Statesmen bounce back
Published 11:17 am Thursday, January 18, 2018
Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity boys basketball team rebounded from a its 15-point Jan. 3 loss to host Nottoway High School by defeating host Bluestone High School 67-56 on Friday and by routing visiting Cumberland County High School 69-40 on Jan. 10.
The Dukes are in second in the James River District (JRD), and the Barons are behind the Statesmen in fourth.
“We looked like a totally different team,” Statesmen Head Coach James Graves said. “We made a couple of changes in our lineup, starting Treymon Roberts at power forward and moving Tremaine Pugh to point guard. The team seemed a lot more relaxed on the offensive end, and we were solid in both games on defense.”
Graves noted that Randolph-Henry jumped out to a 22-13 lead against Cumberland and a 21-16 lead against Bluestone and backed up those advantages with strong third quarters to stretch the lead going into the fourth.
“The Bluestone game was very up-tempo, because they pressed the whole game,” Graves said. “We responded well.”
Against Bluestone, Pugh led the Statesmen in scoring with 17 points, while Nasheim Pettus had 14 points and Billy Brantley Jr. added 11.
Pettus led the way against Cumberland, contributing 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
Roberts scored 12 points, Jordan Jones had 11, Brantley had nine and Pugh recorded eight points, six rebounds and six assists.
Randolph-Henry (7-4, 6-1 JRD) is busy over the next week. The Statesmen visit Gretna High School on Wednesday, Buckingham County High School on Thursday and they host Prince Edward County High School on Friday. All games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.