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Luray-63, Riverheads-41

longtimerhsfan

VaPreps All Region
Dec 12, 2006
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Those of you who read my RHS game reviews on a regular basis may have a hard time understanding this one, but I honestly think the Big Red played a better game tonight in this 22-point loss than they did in last night's 4-point loss to Parry McCluer. I say that because there was a night and day difference in the effort tonight and as a result, this game was one of those that was closer than the score sounds.

Last night they were just lethargic and didn't get "up" for the game. As a result, PM made just enough plays to win as the teams were clearly evenly-matched and the Gladiators could have won with a few breaks and a little more intensity.

Tonight on the other hand, there was no way RHS could be expected to compete against Luray's 6'7" Josh Good and 6'8" J.R. Green, not to mention the always-hustling Leo Yates out on the wing. Yet the Gladiators played with a lot more spirit in this one and did in fact stick with the Dogs well into the fourth quarter before they simply ran out of gas.

They only trailed 9-7 after a sloppy first quarter and were still only down 7 at the break, 31-24. Luray started to take charge and led 43-28 late in the third before RHS scored the last 7 points of the quarter to creep back to within 43-35. They got one point closer at 45-38 before the Dogs were finally able to pull away.

The Gladiators got their usual steady game out of Brett Hostetler with 13 points and also got better performances from their inside duo of Austin Craft and Dakota Cave. Those two only combined for four points last night against PM, but tonight Cave had his first double-figure game of the season with 10 and Craft added six, ironically all coming within about a 3-minute span in the second quarter. Bradley Roberts had a solid 9-point effort.

Yes it still goes in the books as a loss and the Gladiators are now 2-9 on the year. But other than last night's uninspired effort, they have played hard each game and seem to be having fun. So it seems to be a matter of who they get "up" for and who they don't. With that in mind, next up will be a trip to Buffalo Gap, moved ahead from Friday to Thursday due to the expected snowstorm. As a general rule, you don't have to say anything to anybody about the motivation level for that rivalry. It just happens.

In tonight's JV game, the Big Red won 65-53 to raise their record to 8-3 on the year. Unlike the varsity game, that one was nowhere near as close as that score sounds. RHS led the entire way and was ahead 63-37 before a late Luray surge against the subs trimmed the margin. The Dogs even added two triples in the last minute, including a desperation heave from just inside the half-court line at the final horn. I did not hear or keep any scoring, but I am sure Braeson Fulton led the way for RHS.
 
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