For the second time this season, Riverheads was dead in the water against the Staunton Storm as the clock ticked down to the two minute mark. The first time, playing at home, they staged a rally and picked up their first district win of the season. This time they again rallied and cut their deficit down to a single basket, but Staunton was able to hold on for a 36-31 victory. With the loss, the hard-luck Gladiators are now 1-6 in Shenandoah District play but all six losses have been by single digits and in four of those losses, they held leads in the fourth quarter. Talk about your "if onlys".....
In all honesty the home team gave RHS every chance in the world to win tonight because if Staunton played a "good game," it escaped my attention watching on NFHS (I couldn't make this one in person tonight.) I did not see much of a sustained offense from The Storm, and I really cannot even give their defense much credit for the win for the simple reason that the Gladiators were their own worst enemy tonight with that old bugaboo to end all bugaboos in the world of basketball.........turnovers.
Riverheads shot the ball well enough at times to win the game, and they of course kept Staunton from running away with it, but the Big Red just had NO team chemistry tonight and sadly most of those turnovers were passes that were simply thrown away, not stolen by a defender. There was far too much zigging when he should have zagged, and just an overall lack of communication or execution. If they could have cut their miscues in half, they could have won this one easily since Staunton was not on top of its game either.
The Storm moved in front early but four combined triples from Ryan Farris, Bennett Dunlap, and Tye Morris kept the Gladiators in striking distance, as they trailed by just 19-18 at the break. But the third quarter was a disaster as they managed only four points in the period. But Staunton only scored 8 points, as the period ended with the game still in doubt at 27-22.
Staunton then scored the first four points of the fourth period to take its largest lead of the night at 31-22, before the Big Red stepped up the defense and made a final charge. They got the lead down to 33-31 with around 25 seconds left, but Staunton was able to salt it away at the foul line.
The JV game tonight was a horse of a different color as it was a highly-charged run and gun affair that unfortunately featured a TON of fouls and as a result, it took forever to play compared to the varsity game. Even watching it by tape delay, it took me 90 minutes or more to finish it.
Staunton led by 7 after the first period, but the Big Red turned on the jets and outscored them 17-3 in the second quarter to take their own seven-point lead into the locker room. They continued to pour it on in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13. But Staunton cut the lead down to 3, helped along by a 7-0 advantage in team fouls.
Riverheads however was not to be denied as they kept their composure and thanks to some of their best three-point shooting of the season, they held on to win 64-60. That too "evened a score" as Staunton had won down at Riverheads. So if you look at the total picture, the two schools finished 2-2 against each other this particular season.
The Gladiators are back in action Wednesday night as they travel to Quicksburg where they should be favored against the winless Mountain View Generals. Although that will not be a district game, maybe at this point, just getting to taste victory again will give them a boost to finish out the season strong.
In all honesty the home team gave RHS every chance in the world to win tonight because if Staunton played a "good game," it escaped my attention watching on NFHS (I couldn't make this one in person tonight.) I did not see much of a sustained offense from The Storm, and I really cannot even give their defense much credit for the win for the simple reason that the Gladiators were their own worst enemy tonight with that old bugaboo to end all bugaboos in the world of basketball.........turnovers.
Riverheads shot the ball well enough at times to win the game, and they of course kept Staunton from running away with it, but the Big Red just had NO team chemistry tonight and sadly most of those turnovers were passes that were simply thrown away, not stolen by a defender. There was far too much zigging when he should have zagged, and just an overall lack of communication or execution. If they could have cut their miscues in half, they could have won this one easily since Staunton was not on top of its game either.
The Storm moved in front early but four combined triples from Ryan Farris, Bennett Dunlap, and Tye Morris kept the Gladiators in striking distance, as they trailed by just 19-18 at the break. But the third quarter was a disaster as they managed only four points in the period. But Staunton only scored 8 points, as the period ended with the game still in doubt at 27-22.
Staunton then scored the first four points of the fourth period to take its largest lead of the night at 31-22, before the Big Red stepped up the defense and made a final charge. They got the lead down to 33-31 with around 25 seconds left, but Staunton was able to salt it away at the foul line.
The JV game tonight was a horse of a different color as it was a highly-charged run and gun affair that unfortunately featured a TON of fouls and as a result, it took forever to play compared to the varsity game. Even watching it by tape delay, it took me 90 minutes or more to finish it.
Staunton led by 7 after the first period, but the Big Red turned on the jets and outscored them 17-3 in the second quarter to take their own seven-point lead into the locker room. They continued to pour it on in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13. But Staunton cut the lead down to 3, helped along by a 7-0 advantage in team fouls.
Riverheads however was not to be denied as they kept their composure and thanks to some of their best three-point shooting of the season, they held on to win 64-60. That too "evened a score" as Staunton had won down at Riverheads. So if you look at the total picture, the two schools finished 2-2 against each other this particular season.
The Gladiators are back in action Wednesday night as they travel to Quicksburg where they should be favored against the winless Mountain View Generals. Although that will not be a district game, maybe at this point, just getting to taste victory again will give them a boost to finish out the season strong.
