Thursday night down at Rockbridge, it only took Elijah Dunlap 8 seconds to put Riverheads on the scoreboard. But this afternoon he beat that record by...well by 8 seconds... as the sophomore stepped to the charity stripe and gave RHS a 2-0 lead before the game even started.
Apparently there had been a technical called on the visiting Bison, maybe something about hanging on the rim or dunking in warmups, but we did not have our regular PA announcer, so it was not made clear. Little did we know at the time that the technical was about to set the tone for a very tightly-called game, one that would see two players foul out and a number of others end the game on the verge of it.
But in between we got in enough action, even if it was ragged for the most part, for the Gladiators to pick up victory number nine on the season, protect their (now) number two spot in the Region B rankings, and keep the Bison winless on the year.
Following Dunlap's opening two points, the Gap hit a three to briefly take the lead, as it took RHS a little time to get any rhythm going. They finally broke the ice around the midway point of the quarter as Grant Painter's first seven points out of a game-high 28 got the Big Red started. The Bison failed to score after that opening triple and the stanza ended with Riverheads on top 13-3.
The Bison found the range from behind the arc twice more in the second stanza to stay close for a while, but Painter removed all doubt about the outcome by knocking down three triples of his own in the latter stages of the second quarter to send RHS into the locker room with a 35-19 advantage.
Riverheads started to substitute liberally as early as that second quarter, perhaps to keep the starters better rested or free from injury as the post-season is looming right around the corner. The Bison were never able to cut into the deficit as Riverheads stretched the lead out past 20 for most of the second half.
The officials took quite a bit of flak from both sides for what seemed like some strange calls. At one point, with Riverheads in clear possession of the ball, a whistle blew, the refs talked to Gap coach Chad Ward for a few seconds and it momentarily appeared that they had T'd him up. But then they handed the ball back to Riverheads as if nothing had ever happened and resumed the game. Also late in the game, Bison fans were up in arms over a call on a breakaway by Drew Bond in which the level of contact was questioned.
Luckily the game ended with everyone still friends and no signs of any injury. In addition to Painter's 28, which I believe was his second-best game of the season, Bond finished with 10, as did Braeson Fulton, and Dunlap narrowly missed double figures with 8.
When we don't have our regular PA dude to announce each score, it is hard for any Riverheads fan to guess who is leading the opposition but Weston Smith had some success in the first half and burly Walker Hostetter showed some outside range late in the game. My apologies if I am overlooking anyone obvious.
Although Bison fans are understandably disappointed with their season, help could be on the way if you judge by their JV team. I would have put my money on Riverheads Juniors in this one today, since the Gap had only won by three the first time around. But instead of the Gladiators evening the score, the Bison came out smoking from behind the arc, mainly in the person of freshman Tanner Rivenburg. They stroked five triples in the first quarter to grab a commanding early lead of 19-1. Riverheads fought back gamely and had it down to 11 at one point in the second half before the Bison pulled away again to win 47-27.
RHS will wrap up the regular season at Page on Tuesday night where fifth place in the district standings will be on the line. The district tournament then begins on Friday. I assume the Bison have one more regular-season game left as well, but they will miss the district tournament, which will only take the top eight of the nine teams. I would further assume that there is no regional action in their future, and if that is the case, it might be just as well, as they most likely are ready to call it a year and hope that the above-mentioned JVs can get them back on track next season. They only graduate three seniors so things should turn around for them.
Apparently there had been a technical called on the visiting Bison, maybe something about hanging on the rim or dunking in warmups, but we did not have our regular PA announcer, so it was not made clear. Little did we know at the time that the technical was about to set the tone for a very tightly-called game, one that would see two players foul out and a number of others end the game on the verge of it.
But in between we got in enough action, even if it was ragged for the most part, for the Gladiators to pick up victory number nine on the season, protect their (now) number two spot in the Region B rankings, and keep the Bison winless on the year.
Following Dunlap's opening two points, the Gap hit a three to briefly take the lead, as it took RHS a little time to get any rhythm going. They finally broke the ice around the midway point of the quarter as Grant Painter's first seven points out of a game-high 28 got the Big Red started. The Bison failed to score after that opening triple and the stanza ended with Riverheads on top 13-3.
The Bison found the range from behind the arc twice more in the second stanza to stay close for a while, but Painter removed all doubt about the outcome by knocking down three triples of his own in the latter stages of the second quarter to send RHS into the locker room with a 35-19 advantage.
Riverheads started to substitute liberally as early as that second quarter, perhaps to keep the starters better rested or free from injury as the post-season is looming right around the corner. The Bison were never able to cut into the deficit as Riverheads stretched the lead out past 20 for most of the second half.
The officials took quite a bit of flak from both sides for what seemed like some strange calls. At one point, with Riverheads in clear possession of the ball, a whistle blew, the refs talked to Gap coach Chad Ward for a few seconds and it momentarily appeared that they had T'd him up. But then they handed the ball back to Riverheads as if nothing had ever happened and resumed the game. Also late in the game, Bison fans were up in arms over a call on a breakaway by Drew Bond in which the level of contact was questioned.
Luckily the game ended with everyone still friends and no signs of any injury. In addition to Painter's 28, which I believe was his second-best game of the season, Bond finished with 10, as did Braeson Fulton, and Dunlap narrowly missed double figures with 8.
When we don't have our regular PA dude to announce each score, it is hard for any Riverheads fan to guess who is leading the opposition but Weston Smith had some success in the first half and burly Walker Hostetter showed some outside range late in the game. My apologies if I am overlooking anyone obvious.
Although Bison fans are understandably disappointed with their season, help could be on the way if you judge by their JV team. I would have put my money on Riverheads Juniors in this one today, since the Gap had only won by three the first time around. But instead of the Gladiators evening the score, the Bison came out smoking from behind the arc, mainly in the person of freshman Tanner Rivenburg. They stroked five triples in the first quarter to grab a commanding early lead of 19-1. Riverheads fought back gamely and had it down to 11 at one point in the second half before the Bison pulled away again to win 47-27.
RHS will wrap up the regular season at Page on Tuesday night where fifth place in the district standings will be on the line. The district tournament then begins on Friday. I assume the Bison have one more regular-season game left as well, but they will miss the district tournament, which will only take the top eight of the nine teams. I would further assume that there is no regional action in their future, and if that is the case, it might be just as well, as they most likely are ready to call it a year and hope that the above-mentioned JVs can get them back on track next season. They only graduate three seniors so things should turn around for them.
