Just as I had anticipated, the Gladiators gave a good effort in this one as that final score is somewhat deceiving. Riverheads actually had an early double-digit lead and Page did not take its first lead of the game until the final two minutes of the first half. Although Page then assumed control in the second half, it was still a single-digit game at the four-minute mark. So if the Panthers are the second-best team in the district, and I believe they are, then I personally was OK with the RHS effort here tonight.
The Gladiators came out energized and focused and hit five of their first six shots to take an early 10-3 lead. Page was missing some inside shots and turning the ball over, allowing RHS to stretch the margin to double digits at 15-5.
Page then got into its rhythm and started a comeback, trimming the lead to 17-14 by the end of the first quarter. Riverheads held its ground for a while, but the Panthers took their first lead at 26-24 just before the break. The Gladiators forged one last tie at 30, before Page inched ahead 32-30 at the midway point. Hostetler had 17 for RHS at halftime and McKay had 16 for Page.
The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half to take a 38-30 lead before Riverheads could scratch again. The lead then fluctuated between 6 and 10 for most of the quarter.
Page moved ahead 52-39 late in the quarter but Riverheads rallied briefly as a trey from Grant Painter cut the lead to 10 at the horn and an old-fashioned three by Drew Bond brought Riverheads within 7 to open the fourth period. The lead then stayed in the 8 to 10 range until Page scored the last 7 of the game to turn a relatively close 63-54 game into a not-as-much-of-a-rout-as-it-might-sound 16-point win.
The fundamental difference between the two teams was experience. Page has all juniors and seniors on its squad, whereas Riverheads starts two freshmen and a sophomore, a third freshmen gets major minutes, and the Red Pride only has two seniors on the entire team. So given that disparity, the Gladiators have nothing to be ashamed of.
Now the big question is......how much did this one wear out such a young team and how hard did Stuarts Draft have to work for its 26 point win over Wilson tonight, since the Gladiators now travel to play the Cougars tomorrow night? Riverheads then has another road game Friday at Wilson. After tonight's loss, the Gladiators are 4-3 on the season. A split in the remaining two games will keep them on the positive side of the win column, and if they wish to win both, I will not have an argument with that. If they lose both and go 0-3 for the week, they will still only be one game below .500 with over half the season left.
In JV action tonight, Page led only 7-6 after one, but scored the first 16 points of the second quarter to run away with a 50-28 win. Eighth-grader Adam Painter scored the first 12 for RHS, all from behind the arc, as he finished with five triples to lead the Big Red scoring with 17.
The Gladiators came out energized and focused and hit five of their first six shots to take an early 10-3 lead. Page was missing some inside shots and turning the ball over, allowing RHS to stretch the margin to double digits at 15-5.
Page then got into its rhythm and started a comeback, trimming the lead to 17-14 by the end of the first quarter. Riverheads held its ground for a while, but the Panthers took their first lead at 26-24 just before the break. The Gladiators forged one last tie at 30, before Page inched ahead 32-30 at the midway point. Hostetler had 17 for RHS at halftime and McKay had 16 for Page.
The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half to take a 38-30 lead before Riverheads could scratch again. The lead then fluctuated between 6 and 10 for most of the quarter.
Page moved ahead 52-39 late in the quarter but Riverheads rallied briefly as a trey from Grant Painter cut the lead to 10 at the horn and an old-fashioned three by Drew Bond brought Riverheads within 7 to open the fourth period. The lead then stayed in the 8 to 10 range until Page scored the last 7 of the game to turn a relatively close 63-54 game into a not-as-much-of-a-rout-as-it-might-sound 16-point win.
The fundamental difference between the two teams was experience. Page has all juniors and seniors on its squad, whereas Riverheads starts two freshmen and a sophomore, a third freshmen gets major minutes, and the Red Pride only has two seniors on the entire team. So given that disparity, the Gladiators have nothing to be ashamed of.
Now the big question is......how much did this one wear out such a young team and how hard did Stuarts Draft have to work for its 26 point win over Wilson tonight, since the Gladiators now travel to play the Cougars tomorrow night? Riverheads then has another road game Friday at Wilson. After tonight's loss, the Gladiators are 4-3 on the season. A split in the remaining two games will keep them on the positive side of the win column, and if they wish to win both, I will not have an argument with that. If they lose both and go 0-3 for the week, they will still only be one game below .500 with over half the season left.
In JV action tonight, Page led only 7-6 after one, but scored the first 16 points of the second quarter to run away with a 50-28 win. Eighth-grader Adam Painter scored the first 12 for RHS, all from behind the arc, as he finished with five triples to lead the Big Red scoring with 17.
