ON MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT, STATESMEN CRUISE PAST VANCE-GRANVILLE

PETERSBURG, Va., (Nov. 24, 2015) – On Military Appreciation Night, the Richard Bland College men's basketball team treated a legion of courageous men and women who serve our nation every day, with a start-to-finish 102-81 victory over Vance-Granville Community College to begin Region X Conference play on Tuesday night at Statesman Hall.

The Statesmen, who jumped out to a 14-4 lead six minutes into the game and never released the offensive gas pedal, reached the 100-point mark for the first time since defeating Wake Technical Community College 110-63 last February 22. It was the second time in three games that Richard Bland scored 100 points against the Vanguards.

In a game that featured a combined 56 three-point attempts and end-to-end action, the Statesmen held the upper hand in field goal shooting percentage, connecting on 51 percent of their shots, while Vance-Granville was held to 41 percent from the floor. That statistic, coupled with a 50-35 rebounding edge, led Richard Bland to the 21-point point victory.

It was a win to savor for the Statesmen, who were playing only their second home game of the season after logging seven straight road contests. With the victory, Richard Bland improves to 5-4, 1-0, while Vance-Granville drops to 2-5, 0-1.  The Statesmen return to action on Dec. 2 with an away game at Pitt. Community College at 7 p.m. Vance-Granville next hosts Louisburg College on Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Richard Bland got off to a fast start, and the catalyst was freshman guard Gevon Arrington (Petersburg, VA/Petersburg), who scored eight straight points to help the Statesmen open an early 10-point lead. When backcourt mate Kai Brown (Wiliamsburg, VA/Walsingham Academy) connected on a layup and then canned a 3-point shot, Richard Bland had built a 15-point margin, one that would balloon into a 52-31 halftime lead.

The Statesmen were buoyed by five players who scored in double figures, led by Brown who came off the bench to co-lead the team in scoring with 16 points on a near-perfect performance – 6 of 7 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from long distance. Sophomore forward Troy Gibson (Newport News, VA/Heritage) had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Devin Smith continued his strong offensive production with a 12-point game on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor. Freshman center Harrison Mitchell (Hampton, VA/Phoebus) came off the bench to provide an offensive spurt with 16 points (matching Brown) and Arrington added 12 points.

"We played with emotion and energy tonight and we matched our opponents' intensity," said Richard Bland head coach Chuck Moore. "It was great to play at home with more than 500 fans in attendance, most notably the men and women of the military who represent our country. We were blessed to have them here."

Richard Bland kept a 20-point lead in tact for the first 10 minutes of the second half, getting four straight points from Mitchell to build a 63-44 lead. A layup by freshman guard Deandre Clark (Orange County, VA/Wakefield Private School) pushed RBC ahead 75-48 and from that point both teams traded baskets until the final buzzer.

Vance-Granville was able to make the final score closer by getting 52 of 81 points from its backcourt. Raekwon Hall tallied 27 for the Vanguards and teammate Ty'Quon Reid added 25.