I want to congratulate Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity boys basketball team on orchestrating one of its best seasons since the late 1990s.

The Statesmen claimed the James River District tournament crown Feb. 12 with a decisive 73-55 victory over archrival Goochland High School.

James Graves, Randolph-Henry’s head coach, said this is “only the second time I know of that a tournament championship has been achieved” by the team.

Graves deserves to be highlighted. He has been helping build the program up over the past few years to reach the level of success it is now achieving.

The Statesmen finished the year with an 18-7 overall record.

The team’s 2017-18 campaign came to an end earlier than it had hoped when it fell to Goochland in the regional semifinals, and it will lose key players due to graduation, but the tone of success has been established for players coming up in the program.

Helping set that tone in particular was a trio of seniors: guard/forward Tremaine Pugh and guards Nasheim Pettus and Jordan Jones.

Pugh was named district Player of the Year, and both Pugh and Pettus have been named to the all-district and All-Region 2A first teams. Jordan was named to the all-district second team.

Pugh averaged 13.8 points per game this season and 16.7 per game during the regional tournament.

“His consistency over his career and positive attitude helped him get the (regional) honor,” Graves said. “His offensive stats were not as good this year as in past years, but he always did the little things …”

Pettus averaged 13.1 points per game and 20.7 per game in the regional tourney. Graves highlighted his intensity and defensive prowess.

“He was probably one of the district and region leaders in steals and assists,” the coach said.

The examples set by players and coach have given Statesmen fans good reason to be excited now and in the future.

Titus Mohler is the sports editor for The Charlotte Gazette and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Titus. Mohler@TheCharlotteGazette.com.