucket of the fourth quarter as he drained his third triple to start the Big Red's final rally that would send the game into overtime.
Then down the stretch, it was freshman Drew Bond's turn to step up as he scored on a nice give-and-go that actually put RHS ahead 51-50, and moments later he calmly sank a pair of free throws to tie the score at 53 and force overtime.
It momentarily appeared that the Governors had won the game in regulation as someone hit a foul line jumper with only 1.4 left in the game. But the refs ruled that Coach Garrett had called time out just before the shot was released. They then missed badly in that final 1.4 and we headed for overtime.
Nelson had the first chance to score in the extra session as Foster drove the lane and scored. However the basket was waved off on a charge call, which almost earned Garrett a technical. That then gave RHS the chance to go ahead. They held the ball for a while but then threw up something wild and from there on out, it was all Nelson as they outscored the out-of-gas Gladiators 8-0 in the OT.
This was only my second time seeing the Big Red as I missed the Luray game, but I can honestly say this one was a 300% improvement over the East Rock season opener, especially considering the superior depth and talent advantage the Governors had. So this game, which I choose to put in the moral victories category, should have them confidently fired up for Buffalo Gap when the Bison visit on Saturday.
Earlier in the evening, the Gladiator crowd was thoroughly entertained by our spunky little JV team. As I had mentioned after the East Rock game, they too are comparatively young, with 7 eighth-graders on an 11-man squad. Tonight they hustled all over the court in a fast-paced game and pulled away down the stretch for a 49-34 win, their second in a row. I don't keep score for them but two of those eighth-graders, Braeson Fulton and Grant Painter, combined for either five or six triples, to complement the five that the varsity would later hit. Looks like the refs in the area will be extending both arms skyward quite a few more times over the next few years as each Gladiator team seems to have found its strength.
