I am beginning to think the Gladiator boys are messing with us this year. First they put together their best effort of the season Friday night and knock off Stuarts Draft, something not very many teams have done this year. Then they come out Monday night, also playing at home, and lay an egg in a somewhat embarrassing loss to Stonewall. So with only a 24-hour turnaround and facing their longest road trip of the season, traveling to Luray tonight, what do they do???? They destroy the Bulldogs 65-32. Go figure!
Before I give you the play by play, here are the highlights of this game:
All ten players hit the scoring column.
Brett Hostetler hit six three-pointers in one of the best shooting nights of his career.
Avery Schaefer didn't score from the field but gave a clinic at the foul line.
Luray failed to score a single point in the fourth quarter.
It was only for a few seconds, but we actually saw a running clock in a basketball game.
We had one of the best-officiated games you could ask for.
To look at that final score you would probably assume that RHS grabbed control early, but that was not the case. Luray opened up with a game plan to establish 6'8" J. R. Green as an inside presence and it worked for a while as he scored six quick points to stake the Dogs to an early 11-2 advantage. But within about a two-minute span, three different Gladiators connected from behind the arc, including the first of Hostetler's bombs, and the Big Red tied the score at 11 all. Green scored once more to put Luray ahead 13-11 after one.
The Dogs moved ahead 16-11 in the second, but from that point on, this game was all about Riverheads' hustle and shooting efficiency. They used their quickness to force one turnover after another, and the shots continued to fall for the visitors. They took their first lead at 22-20 on a Hostetler steal and lay-up, but the Dogs tied it one last time. RHS then scored the last nine points of the quarter to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Grant Painter opened the second half with a traditional three-point play to extend the lead to 12, but the Gladiators were just getting started. They were scoring mainly on fast-break lay-ups and well executed offensive sets, with a couple more Hostetler threes padding his game-high total of 22 points. In no time at all, the Gladiator lead was 21, at 47-26.
The quick Riverheads guards were picking the Dogs' pockets (if Bulldogs even have pockets?) on just about every possession it seemed and as a result Luray was never able to re-establish Green as a threat in the second half. In fact, you could make a good argument that RHS' Austin Craft outplayed him down the stretch. Regardless, by the end of the third stanza, the Gladiators had the big man thoroughly frustrated and in foul trouble.
The Dogs would go on to score only 10 points the entire second half, but ironically they scored six of those to close out the third quarter and trim the lead to 47-32. If you were an optimist, you might have thought they were about to continue that surge and get back in the game, but little did we know that the Gladiators were going to clamp down even harder on defense and hold them scoreless in an 18-0 fourth quarter. That goose-egg included some missed charity tosses, while Riverheads got a nice fourth quarter out of the aforementioned Mr. Schaefer as well as freshman Elijah Dunlap.
I personally did not realize that Luray had not scored until the final minute or so, and then I picked up on the fact that the clock operator was actually the one to alert the refs that the clock should run continuously, since the Shenandoah adopted that rule this year. So once the margin reached 30, the game moved along faster.
To explain my earlier comment about the refs, I thought they called a great game. There was very little controversy and on at least two calls that I can think of, they did the right thing and put their heads together to make sure the right call was made.
Hostetler's 22 was the only double-figure game of the night for RHS, but four others scored between six and nine points as balanced scoring continues to be a Gladiator strong suit. I don't think 22 was a career high for Brett, but the number of triples in one game may have been.
The Gladiator JVs made a clean sweep of it with an easy 45-30 win. They were led in scoring by Zack Adams, Adam Painter and Deacon Moore, as they picked up their second win in as many nights.
So the margin of victory made this one kind of a head-scratcher, but anytime you can leave Luray with a pair of double-digit wins under your belts, it has been a good night. The Gladiators still have road trips left to Page, East Rock, and Stonewall, but after tonight, they will probably be willing if not eager to get on the bus. But next up is a home game against Buffalo Gap Friday. On paper that looks like a Big Red win, but with these county rivalries, you assume nothing. The Bison will have just played Nelson on Thursday I believe I read, and they should win that one, so they might roll into Greenville with some desperately needed confidence.
Before I give you the play by play, here are the highlights of this game:
All ten players hit the scoring column.
Brett Hostetler hit six three-pointers in one of the best shooting nights of his career.
Avery Schaefer didn't score from the field but gave a clinic at the foul line.
Luray failed to score a single point in the fourth quarter.
It was only for a few seconds, but we actually saw a running clock in a basketball game.
We had one of the best-officiated games you could ask for.
To look at that final score you would probably assume that RHS grabbed control early, but that was not the case. Luray opened up with a game plan to establish 6'8" J. R. Green as an inside presence and it worked for a while as he scored six quick points to stake the Dogs to an early 11-2 advantage. But within about a two-minute span, three different Gladiators connected from behind the arc, including the first of Hostetler's bombs, and the Big Red tied the score at 11 all. Green scored once more to put Luray ahead 13-11 after one.
The Dogs moved ahead 16-11 in the second, but from that point on, this game was all about Riverheads' hustle and shooting efficiency. They used their quickness to force one turnover after another, and the shots continued to fall for the visitors. They took their first lead at 22-20 on a Hostetler steal and lay-up, but the Dogs tied it one last time. RHS then scored the last nine points of the quarter to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Grant Painter opened the second half with a traditional three-point play to extend the lead to 12, but the Gladiators were just getting started. They were scoring mainly on fast-break lay-ups and well executed offensive sets, with a couple more Hostetler threes padding his game-high total of 22 points. In no time at all, the Gladiator lead was 21, at 47-26.
The quick Riverheads guards were picking the Dogs' pockets (if Bulldogs even have pockets?) on just about every possession it seemed and as a result Luray was never able to re-establish Green as a threat in the second half. In fact, you could make a good argument that RHS' Austin Craft outplayed him down the stretch. Regardless, by the end of the third stanza, the Gladiators had the big man thoroughly frustrated and in foul trouble.
The Dogs would go on to score only 10 points the entire second half, but ironically they scored six of those to close out the third quarter and trim the lead to 47-32. If you were an optimist, you might have thought they were about to continue that surge and get back in the game, but little did we know that the Gladiators were going to clamp down even harder on defense and hold them scoreless in an 18-0 fourth quarter. That goose-egg included some missed charity tosses, while Riverheads got a nice fourth quarter out of the aforementioned Mr. Schaefer as well as freshman Elijah Dunlap.
I personally did not realize that Luray had not scored until the final minute or so, and then I picked up on the fact that the clock operator was actually the one to alert the refs that the clock should run continuously, since the Shenandoah adopted that rule this year. So once the margin reached 30, the game moved along faster.
To explain my earlier comment about the refs, I thought they called a great game. There was very little controversy and on at least two calls that I can think of, they did the right thing and put their heads together to make sure the right call was made.
Hostetler's 22 was the only double-figure game of the night for RHS, but four others scored between six and nine points as balanced scoring continues to be a Gladiator strong suit. I don't think 22 was a career high for Brett, but the number of triples in one game may have been.
The Gladiator JVs made a clean sweep of it with an easy 45-30 win. They were led in scoring by Zack Adams, Adam Painter and Deacon Moore, as they picked up their second win in as many nights.
So the margin of victory made this one kind of a head-scratcher, but anytime you can leave Luray with a pair of double-digit wins under your belts, it has been a good night. The Gladiators still have road trips left to Page, East Rock, and Stonewall, but after tonight, they will probably be willing if not eager to get on the bus. But next up is a home game against Buffalo Gap Friday. On paper that looks like a Big Red win, but with these county rivalries, you assume nothing. The Bison will have just played Nelson on Thursday I believe I read, and they should win that one, so they might roll into Greenville with some desperately needed confidence.
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