The Gladiators needed a win tonight and played like it as they completed a season sweep of the Waynesboro Little Giants by pounding the home team in a game that ultimately saw the running clock and also saw all 10 Big Red players dent the scoring column, one of whom did it in mighty dramatic fashion. With the win, my sources tell me that the worst the Gladiators can do is finish in a tie for the sixth and final playoff spot. If that were to occur, I further understand that Riverheads would host a play-in game. But there are more games ahead for the various teams, so we will follow along as we go, starting of course with Riverheads needing to come down from this one and focus on a trip to Buffalo Gap tomorrow. Needless to say, if the Gladiators could win that one as well, they would not only be firmly in the playoffs but would most likely host a first-round game. But again let's not get ahead of ourselves.
The story tonight was three-point shooting and fouls. Fortunately the Gladiators got the better end of both deals as they knocked down 11 triples on the night, three of which came in buzzer-beating situations. But they were helped along during the course of the game by a pair of refs (we only had two tonight and they called both games......more on that later) who kept Waynesboro in foul trouble from the very beginning. To my knowledge, no one on the Giants' limited roster fouled out but there had to be some on the verge.
For a while at least, it looked as if the Giants would be able to hang with Riverheads as Evan Sites hit from behind the arc twice and teammates Charles Haynes and Christian Williams joined in the fun. But the fouls quickly started to mount and more importantly, the Gladiators were knocking down treys themselves. Tye Morris opened Riverheads' scoring with a corner triple and moments later added an old-fashioned to personally score the visitors' first six points. Oddly he would fail to score any more in the game, but that certainly did not matter as other Gladiators started to shine.
Ryan Farris, Bennett Dunlap, and Carter Mooneyham all had first-half triples and two of Farris' added some drama as they beat the buzzers ending the first two quarters. His first one from the top of the key closed out a 17-13 first quarter and his second from the left wing send the Big Red into the locker room with a comfortable 37-22 advantage.
Meanwhile on defense the Gladiator fans in attendance (who by the way easily outnumbered Waynesboro's home side) were enjoying one of their favorite sights on a regular basis...........Levi Byer drawing the charge. Although many of the fouls called against the Giants were run-of-the-mill holds and blocks, Byer has become an absolute master at sacrificing his body and drawing the charge and he did so at least half a dozen times tonight. You would have to see his 150 pound frame bravely taking on Waynesboro's massive Messiah Barber to fully appreciate Byer's dedication to that particular aspect of his game.
Any thoughts Waynesboro had of a second half comeback were quickly erased as Farris came out of the locker room on fire, knocking down his third, fourth and fifth three-pointers within the first three minutes on the way to a game-high 23 points. He was soon replaced for the evening as the Gladiator subs finished out most of the second half.
In addition to Farris' outstanding night, Dunlap finished with 11 points including three of the 11 triples, Byer tallied 9 points, Mooneyham finished with 7 points, Morris as mentioned had six, and the remaining five Gladiators all scored between 1 and 3 points as the margin ballooned to as much as 35 points with the running clock in effect for the entire fourth quarter.
By far the feel good moment of the game and the one fans will talk about for quite a while occurred at the final horn. Senior Ethan Barger, who plays sparingly and had only scored three points all season, came off the bench around the three minute mark to finish out the game. Teammate Chris Brooks hit a foul shot at the 22 second mark, leaving Barger as the only Gladiator who had not scored.
When Brooks missed his second foul shot, Waynesboro raced downcourt hoping for a final basket but they threw the ball away, giving it back to RHS with maybe four seconds left. Mind you the clock was running continuously all this time, but Barger quickly hustled the ball up court and let it fly from somewhere around the mid-court line. The shot was right on the money and banked in giving him his first career triple and most likely a memory he won't soon forget as the Big Red fans roared their approval.
Tonight's JV game was a rough and tumble affair and if it differed from the varsity game, it was because the two refs seemed (at least in the eyes of Gladiator fans) to be missing more than they were calling. Bodies hit the floor constantly, there was even an injury timeout, and late in the game, RHS coach Randall Snead was hit with a technical. Waynesboro, perhaps the best JV team in the league, went on to win 48-38.
The irony of that story is that the same two refs called the varsity game. First I can recall seeing just two guys calling a varsity game in quite some time. However, as you may have already picked up on, they seemed to call a much tighter game in the varsity contest, and you scarcely heard a peep out of the Gladiator faithful because of all those fouls that were being called in favor of the visitors. If anything, the poor refs will probably have to soak their arms from raising them so often to signify a converted triple.
So all things considered this was a much easier win than RHS' 57-40 triumph at home Friday against these same Little Giants. More importantly it will allow the Big Red to avoid the basement in the district standings, as well as help their regional position as already addressed. Although the Gladiators finish their regular season tomorrow night with the trip to Buffalo Gap, we may not know their regional fate until Friday or later due to the other teams in the region still having games on their schedules. But at this point, it does appear as if Riverheads is either playoff-bound or at the very least "play in" bound. It is all very high math you understand, so stay tuned because somebody someplace is paid big bucks to figure it all out for us mere mortals.
The story tonight was three-point shooting and fouls. Fortunately the Gladiators got the better end of both deals as they knocked down 11 triples on the night, three of which came in buzzer-beating situations. But they were helped along during the course of the game by a pair of refs (we only had two tonight and they called both games......more on that later) who kept Waynesboro in foul trouble from the very beginning. To my knowledge, no one on the Giants' limited roster fouled out but there had to be some on the verge.
For a while at least, it looked as if the Giants would be able to hang with Riverheads as Evan Sites hit from behind the arc twice and teammates Charles Haynes and Christian Williams joined in the fun. But the fouls quickly started to mount and more importantly, the Gladiators were knocking down treys themselves. Tye Morris opened Riverheads' scoring with a corner triple and moments later added an old-fashioned to personally score the visitors' first six points. Oddly he would fail to score any more in the game, but that certainly did not matter as other Gladiators started to shine.
Ryan Farris, Bennett Dunlap, and Carter Mooneyham all had first-half triples and two of Farris' added some drama as they beat the buzzers ending the first two quarters. His first one from the top of the key closed out a 17-13 first quarter and his second from the left wing send the Big Red into the locker room with a comfortable 37-22 advantage.
Meanwhile on defense the Gladiator fans in attendance (who by the way easily outnumbered Waynesboro's home side) were enjoying one of their favorite sights on a regular basis...........Levi Byer drawing the charge. Although many of the fouls called against the Giants were run-of-the-mill holds and blocks, Byer has become an absolute master at sacrificing his body and drawing the charge and he did so at least half a dozen times tonight. You would have to see his 150 pound frame bravely taking on Waynesboro's massive Messiah Barber to fully appreciate Byer's dedication to that particular aspect of his game.
Any thoughts Waynesboro had of a second half comeback were quickly erased as Farris came out of the locker room on fire, knocking down his third, fourth and fifth three-pointers within the first three minutes on the way to a game-high 23 points. He was soon replaced for the evening as the Gladiator subs finished out most of the second half.
In addition to Farris' outstanding night, Dunlap finished with 11 points including three of the 11 triples, Byer tallied 9 points, Mooneyham finished with 7 points, Morris as mentioned had six, and the remaining five Gladiators all scored between 1 and 3 points as the margin ballooned to as much as 35 points with the running clock in effect for the entire fourth quarter.
By far the feel good moment of the game and the one fans will talk about for quite a while occurred at the final horn. Senior Ethan Barger, who plays sparingly and had only scored three points all season, came off the bench around the three minute mark to finish out the game. Teammate Chris Brooks hit a foul shot at the 22 second mark, leaving Barger as the only Gladiator who had not scored.
When Brooks missed his second foul shot, Waynesboro raced downcourt hoping for a final basket but they threw the ball away, giving it back to RHS with maybe four seconds left. Mind you the clock was running continuously all this time, but Barger quickly hustled the ball up court and let it fly from somewhere around the mid-court line. The shot was right on the money and banked in giving him his first career triple and most likely a memory he won't soon forget as the Big Red fans roared their approval.
Tonight's JV game was a rough and tumble affair and if it differed from the varsity game, it was because the two refs seemed (at least in the eyes of Gladiator fans) to be missing more than they were calling. Bodies hit the floor constantly, there was even an injury timeout, and late in the game, RHS coach Randall Snead was hit with a technical. Waynesboro, perhaps the best JV team in the league, went on to win 48-38.
The irony of that story is that the same two refs called the varsity game. First I can recall seeing just two guys calling a varsity game in quite some time. However, as you may have already picked up on, they seemed to call a much tighter game in the varsity contest, and you scarcely heard a peep out of the Gladiator faithful because of all those fouls that were being called in favor of the visitors. If anything, the poor refs will probably have to soak their arms from raising them so often to signify a converted triple.
So all things considered this was a much easier win than RHS' 57-40 triumph at home Friday against these same Little Giants. More importantly it will allow the Big Red to avoid the basement in the district standings, as well as help their regional position as already addressed. Although the Gladiators finish their regular season tomorrow night with the trip to Buffalo Gap, we may not know their regional fate until Friday or later due to the other teams in the region still having games on their schedules. But at this point, it does appear as if Riverheads is either playoff-bound or at the very least "play in" bound. It is all very high math you understand, so stay tuned because somebody someplace is paid big bucks to figure it all out for us mere mortals.
