Staunton 69 Riverheads 56 nm
- Thread starter kwhs95fan
- Start date
This was one of those games in which the final score does not tell the real story and I have no quarrel whatsoever with the effort the Gladiators put forth. After all they were playing on the home court of what I consider to be the most purely athletic team in the district and they were short-handed because as expected our big man Honor Robinson was sidelined. However it does appear that his injury was not season-ending and that he will be back at some point.
So that meant RHS had just 9 bodies to put on the floor against the Storm's 14. Despite those odds, the Big Red led the game for the ENTIRE first half, and even after Staunton made its move, the Gladiators hung in there and were still within six points until the final few minutes before Staunton could seal the deal. So as I said, I am alright with this one and I think the Big Red should feel proud of their effort and if they give that same effort next week against Buffalo Gap and Stuarts Draft, they have a chance to win at least one and maybe both of those.
To say the Big Red came out smoking would be an understatement. Adam Painter drilled a corner triple to get things started and Zach Adams drove the lane for a bucket to open up an early 5-0 lead. The Gladiators continued to attack and moved out to a surprising 15-4 lead before Staunton started on the comeback trail. The home team closed to within 19-13 by the end of the quarter.
Staunton continued to chip away and had the lead down to 23-22 before Painter hit his third and fourth triples to move RHS out in front 29-22. The Storm closed to within 33-31 at the halftime horn but never tasted the lead.
The Storm then made its big move in the third quarter, especially in the latter stages of it. Ethan Painter came alive and hit one of his feathery threes to give Staunton its first lead of the night at 35-34 at about the 6:45 mark of the quarter. Riverheads was able to hang in there and tied the score twice more at 37 and 40 before Staunton closed out the quarter with a 12-1 burst that gave them a working margin.
At that point you might have thought they were ready to blow it open and maybe win by 20 or more but Riverheads hung in there and played them even in the fourth. They were able to work the ball inside effectively to Grant Painter and draw some fouls to stay within striking distance. They closed to within 62-56 before Staunton scored the final seven points of the game.
The strength for the Storm in this game, as I am sure it is in all of their games, is their extreme quickness on defense. They can get in the passing lanes or just plain take a ball away in a heartbeat and on offense they play well together as a team, and always make the extra pass to find the open man. Unlike most former Staunton/Lee teams, they do not have a true big man but they have the depth that could take them a ways come playoff time. I am sure they are looking forward to next week's battle with Stuarts Draft.
For the Gladiators the Painter brothers combined for 31 points as Grant scored 17 and Adam 14. Adams added 9, Elijah Dunlap 8 and Deacon Moore had 6 early points as he was the primary fill-in for Robinson, even though they are not "exactly" the same body type!
Tonight's JV game was also a doozy and if you evaluate your Friday nights in terms of bang for your buck, then the fans tonight saw two pretty good ones. Just like we would later see in the varsity, Riverheads got off to a great start, enjoying surprising success at pounding the ball inside against what appeared to be a taller Storm team. The Gladiators led 18-8 after one with Levi Byer and Noah Williams doing most of the damage inside.
Staunton stormed back in the second quarter and took a 29-26 lead into the break. The second half was nip and tuck with a lot of lead changes and momentum swings but the visiting Gladiators grabbed a 46-43 lead late in the game and appeared ready to hand the Storm a home court defeat. (I was later told that Staunton had only lost two two-point games this season but don't quote me on that.)
Despite that three point lead, the Gladiators were unable to put it away in regulation and we went into overtime tied at 47. I know I may have given you the impression that the Storm avoided the upset but guess again...........RHS executed beautifully and scored off the opening tip in the overtime and never trailed again as they stunned the home team 60-54. That gives the Big Red a 10-7 overall record and since they have only two games left this season, Justin Brake is guaranteed a winning season in his first year on the bench.
There were two factors that helped the Gladiators pull off this huge win. First of all, they had Staunton's big man Maaliah Cabel in foul trouble all night long. He picked up two early ones and got his third before halftime. He then got number four in the third quarter and fouled out with exactly one minute in regulation.
The second factor that in my opinion led to Staunton's demise was their shot selection in the second half. When the game was tight and even when they were ahead, they voluntarily chose to jack up one three after another as opposed to working it inside against the smaller Gladiators. To the best of my recollection, they only hit one trey in the second half.
Since you guys have enjoyed my refereeing ramblings so much this season, I can tell you that the guys were not too bad tonight. Oh of course there were some of the usual "call them both ways" and "how could you miss that" complaints, but for the most part, both games were well-officiated. The only thing that made me go "hmmm", and fortunately it did not impact the game, occurred in the final seconds of the JV game.
Riverheads had just made two foul shots for the final 60-54 score and the Storm quickly inbounded the ball, but then elected to call timeout. When play resumed, the referee indicated to the Storm player that he could run the baseline. But to me and at least one other fan that I heard hollering about it, that did not seem correct because they had already inbounded the ball once before the time out. So on this, their second inbounds play, it would seem to me that he should not have been allowed to move. But certainly no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
The Gladiators close out the regular season with Gap and Draft both at home. Those games are on Tuesday and Thursday next week, the latter being moved due to a wrestling event. It is then my understanding that the Big Red gets a week off to recuperate and prepare for regionals, which I am told do not begin until the week of the 24th. Also word in the stands and on both the Shenandoah and Pioneer District websites is that the Gladiators' game at Bath has been canceled and will not be re-scheduled. Probably just as well since the Big Red won the first one by 36 and they would likely win the second one by a similar margin. So why not spare Bath the embarrassment and give RHS more healing and strategizing time?
So that meant RHS had just 9 bodies to put on the floor against the Storm's 14. Despite those odds, the Big Red led the game for the ENTIRE first half, and even after Staunton made its move, the Gladiators hung in there and were still within six points until the final few minutes before Staunton could seal the deal. So as I said, I am alright with this one and I think the Big Red should feel proud of their effort and if they give that same effort next week against Buffalo Gap and Stuarts Draft, they have a chance to win at least one and maybe both of those.
To say the Big Red came out smoking would be an understatement. Adam Painter drilled a corner triple to get things started and Zach Adams drove the lane for a bucket to open up an early 5-0 lead. The Gladiators continued to attack and moved out to a surprising 15-4 lead before Staunton started on the comeback trail. The home team closed to within 19-13 by the end of the quarter.
Staunton continued to chip away and had the lead down to 23-22 before Painter hit his third and fourth triples to move RHS out in front 29-22. The Storm closed to within 33-31 at the halftime horn but never tasted the lead.
The Storm then made its big move in the third quarter, especially in the latter stages of it. Ethan Painter came alive and hit one of his feathery threes to give Staunton its first lead of the night at 35-34 at about the 6:45 mark of the quarter. Riverheads was able to hang in there and tied the score twice more at 37 and 40 before Staunton closed out the quarter with a 12-1 burst that gave them a working margin.
At that point you might have thought they were ready to blow it open and maybe win by 20 or more but Riverheads hung in there and played them even in the fourth. They were able to work the ball inside effectively to Grant Painter and draw some fouls to stay within striking distance. They closed to within 62-56 before Staunton scored the final seven points of the game.
The strength for the Storm in this game, as I am sure it is in all of their games, is their extreme quickness on defense. They can get in the passing lanes or just plain take a ball away in a heartbeat and on offense they play well together as a team, and always make the extra pass to find the open man. Unlike most former Staunton/Lee teams, they do not have a true big man but they have the depth that could take them a ways come playoff time. I am sure they are looking forward to next week's battle with Stuarts Draft.
For the Gladiators the Painter brothers combined for 31 points as Grant scored 17 and Adam 14. Adams added 9, Elijah Dunlap 8 and Deacon Moore had 6 early points as he was the primary fill-in for Robinson, even though they are not "exactly" the same body type!
Tonight's JV game was also a doozy and if you evaluate your Friday nights in terms of bang for your buck, then the fans tonight saw two pretty good ones. Just like we would later see in the varsity, Riverheads got off to a great start, enjoying surprising success at pounding the ball inside against what appeared to be a taller Storm team. The Gladiators led 18-8 after one with Levi Byer and Noah Williams doing most of the damage inside.
Staunton stormed back in the second quarter and took a 29-26 lead into the break. The second half was nip and tuck with a lot of lead changes and momentum swings but the visiting Gladiators grabbed a 46-43 lead late in the game and appeared ready to hand the Storm a home court defeat. (I was later told that Staunton had only lost two two-point games this season but don't quote me on that.)
Despite that three point lead, the Gladiators were unable to put it away in regulation and we went into overtime tied at 47. I know I may have given you the impression that the Storm avoided the upset but guess again...........RHS executed beautifully and scored off the opening tip in the overtime and never trailed again as they stunned the home team 60-54. That gives the Big Red a 10-7 overall record and since they have only two games left this season, Justin Brake is guaranteed a winning season in his first year on the bench.
There were two factors that helped the Gladiators pull off this huge win. First of all, they had Staunton's big man Maaliah Cabel in foul trouble all night long. He picked up two early ones and got his third before halftime. He then got number four in the third quarter and fouled out with exactly one minute in regulation.
The second factor that in my opinion led to Staunton's demise was their shot selection in the second half. When the game was tight and even when they were ahead, they voluntarily chose to jack up one three after another as opposed to working it inside against the smaller Gladiators. To the best of my recollection, they only hit one trey in the second half.
Since you guys have enjoyed my refereeing ramblings so much this season, I can tell you that the guys were not too bad tonight. Oh of course there were some of the usual "call them both ways" and "how could you miss that" complaints, but for the most part, both games were well-officiated. The only thing that made me go "hmmm", and fortunately it did not impact the game, occurred in the final seconds of the JV game.
Riverheads had just made two foul shots for the final 60-54 score and the Storm quickly inbounded the ball, but then elected to call timeout. When play resumed, the referee indicated to the Storm player that he could run the baseline. But to me and at least one other fan that I heard hollering about it, that did not seem correct because they had already inbounded the ball once before the time out. So on this, their second inbounds play, it would seem to me that he should not have been allowed to move. But certainly no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
The Gladiators close out the regular season with Gap and Draft both at home. Those games are on Tuesday and Thursday next week, the latter being moved due to a wrestling event. It is then my understanding that the Big Red gets a week off to recuperate and prepare for regionals, which I am told do not begin until the week of the 24th. Also word in the stands and on both the Shenandoah and Pioneer District websites is that the Gladiators' game at Bath has been canceled and will not be re-scheduled. Probably just as well since the Big Red won the first one by 36 and they would likely win the second one by a similar margin. So why not spare Bath the embarrassment and give RHS more healing and strategizing time?
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Did the player with the ball call the timeout, or the coach on the sideline? Perhaps the ball inbounded as the coach was calling timeout and the JV refs blew the whistle after the inbounds, but since the timeout was requested simultaneously, they just granted the timeout as if before inbounds. If the player called it, or the coach called it clearly after the inbounds, then I see your point.
I don't remember. It was rather intense by that time. As I said it didn't make any difference but at the time it just seemed odd to see the ref give the indication that he could run the baseline and when I heard someone else screaming "that's a walk," then I figured I was not the only one who thought something was off.
