Playing before one of the emptiest gyms I have ever seen in my life, the Gladiators treated their diehard group of road groupies to not one, but two, classic lessons in how to post a comeback win, as the JVs knocked off the home team 58-48 and the varsity squeezed out a 56-54 overtime decision.
The JV game could only be described as weird. Stonewall came out of the gates hitting everything in sight as they dropped in either four or five triples in the first quarter alone. Coach Harris got so exasperated with the Big Red that he yanked his starters midway through the period, which enabled Stonewall to take as much as a 20 point lead.
When the starters returned, they initially did not make much of a dent in the margin, as Stonewall still led 33-19 at the break. But the Gladiators came out with a renewed intensity in the second half and the Generals pretty much collapsed, including pulling maneuvers such as shooting at the wrong basket.
Due to the size of the hump they had to overcome, it took Riverheads until the 3:07 mark of the fourth quarter, when a Braeson Fulton steal and lay-up gave them their very first lead of the game at 44-43. They then outscored the Generals 14-5 the rest of the way to complete the bizarre 30-point turnaround victory. Moral of the story........no matter how poorly you start out and how far behind you get, it ain't over till it's over!
The varsity team never got that far behind but still spent major stretches of its game climbing uphill. The first thing one noticed about Stonewall when they took the floor was how small they were, both in numbers (only eight) and in size, with no one standing more than 6'1" and even that looked like an exaggeration. So they compensated for that with surprising quickness and hustle that kept Riverheads on its heels all night long.
The Gladiators of course used their size advantage at every opportunity, as 6'5" Austin Craft dropped in eight field goals for a new career high to lead the Riverheads scoring. Most of his baskets came from less than five feet away, but he does have a nice set shot out to about 12 feet and he knocked down a couple of those as well. Forrest Shuey brought some early intensity off the bench for the Big Red and dropped in a couple of key inside buckets and down the stretch, Dakota Cave had two very important scores.
Stonewall pressed most of the game and harassed the RHS guards into quite a number of turnovers, so they were not as productive as usual, although Brett Hostetler scored a tough 15 points and freshman Drew Bond matched his career high with a second consecutive 11-point effort.
The first quarter was nip and tuck with a number of lead changes, and Shuey's two baskets helped RHS to a 12-11 lead. But Stonewall had its biggest surge in the second quarter and at one point, led by 10 at 24-14. The lead was still nine at 27-18 before the Gladiators scored the last seven of the half to close within two and seize the momentum.
Bond and Hostetler opened the third period with three-pointers for RHS and from that point, it was GAME ON, as the teams traded hoops for the rest of the game and the extra session with neither leading by more than four points the rest of the way. Riverheads led 39-35 at the end of three and appeared as if they might be ready to take charge and pull away, but Stonewall sneaked back into contention, mainly on the hustle play of junior Keelan Sorrells. (Point to note for the future of both teams......Stonewall has no seniors and Cave is Riverheads' only one.)
The score was tied down the stretch at 45 and again at 47, and a Riverheads turnover gave Stonewall the last nine seconds of regulation to bring home the win. However, RHS only had four team fouls and wisely committed two more to take up some of the time before a desperation three from the top of the key failed to find its mark.
Stonewall opened the extra session with a deep three from the left corner and for the very first time all night (and I am not kidding) we heard more than a disinterested murmur from the sparse home crowd. Sorry but I am telling it like it is.......come on out and support your team folks, no matter how much they might be struggling.
But instead of that bucket firing up Stonewall to a possible win, Riverheads scored the next seven points, including a go-ahead three by Hostetler, his third of the night. Stonewall still crept back to within 54-52 as RHS gave them additional chances by missing foul shots. But the Generals last gasp effort came up short when Sorrells barreled into the lane (bull in a china shop style) and was called for the charge. Bond then calmly sank two free throws with 4 seconds left to make it 56-52 and the Gladiators allowed a harmless lay-up at the buzzer.
The Generals deserve credit for how hard they hustled and with a few more fans in the stands (hint hint!), they could pull off another win or two this year. For Riverheads, it wasn't pretty but we will take it, heading into Friday night's tussle at Stuarts Draft where the Cougars laid over 100 on Luray tonight.
The JV game could only be described as weird. Stonewall came out of the gates hitting everything in sight as they dropped in either four or five triples in the first quarter alone. Coach Harris got so exasperated with the Big Red that he yanked his starters midway through the period, which enabled Stonewall to take as much as a 20 point lead.
When the starters returned, they initially did not make much of a dent in the margin, as Stonewall still led 33-19 at the break. But the Gladiators came out with a renewed intensity in the second half and the Generals pretty much collapsed, including pulling maneuvers such as shooting at the wrong basket.
Due to the size of the hump they had to overcome, it took Riverheads until the 3:07 mark of the fourth quarter, when a Braeson Fulton steal and lay-up gave them their very first lead of the game at 44-43. They then outscored the Generals 14-5 the rest of the way to complete the bizarre 30-point turnaround victory. Moral of the story........no matter how poorly you start out and how far behind you get, it ain't over till it's over!
The varsity team never got that far behind but still spent major stretches of its game climbing uphill. The first thing one noticed about Stonewall when they took the floor was how small they were, both in numbers (only eight) and in size, with no one standing more than 6'1" and even that looked like an exaggeration. So they compensated for that with surprising quickness and hustle that kept Riverheads on its heels all night long.
The Gladiators of course used their size advantage at every opportunity, as 6'5" Austin Craft dropped in eight field goals for a new career high to lead the Riverheads scoring. Most of his baskets came from less than five feet away, but he does have a nice set shot out to about 12 feet and he knocked down a couple of those as well. Forrest Shuey brought some early intensity off the bench for the Big Red and dropped in a couple of key inside buckets and down the stretch, Dakota Cave had two very important scores.
Stonewall pressed most of the game and harassed the RHS guards into quite a number of turnovers, so they were not as productive as usual, although Brett Hostetler scored a tough 15 points and freshman Drew Bond matched his career high with a second consecutive 11-point effort.
The first quarter was nip and tuck with a number of lead changes, and Shuey's two baskets helped RHS to a 12-11 lead. But Stonewall had its biggest surge in the second quarter and at one point, led by 10 at 24-14. The lead was still nine at 27-18 before the Gladiators scored the last seven of the half to close within two and seize the momentum.
Bond and Hostetler opened the third period with three-pointers for RHS and from that point, it was GAME ON, as the teams traded hoops for the rest of the game and the extra session with neither leading by more than four points the rest of the way. Riverheads led 39-35 at the end of three and appeared as if they might be ready to take charge and pull away, but Stonewall sneaked back into contention, mainly on the hustle play of junior Keelan Sorrells. (Point to note for the future of both teams......Stonewall has no seniors and Cave is Riverheads' only one.)
The score was tied down the stretch at 45 and again at 47, and a Riverheads turnover gave Stonewall the last nine seconds of regulation to bring home the win. However, RHS only had four team fouls and wisely committed two more to take up some of the time before a desperation three from the top of the key failed to find its mark.
Stonewall opened the extra session with a deep three from the left corner and for the very first time all night (and I am not kidding) we heard more than a disinterested murmur from the sparse home crowd. Sorry but I am telling it like it is.......come on out and support your team folks, no matter how much they might be struggling.
But instead of that bucket firing up Stonewall to a possible win, Riverheads scored the next seven points, including a go-ahead three by Hostetler, his third of the night. Stonewall still crept back to within 54-52 as RHS gave them additional chances by missing foul shots. But the Generals last gasp effort came up short when Sorrells barreled into the lane (bull in a china shop style) and was called for the charge. Bond then calmly sank two free throws with 4 seconds left to make it 56-52 and the Gladiators allowed a harmless lay-up at the buzzer.
The Generals deserve credit for how hard they hustled and with a few more fans in the stands (hint hint!), they could pull off another win or two this year. For Riverheads, it wasn't pretty but we will take it, heading into Friday night's tussle at Stuarts Draft where the Cougars laid over 100 on Luray tonight.
