It was a tale of two halves here tonight and the visiting Panthers had the better second half as they went on a 12-0 scoring spurt late in the third quarter to slip by the Gladiators. The simplest explanation from a Riverheads standpoint is that the Gladiators just had one of those poor shooting nights that is going to hit every team once in a while. After setting a new school record earlier this season with 12 triples in a game and then hitting 10 more just Wednesday night against Fort Defiance, tonight they only managed two.
The Panthers on the other hand were not necessarily as talented as some of their past teams, and definitely not as tall, but they still had the same quickness and hustle that we always see from a Page team, and those factors combined with RHS' shooting woes were enough to earn them the victory.
The first half was pretty evenly matched with neither team managing more than a four-point lead. Riverheads held that at 17-13 late in the first period behind 10 points from Drew Bond, who has had a great week and would go on to tie the career high he set on Wednesday by scoring 18 again tonight. Although he is only 6'3", the Panthers had no answer for him inside in the early going. But Page ended the period on a flurry to take a 20-17 lead.
The pace was just as frantic in the second but the scoring slowed down for both teams. RHS began to experience some foul difficulty and team leader Braeson Fulton had trouble getting untracked, failing to score until the final minute of the first half. Despite those issues, the home team went into the locker room ahead 28-27.
The Big Red got off to a decent enough second-half start and in fact took their largest lead of the night at 36-31. But then the bottom fell out and the Panthers surged ahead 43-36. A Grant Painter basket cut the margin to five at the end of the period.
Riverheads stayed within striking distance for most of the fourth but as the clock ticked down, they became more frustrated, rushed some shots, passed up some others, and the Panthers were able to move out to their biggest lead at 60-46, before Painter ended the scoring with a four-point free throw visit following a Panther foul and technical.
Painter led the RHS scoring with 19 giving the Big Red a nice one/two punch but Fulton had a slightly off night and finished with only 9. Point guard Elijah Dunlap, who drained four triples on the way to a 17-point showing in the Fort win on Wednesday, picked up two very quick fouls which pretty much took away his effectiveness for the duration of the game.
Tanner Conley led the Panthers with 21, although his performance was slightly marred by the technical he received, which came with less than 30 seconds left for protesting a foul that was not even called on him. In his defense, the game was already in hand and as technicals go, it was certainly a quiet one. We can only assume it was one of those under-the-breath things that no one else was meant to hear.
In a highly-competitive JV game, Riverheads came out smoking from behind the arc, as Adam Painter (younger brother of Grant) stroked five triples in the first half and ended up hitting seven. Three other Gladiators joined him with one each, giving them 10 on the night, which is pretty high for a JV team.
But it was not enough as an athletic Panther team rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to win 64-54. Page was able to turn numerous turnovers down the stretch into easy points to pull out the win.
Next up for the Big Red will be a highly-anticipated re-match with Stuarts Draft, set for RHS on Tuesday. Riverheads has knocked off the Cougars four out of the last five times they have come to Greenville and would love to do it again.
For those of you who were concerned about the previously-discussed no-show, Mr. Chrome Dome himself, he "claims" to have put in an appearance tonight. But I will have to take his word for it, since I did not see him in person, nor any reflections bouncing off the lights.
I had guessed he would take off at least one more night and possibly make this season's grand entrance Tuesday night for the Draft game. After all, given his age, going out into tonight's cold could have been risky. It would have been a toss-up as to which would freeze first...his bloodstream or the gas line in that old Packard that he drives. But apparently both survived the elements.
Seriously, congratulations go out to any basketball fan across the state who braved tonight's temperatures to support your school. I am sure that, win or lose, your presence was felt and appreciated by your team.
The Panthers on the other hand were not necessarily as talented as some of their past teams, and definitely not as tall, but they still had the same quickness and hustle that we always see from a Page team, and those factors combined with RHS' shooting woes were enough to earn them the victory.
The first half was pretty evenly matched with neither team managing more than a four-point lead. Riverheads held that at 17-13 late in the first period behind 10 points from Drew Bond, who has had a great week and would go on to tie the career high he set on Wednesday by scoring 18 again tonight. Although he is only 6'3", the Panthers had no answer for him inside in the early going. But Page ended the period on a flurry to take a 20-17 lead.
The pace was just as frantic in the second but the scoring slowed down for both teams. RHS began to experience some foul difficulty and team leader Braeson Fulton had trouble getting untracked, failing to score until the final minute of the first half. Despite those issues, the home team went into the locker room ahead 28-27.
The Big Red got off to a decent enough second-half start and in fact took their largest lead of the night at 36-31. But then the bottom fell out and the Panthers surged ahead 43-36. A Grant Painter basket cut the margin to five at the end of the period.
Riverheads stayed within striking distance for most of the fourth but as the clock ticked down, they became more frustrated, rushed some shots, passed up some others, and the Panthers were able to move out to their biggest lead at 60-46, before Painter ended the scoring with a four-point free throw visit following a Panther foul and technical.
Painter led the RHS scoring with 19 giving the Big Red a nice one/two punch but Fulton had a slightly off night and finished with only 9. Point guard Elijah Dunlap, who drained four triples on the way to a 17-point showing in the Fort win on Wednesday, picked up two very quick fouls which pretty much took away his effectiveness for the duration of the game.
Tanner Conley led the Panthers with 21, although his performance was slightly marred by the technical he received, which came with less than 30 seconds left for protesting a foul that was not even called on him. In his defense, the game was already in hand and as technicals go, it was certainly a quiet one. We can only assume it was one of those under-the-breath things that no one else was meant to hear.
In a highly-competitive JV game, Riverheads came out smoking from behind the arc, as Adam Painter (younger brother of Grant) stroked five triples in the first half and ended up hitting seven. Three other Gladiators joined him with one each, giving them 10 on the night, which is pretty high for a JV team.
But it was not enough as an athletic Panther team rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to win 64-54. Page was able to turn numerous turnovers down the stretch into easy points to pull out the win.
Next up for the Big Red will be a highly-anticipated re-match with Stuarts Draft, set for RHS on Tuesday. Riverheads has knocked off the Cougars four out of the last five times they have come to Greenville and would love to do it again.
For those of you who were concerned about the previously-discussed no-show, Mr. Chrome Dome himself, he "claims" to have put in an appearance tonight. But I will have to take his word for it, since I did not see him in person, nor any reflections bouncing off the lights.
I had guessed he would take off at least one more night and possibly make this season's grand entrance Tuesday night for the Draft game. After all, given his age, going out into tonight's cold could have been risky. It would have been a toss-up as to which would freeze first...his bloodstream or the gas line in that old Packard that he drives. But apparently both survived the elements.
Seriously, congratulations go out to any basketball fan across the state who braved tonight's temperatures to support your school. I am sure that, win or lose, your presence was felt and appreciated by your team.
