When Josh Kinzel hit his only three-pointer of the night with about 2 1/2 minutes to go, it was not a clean shot as it bounced high off the rim and hit the backboard before it dropped in. But it counted nevertheless and gave Riverheads its 12th triple of the game, breaking the school record of 11 as the Gladiators thrashed visiting Luray 77-50.
Kinzel was actually one of five Gladiators that connected from behind the arc, but the big story was sophomore Grant Painter, who hit eight of those twelve, in the process setting a school record for most threes in a game by an individual. Aaron Rowe, who graduated somewhere in the 2004 neighborhood, had held the previous record with 7.
Not only did Painter set the three-point record but he flirted with the total points record for an individual. When he was pulled from the game for the final time with about 5 minutes left, he had 37 points on the evening, leaving Tom Desmond's mid 1970s record of 42 safe for the moment. He did most of his damage in the second quarter, hitting four straight in one stretch as he personally outscored the Bulldogs 24-23 in the opening half.
Lost in all of that drama was another excellent game by Painter's fellow sophomore Braeson Fulton, who finished with a fine game of 18 himself, including one of the triples. Elijah Dunlap and Bradley Roberts canned the remaining two bombs.
As for Luray, they gave a game effort as Brayden Burrill and J R Green hit 17 and 16 respectively, with Green having a strong overall inside game. But something is apparently amiss in Bulldog Country as the Dogs only dressed out nine guys tonight, despite a printed roster of 13. There was no official explanation given for the discrepancy, but at least it put the teams on an even playing field, since Riverheads only has 9 when everyone is there.
The Gladiators could not have asked for a more confidence-building game as their next encounter takes them into Staunton Friday night for a first-ever game in the legendary Paul Hatcher Gymnasium where they will face the defending state champion Leemen. The two teams did meet a few years ago in a Conference 44 playoff game, but that was on a neutral floor at Buffalo Gap. This year's RHS team, as demonstrated already in the first four games of the year, may have the quickness to challenge the Leemen but the height differential will be staggering. Still it will be an interesting test for the Big Red.
Tonight's JV game was an odd affair. RHS took control early, leading by as many as 13 in the first half. But the Junior Bulldogs kept crawling back and finally tied it at 44 with about a minute and a half left. They then took a four point lead and the home team appeared to be toast. But with Luray leading 48-47, Gladiator sophomore Michael Robertson was fouled in a mad scramble under his own basket with .3 seconds left. (Notice the decimal point.)
He stepped to the line with a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but could only hit one of the two shots and the game went into overtime tied at 48. That was all the break the Bulldogs needed as they re-established control and sneaked out of Greenville with a hard-fought 55-52 win.
Kinzel was actually one of five Gladiators that connected from behind the arc, but the big story was sophomore Grant Painter, who hit eight of those twelve, in the process setting a school record for most threes in a game by an individual. Aaron Rowe, who graduated somewhere in the 2004 neighborhood, had held the previous record with 7.
Not only did Painter set the three-point record but he flirted with the total points record for an individual. When he was pulled from the game for the final time with about 5 minutes left, he had 37 points on the evening, leaving Tom Desmond's mid 1970s record of 42 safe for the moment. He did most of his damage in the second quarter, hitting four straight in one stretch as he personally outscored the Bulldogs 24-23 in the opening half.
Lost in all of that drama was another excellent game by Painter's fellow sophomore Braeson Fulton, who finished with a fine game of 18 himself, including one of the triples. Elijah Dunlap and Bradley Roberts canned the remaining two bombs.
As for Luray, they gave a game effort as Brayden Burrill and J R Green hit 17 and 16 respectively, with Green having a strong overall inside game. But something is apparently amiss in Bulldog Country as the Dogs only dressed out nine guys tonight, despite a printed roster of 13. There was no official explanation given for the discrepancy, but at least it put the teams on an even playing field, since Riverheads only has 9 when everyone is there.
The Gladiators could not have asked for a more confidence-building game as their next encounter takes them into Staunton Friday night for a first-ever game in the legendary Paul Hatcher Gymnasium where they will face the defending state champion Leemen. The two teams did meet a few years ago in a Conference 44 playoff game, but that was on a neutral floor at Buffalo Gap. This year's RHS team, as demonstrated already in the first four games of the year, may have the quickness to challenge the Leemen but the height differential will be staggering. Still it will be an interesting test for the Big Red.
Tonight's JV game was an odd affair. RHS took control early, leading by as many as 13 in the first half. But the Junior Bulldogs kept crawling back and finally tied it at 44 with about a minute and a half left. They then took a four point lead and the home team appeared to be toast. But with Luray leading 48-47, Gladiator sophomore Michael Robertson was fouled in a mad scramble under his own basket with .3 seconds left. (Notice the decimal point.)
He stepped to the line with a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but could only hit one of the two shots and the game went into overtime tied at 48. That was all the break the Bulldogs needed as they re-established control and sneaked out of Greenville with a hard-fought 55-52 win.
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