DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FINALIZE 2015-16 BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

PETERSBURG, Va., (Sept. 16, 2015) -- The Richard Bland College men's basketball program has finalized dates for its 2015-16 schedule as announced by Director of Athletics and Head Coach Chuck Moore on Wednesday afternoon. The defending NJCAA Division II National Champion Statesmen, coming off a 32-4 season, will play 30 regular season games, twenty of those games being home-and-away contests against Region X Conference opponents.

Richard Bland's 2015-16 schedule is the most difficult and ambitious in school history. The Statesmen play 17 of their 30 games on the road, compete in two highly-competitive tournaments and face five teams that appeared in the NJCAA National Championship Tournaments last season.  

Prior to the season-and-home opener against Frederick Community College (Oct. 30, 7 p.m.), Richard Bland plays three challenging exhibition games. The Statesmen host Fork Union Military Academy (Oct. 15, 5 p.m.) and visit NCAA Division II Virginia Union (October 23, 7 p.m.) and NCAA Division III Eastern Mennonite (Oct. 27, 4 p.m.).  

The 2015-16 schedule is highlighted by two prestigious in-season tournaments, the Essex (NY) County College Tournament (Nov. 6-7) and Northwest Florida State College Tournament (Nov. 13-14). On the first day at the Northwest Florida State College Tournament, the Statesmen will face the host Raiders at 8:30 p.m., winners of last year's NJCAA Division I National Championship. The contest marks one of a few times in NJCAA history that a defending Division I and Division II national champion has played each other. 

In 2015-16, the Statesmen will face four additional teams that that appeared in the NJCAA National Championship Tournaments last season. Richard Bland plays Essex County College (an NJCAA Division II National Championship game finalist in 2014) on the first day of the hosts tournament (Nov. 6, 3 p.m.), at Walters State (Jan. 8, 7 p.m.), at Cape Fear Community College (Jan. 16, 3 p.m.) and at Brunswick Community College (Feb. 14, 2 p.m.). 

"Each year the difficulty of our schedule has increased, and this is by far the toughest," said Moore, who was named the 2014-15 Spalding NJCAA Division II National Coach of the Year. "We want to play the very best teams we can. We're a national level program and our schedule should reflect that."

Following its home opener against Frederick Community College, Richard Bland plays nine of its next ten games on the road over the next month. In that string of away contests, the Statesmen face Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk (Nov. 1, 3 p.m.), a team that was nationally ranked in NJCAA Division II last season. The only home game during this stretch comes against Vance-Granville Community College (Nov. 24, 7 p.m.).

"In order to play top caliber teams you have to play on the road," Moore explains. "We are on the road a lot in the early part of season, but it's a segment of the season that prepares us for the second semester of games and conference tournament."

Moore's team closes out its first semester of games with three straight home contests against Guilford Technical Community College (Dec. 12, 3 p.m.), Wake Technical College (Dec. 13, 3 p.m.) and Community College Baltimore County Catonsville, a nationally-ranked NJCAA Division II team last season (Dec. 16, 6 p.m.).

The January and February portion of the 2015-16 schedule features eight home games and 12 conference games. Among those, rival Louisburg College visits Statesmen Hall to start the New Year (Jan. 13, 7 p.m.). Richard Bland plays three straight home games in mid-February, against Potomac State College of West Virginia (Feb. 13, 4 p.m.), Brunswick Community College (Feb. 14, 2 p.m.) and Patrick Henry Community College (Feb. 17, 7 p.m.). The Statesmen close out their home schedule against Bryant and Stratton (Feb. 23, 7 p.m.).

The first two rounds of the Region X Tournament are played at Richard Bland on Feb. 27-28. The semifinals and finals are played at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, NC, on Mar. 4-5. 

The NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament runs from Mar. 14-19 at Danville Area Community College in Danville, IL, the site of the 2014-15 national championships. 

The complete 2015-16 Richard Bland men's basketball schedule is available at this link.