Drew Bond stepped to the foul line with 28 seconds left and delivered the senior leadership one would expect as he calmly sank two free throws to give Riverheads a three-point lead, which to that point had been the Big Red's largest advantage of the night. A few seconds later, Grant Painter stole the ball and drove in for a lay-up as RHS barely escaped Buffalo Gap with a 57-52 win.
The game was called so tightly that neither team could ever really establish any rhythm as the final margin represented the Big Red's largest lead of the game whereas the Bison might have led by as many as six at one point. Ironically, the statistic that looked like it might do in the Gladiators (personal fouls) early in the proceedings ultimately turned in their favor and helped them win the contest.
RHS was called for nine personal fouls in the first quarter, which meant the Bison spent the entire second period on the double bonus. But things evened out as early as the second quarter and coming down the stretch run, Riverheads had a 7-2 second-half team foul ratio that allowed them to play more aggressively and claw their way back in to the game.
Another interesting quirk to this game was that the first three quarters all ended in buzzer-beating shots and in fact you could make the argument that Riverheads may have won the game that way. A Bison shot from the corner barely beat the first quarter horn to put the home team ahead 16-14. Then after a seesaw second quarter, RHS' Honor Robinson sent the teams to the locker room with the Big Red ahead 29-27 after his tip-in sneaked in under the wire.
But perhaps the biggest of them all was Bond's triple from the top of the key to close out the third quarter. If he doesn't hit that, the Bison take a 40-37 lead in to the final stanza and the outcome might have been different. Instead his shot tied the game at 40-40 and gave Riverheads some new life. He, Painter, and Zack Adams all had key buckets in the fourth to finally allow RHS to escape.
In fact that trio led a well-balanced Gladiator attack as Bond had 15 and the other two 14. Robinson finished with six hard-earned points and Josh Kinzel and Elijah Dunlap hit key threes earlier in the game to keep the Bison from seizing control. As for the Bison, if I had to guess I would say Weston Smith led their scoring.
All in all, just a typical county rivalry game, and each team has to turn right around and play another one of those tomorrow night. The Bison will be hosting winless Fort Defiance in a non-district tussle, while Riverheads will begin a longgggg, but very well-deserved home stand when Stuarts Draft comes calling. RHS has played an amazing 8 of their first 11 games on the road and in fact the Gladiators will have only ONE more Shenandoah District road game.
In the JV game, RHS sputtered out of the gate and fell into an 11-0 hole that set the tone for the game. Although they came back from it and actually took the lead, they suffered through another dry spell in the third quarter that they could not bounce back from as BG took a 47-33 win. These teams will clash again in Greenville on the 24th.
Meanwhile the Lady Gladiators swept their two games at home tonight from the Lady Bison. We can then assume that most of us who attended one or the other event tonight then went home and watched a certain little ditty being held in Charlottesville. Depending on your perspective, you either loved or hated the outcome of that one!
The game was called so tightly that neither team could ever really establish any rhythm as the final margin represented the Big Red's largest lead of the game whereas the Bison might have led by as many as six at one point. Ironically, the statistic that looked like it might do in the Gladiators (personal fouls) early in the proceedings ultimately turned in their favor and helped them win the contest.
RHS was called for nine personal fouls in the first quarter, which meant the Bison spent the entire second period on the double bonus. But things evened out as early as the second quarter and coming down the stretch run, Riverheads had a 7-2 second-half team foul ratio that allowed them to play more aggressively and claw their way back in to the game.
Another interesting quirk to this game was that the first three quarters all ended in buzzer-beating shots and in fact you could make the argument that Riverheads may have won the game that way. A Bison shot from the corner barely beat the first quarter horn to put the home team ahead 16-14. Then after a seesaw second quarter, RHS' Honor Robinson sent the teams to the locker room with the Big Red ahead 29-27 after his tip-in sneaked in under the wire.
But perhaps the biggest of them all was Bond's triple from the top of the key to close out the third quarter. If he doesn't hit that, the Bison take a 40-37 lead in to the final stanza and the outcome might have been different. Instead his shot tied the game at 40-40 and gave Riverheads some new life. He, Painter, and Zack Adams all had key buckets in the fourth to finally allow RHS to escape.
In fact that trio led a well-balanced Gladiator attack as Bond had 15 and the other two 14. Robinson finished with six hard-earned points and Josh Kinzel and Elijah Dunlap hit key threes earlier in the game to keep the Bison from seizing control. As for the Bison, if I had to guess I would say Weston Smith led their scoring.
All in all, just a typical county rivalry game, and each team has to turn right around and play another one of those tomorrow night. The Bison will be hosting winless Fort Defiance in a non-district tussle, while Riverheads will begin a longgggg, but very well-deserved home stand when Stuarts Draft comes calling. RHS has played an amazing 8 of their first 11 games on the road and in fact the Gladiators will have only ONE more Shenandoah District road game.
In the JV game, RHS sputtered out of the gate and fell into an 11-0 hole that set the tone for the game. Although they came back from it and actually took the lead, they suffered through another dry spell in the third quarter that they could not bounce back from as BG took a 47-33 win. These teams will clash again in Greenville on the 24th.
Meanwhile the Lady Gladiators swept their two games at home tonight from the Lady Bison. We can then assume that most of us who attended one or the other event tonight then went home and watched a certain little ditty being held in Charlottesville. Depending on your perspective, you either loved or hated the outcome of that one!
