R-H Rebounds with Two Big JRD Wins

CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE – After a tough loss to Nottoway following winter break, the Randolph-Henry Varsity boys basketball bounced back in a big way with two wins that included beating then 2nd place Cumberland 69-40 and defeating arch rival Bluestone 67-56.  This big week moves the R-H squad to 6-1 and alone in 2nd place in the James River District behind Goochland.

In the Cumberland game Coach Graves said that the team came out hot from the beginning to jump out to a 22-13 lead after the 1st quarter. R-H held that lead the rest of the half expanding it in the 2nd half while outscoring the Dukes 40-18.

Nasheim Pettus had a big game with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Treymon Roberts scored 12 in his first start. Jordan Jones added 11 points while Billy Brantley scored 9 points. The team also got a big all around game from Tremaine Pugh with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The rest of the scoring included Puryear 5, Boyd 2, Moore 2 and West 2.

Coach Graves stated, “We had made some adjustments to our lineup starting Roberts and moving Pugh to point guard.  I really think it worked out well giving us a different look.  We really looked more relaxed on the offensive end of the court with Tremaine dictating the offensive sets.”

In the Bluestone game, R-H looked for a season sweep against the always tough Barons after having beaten them 59-50 early in the season at home. For the second game in a row the Statesmen came out strong, jumping out to a 21-15 lead.

They maintained that lead into the half and had a big 3rd quarter to stretch the lead to 14 points.  R-H began to use the clock some midway of the 4th quarter.  Bluestone cut the lead to 8 with 3:00 to play but the Statesmen were able to recover and close the game out.  Puryear and Pettus hit key free throws down the stretch.  Pugh led the scoring with 17 points.  Other scorers for R-H: Pettus 14, Brantley 11, Boyd 8, Jones 7, Roberts 6,  Masud Benu 2 and Puryear 2.

Coach Graves stated, “This was a very up tempo game despite the score.  It is not usually our style of game but Bluestone pressed the whole game forcing us to play at a faster pace.  My biggest concern was conditioning since we have had limited games and practices due to weather.  It didn’t seem to be a factor. Great team effort.  Pugh and Pettus were dominant on both ends of the court and we got a big game from Brantley in limited action due to foul trouble.”