STATESMEN PUSH NO. 10 PATRICK HENRY TO THE BRINK IN OVERTIME THRILLER

PETERSBURG, Va., (Jan. 27, 2016) – The Region X Conference Tournament is more than a month away, but on Wednesday night at Statesman Hall, Richard Bland College and Patrick Henry Community College played an overtime game more befitting of an early March championship game than a regular season contest in late January.

The No. 10 nationally-ranked Patriots needed an extra session to fend off a determined Statesman team, to register a 95-88 victory. If not for a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining by freshman guard Jordan Griggs (Woodbridge, VA/Christ Chapel Academy), Patrick Henry would have precariously slipped into a victory after erasing a 71-63 deficit with 5:53 to play after a Griggs layup provided Richard Bland with its largest lead of the game. Patrick Henry surged back into the game on the strength of freshman guard Thomas East and sophomore guard Jarel Jennings, who helped the Patriots take an 81-78 lead with 18 seconds left.

Richard Bland called timeout after two free throws by East secured the 3-point lead. After a few anxious seconds in which the Statesmen were attempting to inbound the ball, sophomore guard Gerard Dean-McBride (Richmond, VA/John Marshall), found Griggs cutting to the corner in front of the Richard Bland bench. His three-pointer under pressure knotted the game at 81-81 and forced overtime.

The hard fought loss drops Richard Bland to 9-10, 5-4 on the season. Patrick Henry earns its sixth straight victory and improves to 15-2, 8-1. The Statesmen next travel to Guilford Community College for a 3:00 p.m. game on Saturday before returning back home to Statesman Hall for a Sunday game against Lenoir Community College at 3:00 p.m. Patrick Henry next travels to Wake Tech for a 7:00 p.m. game on Feb. 3.

In overtime, Patrick Henry outscored Richard Bland 14-7, earning 12 of its points from the free throw line. Two free throws by Griggs tied the contest at 85-85 with 2:06 to play. The Patriots got a huge tip in by Ta'vion Petty for an 87-85 lead with 1:37 remaining and that slight margin held up as the Patriots outscored RBC 10-3 in the waning minute, getting all their points from the free throw line.

"We're capable of competing and I am proud of our aggressive play," said Richard Bland head coach Chuck Moore. "We had a great effort and played hard, but we still have to learn how to play as a team and reduce our turnovers."

The teams played to a 36-36 tie and the game see-sawed back and forth until a swarming Richard Bland defense helped the Statesmen break free from a 62-62 tie with 8:13 to play. Griggs, sophomore forward Devin Smith (Baltimore, MD/Randallstown) and sophomore guard Gerard Dean-McBride (Richmond, VA/John Marshall) led the surge that provided RBC with its seven points lead.

Smith and fellow sophomore forward Troy Gibson (Newport News, VA/Heritage) led Richard Bland with 20 points each. When Gibson fouled out with 40 seconds to play, RBC trailed 77-75. Griggs added 17 points and freshman forward Nikola Lakic (Belgrade, Serbia/Amelia Academy) played a career-high 35 minutes and grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds.

East had 20 points coming off the bench for Patrick Henry. Jennings added 18 points.