STATESMEN FALL TO NO. 10 NATIONALLY RANKED LOUISBURG
Posted: Jan 13, 2016

STATESMEN FALL TO NO. 10 NATIONALLY RANKED LOUISBURG

Game Leaders
Louisburg College
Pts: 3 Players (#3, #15, #23) - 18
Reb: CJ Hill - 10
Ast: Raekwon Harney - 5
Richard Bland College
Pts: Jordan Griggs - 17
Reb: Team - 30
Ast: Gerard Dean-McBride - 5
Team Stats
Full stats

PETERSBURG, Va., (Jan. 13, 2016) – In a game replete with twists and turns and dramatic swings in momentum by both teams, the No. 10 nationally-ranked Louisburg College men's basketball team fended off a second half comeback by Richard Bland to earn a 100-69 victory in Region X Conference action on Wednesday evening at Statesman Hall.

The hot-shooting Hurricanes, a team Richard Bland defeated on the road last year to win the Region X Conference Championship and advance to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, sizzled offensively in the first half, building a 51-31 halftime lead on 64 percent shooting from the field. But in front of a packed home crowd in RBC's annual Blackout Game, the Statesmen weren't about the let their rival get off easy, and made a furious comeback to draw within 62-59 with 11:17 to play. Then, the Hurricanes flipped the momentum in their favor and went on a 20-0 run over the next three minutes to build a 82-59 lead with 7:08 to play.
 

The loss drops Richard Bland to 8-8, 4-3 on the season, while Louisburg, winners of nine straight games, improves to 13-3, 5-0. The Statesmen will be back in action on Saturday with a road contest at Cape Fear at 3:00 p.m. Louisburg travels to Bryant & Stratton on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game.

The Statesmen made its concerted comeback on the strength of its bench, which kept pace with the Louisburg bench, each team scoring 39 points. Baskets by freshmen Eric Washington (Fredericksburg, VA/Colonial Forge) and Jordan Griggs (Woodbridge, VA/Christ Chapel Academy), kick-started the RBC comeback, and when freshman forward Nikola Lakic (Belgrade, Serbia/Amelia Academy) drained a 3-pointer from the left side with 11:17 to play, the Statesmen had drawn within 62-59.
 

Louisburg answered by scoring a quick seven points for a 69-59 lead and then two of the team's stalwart players, sophomores CJ Hill and Jamarcus Hairston got hot, helping the Hurricanes score ten more unanswered points for a 82-59 lead.

"Louisburg came out on fire and we didn't respond as well as we could or should have," said Richard Bland head coach Chuck Moore. "When we drew within 62-59, the momentum of the game shifted and we couldn't recover. Louisburg is a good team from 1-to-12 and to play against a team of that calibre means we have to match their intensity for a full 40 minutes."
 

Griggs came off the RBC bench to lead the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Sophomore captain Troy Gibson (Newport News, VA/Heritage) had 13 points and 10 rebounds in 34 hard-played minutes.

"Troy is a staple of the team," said Moore. "He played on a national championship team, he knows how to play in a big game like this. Jordan has a lot of talent and started to get into a groove in the second half."

Hairston led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and Hill had 16 points along with seven rebounds.