No. 7 RBC HOOPS TO MEET No. 13 BRYANT & STRATTON IN REGION 10 TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS

PETERSBURG, Va. – The No. 7 Richard Bland men's basketball team is one game away from advancing to its first Region X Conference Tournament championship game since the program has been reinstated one year ago. Standing in the Statesmen's way is third seed and 13^th-ranked Bryant & Stratton Bobcats.

The two teams will face off on Friday, Mar. 6^th at 2 p.m. in the Region X Tournament Semi-Finals at Louisburg College, with a bid to the championship on the line. The game will provide live audio with Steve "Da Truth" Nugent and Wynn Hasty calling the action. It will also be carried on live stats at www.rbcathletics.com.

Fans can follow Twitter updates on @GoRBCStatesmen and use hashtag #RBChoops to talk about the game.

Richard Bland (26-4) earned its second consecutive appearance in the semifinals with an 85-61 win over Lenoir on Sunday. The win extended the Statesmen win-streak to four games.

Three Statesmen scored in double figures paced by sophomore forward and All-Region X Avery Ugba (Silver Springs, MD), who scored 25 points. Freshman guard and All-Region X Reginald Moses (Henrico, VA) followed with 16 points, while sophomore forward and Region X Player of the Year, Tavon Mealy (Richmond, VA) added 12 points.

RBC saw its four point lead (39-35) at halftime extend to 19 points with 3:50 left to play in the second half, the effort led the Statesmen to the victory.

Bryant & Stratton (22-6), the No. 3 seed, earned a trip to the semifinals with a 74-72, win over Catawba Valley. The Bobcats shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the floor, including 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the free-throw line. Four players netted double figures, led by Troy Mills with 22 points.

The Statesmen look to chart a win over the third seed in the Region X Tournament and extend its four-game winning-streak. RBC fell in the first regular season game vs. the Bobcats, 66-64 in Norfolk, Va., on Jan. 10^th. The game scheduled for Feb. 25^th in Statesman Hall was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Richard Bland is 2-2 this season vs. top-25 and 1-1 vs. teams in the top 10.

For more information on RBC men's basketball, please visit www.rbcathletics.com.

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