Stuarts Draft and Riverheads took turns exchanging scoring spurts but the visiting Cougars had the two that mattered the most as they eased past the Big Red tonight. SD was coming off an embarrassing home loss to Wilson and needed a confidence boost whereas RHS was hoping for a game as close as the 48-47 decision between these two earlier this season over at the Draft.
The Gladiators had the first spurt, or to be more precise Joe George did, as he scored the first five points of the game to spark Riverheads to what would turn out to be its largest lead of the night. Included was the shot that I believe was his first triple of the season, since he is generally an inside enforcer. It took the Cougars half the first quarter to score their first basket but once they did, they seized the momentum. After tying the score at 7-7, where it stayed for a while, Derrick Moore drained a triple at the horn to give SD a 10-7 lead that it would not relinquish.
In the second quarter, the visitors padded that lead to as much as 10 points, but Riverheads closed out the half on a nice run to stay within striking distance at 24-20. The Cougars then scored the first seven points of the third quarter to get a more comfortable working margin. They entered the fourth quarter with a 14 point lead at 40-26.
But the Gladiators were not through yet as George hit a couple of key buckets to get the home team back to within eight points at 41-33. The Cougars however kept their poise and held on for the 14-point victory.
George was the only Gladiator in double figures and I had him unofficially for 20. The Cougar defense did an exceptional job on the Big Red floor general Jaxon Duff, as I had him for just one bucket on the evening. (There was a shot early in the fourth quarter that I missed, so that is why my totals are not promised to be accurate,)
As for the Cougar scoring, it seemed to be pretty balanced to me. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say they were led either by Moore, Micah Kelton, or Zakarre Hymes-Williams. My apologies if I overlooked someone.
The JV game was the barnburner of the night. RHS stormed out of the gate, taking an early 12-0 lead. But the Cougars started a slow but steady comeback. With RHS holding its largest lead of the night at 23-6, the Cougars scored the final 10 points of the half.
They kept fighting and took their first lead of the game at 28-27 in the final seconds of the third quarter. The game was then tied four times in a frantic fourth quarter at 30, 33, 35 and 37. Finally Riverheads got the break it needed to squeeze out a 39-37 win when 8th-grader Jackson Stuples was fouled on a rebound putback attempt. He calmly stepped to the line and nailed both shots with just 3.3 seconds left. The Cougars were then unable to get off a potential tying or winning bucket.
Although the Gladiators got their usual solid game from their starters, it was actually Stuples and freshman Colston Wheeler who each came off the bench and made some key plays late in the game. Those two played more minutes than usual due to some foul trouble among the starters. With the win, the Big Red juniors stay in the top half of the standings and have a good chance for an overall winning season.
In girls' action over at the Draft, the big news was that the Riverheads JVs held on to their unbeaten record with a 39-29 comeback win. They trailed at the half by two points but more than likely stepped up their defense in the second half to pick up the win.
As for the varsity game, SD definitely got a decisive win but the last time I checked, the final score had not been posted yet. They are unbeaten against district competition, whereas Riverheads came into that game tied for third. It won't be too long before it will be time to start thinking about playoff standings, since our nine Shenandoah teams compete at three different levels. But we have a couple more weeks of action before we have to get serious about that.
For now, the big topic of discussion will be "When will anyone get to play again?" There is a non-district game on the slate for Monday and the usual four-game schedule for Tuesday. But unless this winter storm turns out to be much less than expected, or schools are back in session sooner, those early games are quite likely in jeopardy. We could even be looking at an entire week with no local basketball action.
So stay inside folks and stay warm, as challenging a task as that may be.........
The Gladiators had the first spurt, or to be more precise Joe George did, as he scored the first five points of the game to spark Riverheads to what would turn out to be its largest lead of the night. Included was the shot that I believe was his first triple of the season, since he is generally an inside enforcer. It took the Cougars half the first quarter to score their first basket but once they did, they seized the momentum. After tying the score at 7-7, where it stayed for a while, Derrick Moore drained a triple at the horn to give SD a 10-7 lead that it would not relinquish.
In the second quarter, the visitors padded that lead to as much as 10 points, but Riverheads closed out the half on a nice run to stay within striking distance at 24-20. The Cougars then scored the first seven points of the third quarter to get a more comfortable working margin. They entered the fourth quarter with a 14 point lead at 40-26.
But the Gladiators were not through yet as George hit a couple of key buckets to get the home team back to within eight points at 41-33. The Cougars however kept their poise and held on for the 14-point victory.
George was the only Gladiator in double figures and I had him unofficially for 20. The Cougar defense did an exceptional job on the Big Red floor general Jaxon Duff, as I had him for just one bucket on the evening. (There was a shot early in the fourth quarter that I missed, so that is why my totals are not promised to be accurate,)
As for the Cougar scoring, it seemed to be pretty balanced to me. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say they were led either by Moore, Micah Kelton, or Zakarre Hymes-Williams. My apologies if I overlooked someone.
The JV game was the barnburner of the night. RHS stormed out of the gate, taking an early 12-0 lead. But the Cougars started a slow but steady comeback. With RHS holding its largest lead of the night at 23-6, the Cougars scored the final 10 points of the half.
They kept fighting and took their first lead of the game at 28-27 in the final seconds of the third quarter. The game was then tied four times in a frantic fourth quarter at 30, 33, 35 and 37. Finally Riverheads got the break it needed to squeeze out a 39-37 win when 8th-grader Jackson Stuples was fouled on a rebound putback attempt. He calmly stepped to the line and nailed both shots with just 3.3 seconds left. The Cougars were then unable to get off a potential tying or winning bucket.
Although the Gladiators got their usual solid game from their starters, it was actually Stuples and freshman Colston Wheeler who each came off the bench and made some key plays late in the game. Those two played more minutes than usual due to some foul trouble among the starters. With the win, the Big Red juniors stay in the top half of the standings and have a good chance for an overall winning season.
In girls' action over at the Draft, the big news was that the Riverheads JVs held on to their unbeaten record with a 39-29 comeback win. They trailed at the half by two points but more than likely stepped up their defense in the second half to pick up the win.
As for the varsity game, SD definitely got a decisive win but the last time I checked, the final score had not been posted yet. They are unbeaten against district competition, whereas Riverheads came into that game tied for third. It won't be too long before it will be time to start thinking about playoff standings, since our nine Shenandoah teams compete at three different levels. But we have a couple more weeks of action before we have to get serious about that.
For now, the big topic of discussion will be "When will anyone get to play again?" There is a non-district game on the slate for Monday and the usual four-game schedule for Tuesday. But unless this winter storm turns out to be much less than expected, or schools are back in session sooner, those early games are quite likely in jeopardy. We could even be looking at an entire week with no local basketball action.
So stay inside folks and stay warm, as challenging a task as that may be.........