Although pizzza has already given this score in his nightly review, there was a lot to like about this game and therefore it deserves its own thread. All things considered, I would put this up there as one of the two or three best games I have seen this season.
First of all, there was the atmosphere. As you guys know, I have been bellyaching on here lately about the lack of attendance and appreciation that teams in general are getting all over the valley this year. Well tonight, that situation improved considerably. Luray had a lively pep band, which I assume they do for every game, and it made a huge difference and added a little more pizzazz to the game. So hats off to the staff at LHS for doing that.
Secondly, each team only dressed out 8 players tonight, which made for an even playing field. I am sure each one has been outnumbered in just about every game they have played this season, so the low numbers speak well of their dedication to their team but it also means that every guy has to pull his weight and give the maximum effort and from my seat tonight, they certainly seemed to do just that.
Which leads me into the game itself. This was an extremely well-played, hard-fought game by both teams and it was one of those in which you could almost see the wheels turning and see them adjusting to one another when they had to. Although Riverheads led virtually the entire game, thanks to a huge first quarter, the Dogs made a serious push late in the game that really tightened things up.
Luray's 6'5" J R Green, Jr., who would later factor VERY prominently into the game, gave the Dogs their one and only lead of the game, as he scored the opening bucket. Riverheads answered with a three and never trailed. In fact this came very close to being a history-making night for RHS in terms of three-pointers.
As you may recall, they had set a school record earlier this season by hitting 12 against these same Bulldogs. So tonight they looked as if they might set a new mark, but eventually only tied that one. I have already read one newspaper account that disagrees with me on who hit how many, but that happens.
By the time all was said and done, the entire starting five would hit from behind the arc, and in fact four of the five hit more than one. I had Braeson Fulton leading the way with four of them and a total of 19 points, but the paper has him for five treys and 22 points.
I have no idea who they took one away from, as that would be up to the official scorer, but I had Elijah Dunlap hitting three of them, Drew Bond and Grant Painter with two each, and Bradley Roberts with the 12th one. But an even more impressive stat would be Painter going to the foul line 14 times, where he connected on every one of them, which helped the Gladiators hang on down the stretch.
So even though the paper has him and Fulton with 22 each, I have Painter as high scorer by himself with 22. The other three starters all finished (in my notes at least) with either eight or nine total points as once again the Big Red had great balance.
Anyway, the first five three-pointers in the first period opened up a 21-9 lead for the Gladiators and set the stage for a series of Bulldog comebacks. A cold spell by RHS early in the second allowed the home team to cut the lead to five, before Riverheads extended it again. But a three at the horn for the Dogs trimmed it to 31-23 at the half. The Gladiators had seven of their treys by that point.
The third quarter was a "my half/your half" deal. Riverheads started out strong, hitting three more triples to take their largest lead of the night at 44-28. But just when it looked like they might be able to run away with it, the Dogs started hitting a few of their own from the promised land, but they also started to force the ball inside at every opportunity to the aforementioned Mr. Green.
Although Riverheads could handle him to a degree, he had a definite height advantage and was able to make a big dent in the margin coming down the stretch. The Dogs trimmed the lead to 49-44 by the end of the third, and kept charging all the way to within two points at 62-60. That is when Riverheads went to its delay game, which features excellent ball-handling skills by Painter. The Dogs had no choice but to foul, and he scored the final seven Riverheads' points from the charity stripe. The paper and I seem to agree on his 22 point total, which amazingly included only three shots from the floor.
Luray tried its darnedest to pull the game out by playing the old "trade three for two" game but Riverheads had the composure to hang on for the hard-fought win, their fourth in a row. The Gladiators are now an even 8-8 overall and 6-7 in Shenandoah District play. Although they are probably looking at either the fifth or sixth seed for the district tournament, they are not likely to be an easy out for anyone, but if tonight's game is any indication, Luray may not be either.
As discussed earlier this week, the Gladiators have a killer schedule to wrap up the season as they have games Saturday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday nights, and then two more on Thursday and Saturday. If there was ever a time for the "take one game at a time" pep talk, this is it. And that next one game will be to face Parry McCluer at 2:00 Saturday (which is to say TODAY) in the Rock the Ribbon Classic. The Gladiators are something like 0-9 all-time against Coach Cartolaro, so it would REALLY be nice if they could extend their win streak and scratch that particular item off their bucket list.
Tonight's JV game also featured a three-point spree from the Gladiators as I unofficially had them down for nine of them, six coming from Adam Painter, on the way to a 57-46 victory. The Big Red trailed 23-21 at halftime, but got nice second-half efforts off the bench from Ryan Farris and Tye Morris to ease past the Baby Bulldogs, avenging an overtime loss at Riverheads.
First of all, there was the atmosphere. As you guys know, I have been bellyaching on here lately about the lack of attendance and appreciation that teams in general are getting all over the valley this year. Well tonight, that situation improved considerably. Luray had a lively pep band, which I assume they do for every game, and it made a huge difference and added a little more pizzazz to the game. So hats off to the staff at LHS for doing that.
Secondly, each team only dressed out 8 players tonight, which made for an even playing field. I am sure each one has been outnumbered in just about every game they have played this season, so the low numbers speak well of their dedication to their team but it also means that every guy has to pull his weight and give the maximum effort and from my seat tonight, they certainly seemed to do just that.
Which leads me into the game itself. This was an extremely well-played, hard-fought game by both teams and it was one of those in which you could almost see the wheels turning and see them adjusting to one another when they had to. Although Riverheads led virtually the entire game, thanks to a huge first quarter, the Dogs made a serious push late in the game that really tightened things up.
Luray's 6'5" J R Green, Jr., who would later factor VERY prominently into the game, gave the Dogs their one and only lead of the game, as he scored the opening bucket. Riverheads answered with a three and never trailed. In fact this came very close to being a history-making night for RHS in terms of three-pointers.
As you may recall, they had set a school record earlier this season by hitting 12 against these same Bulldogs. So tonight they looked as if they might set a new mark, but eventually only tied that one. I have already read one newspaper account that disagrees with me on who hit how many, but that happens.
By the time all was said and done, the entire starting five would hit from behind the arc, and in fact four of the five hit more than one. I had Braeson Fulton leading the way with four of them and a total of 19 points, but the paper has him for five treys and 22 points.
I have no idea who they took one away from, as that would be up to the official scorer, but I had Elijah Dunlap hitting three of them, Drew Bond and Grant Painter with two each, and Bradley Roberts with the 12th one. But an even more impressive stat would be Painter going to the foul line 14 times, where he connected on every one of them, which helped the Gladiators hang on down the stretch.
So even though the paper has him and Fulton with 22 each, I have Painter as high scorer by himself with 22. The other three starters all finished (in my notes at least) with either eight or nine total points as once again the Big Red had great balance.
Anyway, the first five three-pointers in the first period opened up a 21-9 lead for the Gladiators and set the stage for a series of Bulldog comebacks. A cold spell by RHS early in the second allowed the home team to cut the lead to five, before Riverheads extended it again. But a three at the horn for the Dogs trimmed it to 31-23 at the half. The Gladiators had seven of their treys by that point.
The third quarter was a "my half/your half" deal. Riverheads started out strong, hitting three more triples to take their largest lead of the night at 44-28. But just when it looked like they might be able to run away with it, the Dogs started hitting a few of their own from the promised land, but they also started to force the ball inside at every opportunity to the aforementioned Mr. Green.
Although Riverheads could handle him to a degree, he had a definite height advantage and was able to make a big dent in the margin coming down the stretch. The Dogs trimmed the lead to 49-44 by the end of the third, and kept charging all the way to within two points at 62-60. That is when Riverheads went to its delay game, which features excellent ball-handling skills by Painter. The Dogs had no choice but to foul, and he scored the final seven Riverheads' points from the charity stripe. The paper and I seem to agree on his 22 point total, which amazingly included only three shots from the floor.
Luray tried its darnedest to pull the game out by playing the old "trade three for two" game but Riverheads had the composure to hang on for the hard-fought win, their fourth in a row. The Gladiators are now an even 8-8 overall and 6-7 in Shenandoah District play. Although they are probably looking at either the fifth or sixth seed for the district tournament, they are not likely to be an easy out for anyone, but if tonight's game is any indication, Luray may not be either.
As discussed earlier this week, the Gladiators have a killer schedule to wrap up the season as they have games Saturday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday nights, and then two more on Thursday and Saturday. If there was ever a time for the "take one game at a time" pep talk, this is it. And that next one game will be to face Parry McCluer at 2:00 Saturday (which is to say TODAY) in the Rock the Ribbon Classic. The Gladiators are something like 0-9 all-time against Coach Cartolaro, so it would REALLY be nice if they could extend their win streak and scratch that particular item off their bucket list.
Tonight's JV game also featured a three-point spree from the Gladiators as I unofficially had them down for nine of them, six coming from Adam Painter, on the way to a 57-46 victory. The Big Red trailed 23-21 at halftime, but got nice second-half efforts off the bench from Ryan Farris and Tye Morris to ease past the Baby Bulldogs, avenging an overtime loss at Riverheads.
