As you guys recall our six Shenandoah teams started their district schedules on Tuesday night with Wilson, Stuarts Draft and Staunton picking up wins over Riverheads, Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance respectively. I was of course right on top of the action with my sterling 1-2 record that night, failing to predict the Wilson overtime win and certainly not expecting the Cougars' 20-point road rout over the Bison.
But better days are ahead. Not only will I improve upon that record but this time I can give you actual GUARANTEES! Three of them in fact. Don't believe me??????? Read on.
Guarantee Number One: The t-shirt weather we have been enjoying these last few games is over. So bundle up and get ready for some real basketball weather.
Guarantee Number Two: At least one team (either SD or Wilson) will go into the weekend with a satisfying 2-0 record in league play.
Guarantee Number Three: At least one other team (either Riverheads or Fort Defiance) will find itself in an 0-2 hole in the district with nowhere to go but up.
So in order to deliver those last two promises, here we go.........
Staunton at Buffalo Gap: Sounds like the Bison lost the battle of the boards Tuesday night as much as anything. So if they can rectify that problem they might have a chance to upend the Storm. But since I have predicted, not once but twice, that Staunton is the team to beat this year, I need to stick to that until they start to falter. The pace will not be as frantic in this one, so the Buffalo Gap scorekeeper can at least take a breath here and there. Expect a 62-54 kind of win for the visitors.
Fort Defiance at Riverheads: Once the Gladiators got rolling on Tuesday night, they gave Wilson all they could handle and nearly pulled out the win. Experience and solid outside shooting have been the Big Red's main weapons this year. They hit for nine triples in that game and have hit 10 bombs three other times this season. The Indians on the other hand are struggling but yet they keep every game competitive, as they were still in the running against Staunton until late in the third quarter. I don't see RHS being the ones to go into that 0-2 hole that I mentioned above, but they will certainly have to give it four solid quarters, not just 2 1/2 or 3. The Red Team will pull away late to win by about 62-47.
And now for the big one of the night..........
Stuarts Draft at Wilson: After having read two newspaper accounts of the Cougars' big win at the Gap on Tuesday, I think I have figured out that SD's 3-6 record to start the year was perhaps due to a case of Riverheadsitis. In other words, they had to work through the same thing the Gladiators face year in and year out.........how to get a basketball team ready to play when most of them are still playing football. So maybe they are over that hump now and will start to play their normal game that has driven the rest of us crazy these last few years. Wilson showed themselves to be a scrappy team Tuesday that will go after every loose ball and they rebound well for their limited size, as they don't quote anyone on the program being more than 6'2". This will be a hard one to pick but for some reason, these two have a habit of winning on each other's floor, so given that odd logic, I will go with the Draft this time, then probably expect Wilson to win the re-match later. This will of course be a high-scoring affair due to the Draft style of play but still no triple digits. You heard it here first........Cougars 84, Wilson 79.
But better days are ahead. Not only will I improve upon that record but this time I can give you actual GUARANTEES! Three of them in fact. Don't believe me??????? Read on.
Guarantee Number One: The t-shirt weather we have been enjoying these last few games is over. So bundle up and get ready for some real basketball weather.
Guarantee Number Two: At least one team (either SD or Wilson) will go into the weekend with a satisfying 2-0 record in league play.
Guarantee Number Three: At least one other team (either Riverheads or Fort Defiance) will find itself in an 0-2 hole in the district with nowhere to go but up.
So in order to deliver those last two promises, here we go.........
Staunton at Buffalo Gap: Sounds like the Bison lost the battle of the boards Tuesday night as much as anything. So if they can rectify that problem they might have a chance to upend the Storm. But since I have predicted, not once but twice, that Staunton is the team to beat this year, I need to stick to that until they start to falter. The pace will not be as frantic in this one, so the Buffalo Gap scorekeeper can at least take a breath here and there. Expect a 62-54 kind of win for the visitors.
Fort Defiance at Riverheads: Once the Gladiators got rolling on Tuesday night, they gave Wilson all they could handle and nearly pulled out the win. Experience and solid outside shooting have been the Big Red's main weapons this year. They hit for nine triples in that game and have hit 10 bombs three other times this season. The Indians on the other hand are struggling but yet they keep every game competitive, as they were still in the running against Staunton until late in the third quarter. I don't see RHS being the ones to go into that 0-2 hole that I mentioned above, but they will certainly have to give it four solid quarters, not just 2 1/2 or 3. The Red Team will pull away late to win by about 62-47.
And now for the big one of the night..........
Stuarts Draft at Wilson: After having read two newspaper accounts of the Cougars' big win at the Gap on Tuesday, I think I have figured out that SD's 3-6 record to start the year was perhaps due to a case of Riverheadsitis. In other words, they had to work through the same thing the Gladiators face year in and year out.........how to get a basketball team ready to play when most of them are still playing football. So maybe they are over that hump now and will start to play their normal game that has driven the rest of us crazy these last few years. Wilson showed themselves to be a scrappy team Tuesday that will go after every loose ball and they rebound well for their limited size, as they don't quote anyone on the program being more than 6'2". This will be a hard one to pick but for some reason, these two have a habit of winning on each other's floor, so given that odd logic, I will go with the Draft this time, then probably expect Wilson to win the re-match later. This will of course be a high-scoring affair due to the Draft style of play but still no triple digits. You heard it here first........Cougars 84, Wilson 79.
