This one was all about the teams exchanging scoring surges with the Bulldogs having the final one that counted the most. In all fairness to RHS, this was a slightly closer game than that score might make it sound as they had the lead for large segments of the action.
The first half of the first quarter was nip and tuck, and tied at 5 around the midway point. That is when RHS had the first scoring spurt as they moved ahead 12-7 at the first horn.
They then moved out to their largest lead of the game at 16-9 and appeared poised to put the Bulldogs in a tough spot. But fouls were mounting up for the Big Red and that helped the Dogs to an 13-2 spurt that gave them their largest lead of the first half at 22-18. The Gladiators then spurted again as consecutive threes by Graham Cash and Kendall Casto, sandwiched around a Luray hoop, tied things up at 24 just before the half. Luray then scored one final basket to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room.
A Cash foul shot opened the second half and moments later, RHS reserve forward Jared Farley, who had earned an honorary Senior Night starting spot and ended up playing about half the game, scored four straight points on his own to move RHS out in front 31-28. Unfortunately that would turn out to be the Big Red's last lead of the night as Luray outscored the home team 7-2 to close out the quarter with a 35-33 lead.
Leo Yates opened the fourth quarter with a steal and driving lay-up to put the Dogs ahead 37-33, matching their largest lead of the night to that point. Moments later however, he lost his composure and almost went from hero to goat.
His Dogs were ahead 40-36 when he was whistled for a foul on Cash. He protested the call a little too much and was hit with a technical. That sent the Gladiator duo of Cash and Zach Roberts to the foul line for four straight shots with a chance to tie the game with about five minutes left. Unfortunately they only managed to connect on one of the four freebies, and to make matters worse, the Big Red turned the ball over almost immediately after taking the ball out of bounds following the missed shots. The Bulldogs took full advantage of their frustration and reeled off six quick ones to essentially put the game on ice.
Josh Good had his usual solid game for the Dogs, but if I were a Luray fan, I might be tempted to give tonight's game ball to Zach Tiller. He came up with several key buckets at times when the visitors needed them the most.
On the Riverheads side, Roberts scored 12, followed by 11 from Cash, 7 from Casto and 6 from Farley. The Gladiators tried to stay in the game with the three-ball as four guys combined to hit five of them, but too many turnovers and Luray's superior quickness and size just got in the way of the Gladiators' upset bid.
The night was not a total loss for RHS as they won the JV game 30-19. The Gladiator juniors ended the season on a positive note, winning two of their last four, to go along with several early-season non-district wins. Another encouraging factor for them is that they got significant experience out of five eighth-graders, all of whom quite likely still have a growth spurt ahead of them.
Next up for the Big Red is a home game in the first round of the Conference 36 playoffs. They are locked in a tight race with R E Lee for the 3rd and 4th spots, both of which get to host an opening round game. One of them will host sixth place Nelson and the other fifth place Buffalo Gap. There will also be some heavy duty calculating going on to see what will happen in the race between the Lady Gladiators and the Lady Leemen. It is for sure that they will play one another on Friday, but the question remains which one will get the number four seed and get to host.
So stay tuned to see how those two situations turn out. It might take a Las Vegas oddsmaker to figure out Riverheads' chances of hosting a doubleheader on Friday, but apparently there is at least "some" possibility for that to happen.
The first half of the first quarter was nip and tuck, and tied at 5 around the midway point. That is when RHS had the first scoring spurt as they moved ahead 12-7 at the first horn.
They then moved out to their largest lead of the game at 16-9 and appeared poised to put the Bulldogs in a tough spot. But fouls were mounting up for the Big Red and that helped the Dogs to an 13-2 spurt that gave them their largest lead of the first half at 22-18. The Gladiators then spurted again as consecutive threes by Graham Cash and Kendall Casto, sandwiched around a Luray hoop, tied things up at 24 just before the half. Luray then scored one final basket to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room.
A Cash foul shot opened the second half and moments later, RHS reserve forward Jared Farley, who had earned an honorary Senior Night starting spot and ended up playing about half the game, scored four straight points on his own to move RHS out in front 31-28. Unfortunately that would turn out to be the Big Red's last lead of the night as Luray outscored the home team 7-2 to close out the quarter with a 35-33 lead.
Leo Yates opened the fourth quarter with a steal and driving lay-up to put the Dogs ahead 37-33, matching their largest lead of the night to that point. Moments later however, he lost his composure and almost went from hero to goat.
His Dogs were ahead 40-36 when he was whistled for a foul on Cash. He protested the call a little too much and was hit with a technical. That sent the Gladiator duo of Cash and Zach Roberts to the foul line for four straight shots with a chance to tie the game with about five minutes left. Unfortunately they only managed to connect on one of the four freebies, and to make matters worse, the Big Red turned the ball over almost immediately after taking the ball out of bounds following the missed shots. The Bulldogs took full advantage of their frustration and reeled off six quick ones to essentially put the game on ice.
Josh Good had his usual solid game for the Dogs, but if I were a Luray fan, I might be tempted to give tonight's game ball to Zach Tiller. He came up with several key buckets at times when the visitors needed them the most.
On the Riverheads side, Roberts scored 12, followed by 11 from Cash, 7 from Casto and 6 from Farley. The Gladiators tried to stay in the game with the three-ball as four guys combined to hit five of them, but too many turnovers and Luray's superior quickness and size just got in the way of the Gladiators' upset bid.
The night was not a total loss for RHS as they won the JV game 30-19. The Gladiator juniors ended the season on a positive note, winning two of their last four, to go along with several early-season non-district wins. Another encouraging factor for them is that they got significant experience out of five eighth-graders, all of whom quite likely still have a growth spurt ahead of them.
Next up for the Big Red is a home game in the first round of the Conference 36 playoffs. They are locked in a tight race with R E Lee for the 3rd and 4th spots, both of which get to host an opening round game. One of them will host sixth place Nelson and the other fifth place Buffalo Gap. There will also be some heavy duty calculating going on to see what will happen in the race between the Lady Gladiators and the Lady Leemen. It is for sure that they will play one another on Friday, but the question remains which one will get the number four seed and get to host.
So stay tuned to see how those two situations turn out. It might take a Las Vegas oddsmaker to figure out Riverheads' chances of hosting a doubleheader on Friday, but apparently there is at least "some" possibility for that to happen.
