Richard Bland Announces Upcoming 2016-17 Schedule

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. – Richard Bland College fourth-year men's basketball head coach Chuck Moore has announced his program's 29-game schedule for the upcoming 2016-17 season. The campaign features an 18-game Region X Conference regular season, 14 home games at Statesman Hall and participation in three November tournaments, highlighted by the annual Richard Bland Classic on Nov. 18-19. The Statesmen, who are 37-7 at home over the past three years, will open against Northern Virginia Community College on Tuesday night, November 1, in Statesman Hall at 7 p.m.

"Our conference is one of best in the nation, that's why we have two national bids now," explained Moore. "We really wanted to play quality non-conference opponents that will give us some solid road games and test us. We also wanted bring in quality programs to Statesman Hall to play at home, teams that will challenge us. This schedule should test us early and throughout the season."

Richard Bland will compete in two road tournaments during the first month of the season, including the Frederick Classic on Nov. 4-5 in Frederick, Maryland and the Monroe Classic on Nov. 12-13 in New Rochelle, New York. The Statesmen will play Valley Forge (Pa.) on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m., and Delaware Tech on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m., in Maryland. Richard Bland will play Genesee (N.Y.) on Nov. 12 at 12 p.m., and Monroe (N.Y.) on Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., in New York.

"The Frederick tournament is a great warm-up tournament for us, where we're on the road and playing solid programs," said Moore. "It will really get us going for when we go to New York to play at Monroe, a Division I junior college, and Genesee is typically in the national tournament."

Other home games include Southside Virginia and Cape Fear (N.C.) during the Richard Bland Classic on Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 4 p.m., respectively, along with Fayetteville Tech (N.C.) on Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. and Dundalk (Md.) on Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.

"That (Richard Bland Classic) will be a great weekend of basketball, because Southside is a local team that always has a lot of talent and Cape Fear is always nationally-ranked and went to the national tournament last year," added Moore. "That weekend will really test us before our conference games, and it will be important to win both games to give us some momentum."

Other non-conference road games will be played at Southern Maryland on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. and at Catonsville (Md.) on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m.

"All of those Maryland teams are very strong and they always play real scrappy," explained Moore. "They're talented programs and they like to get up and down the floor. If we win on the road up there, we've accomplished something."

Richard Bland will host nine Region X contests, beginning with Catawba Valley (N.C.) on December 3 at 3 p.m., followed by league home games against Guilford Tech (N.C.) on Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. and Pitt (N.C.) on January 19 at 7 p.m., before six more during the month of February: Lenoir (N.C.) on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m., Louisburg (N.C.) on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., Patrick Henry on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., Bryant & Stratton on Feb. 18 at 3 p.m., Vance-Granville (N.C.) on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. and Wake Tech (N.C.) on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.

"Louisburg, Pitt, Patrick Henry and Catawba Valley are typically the top programs in the conference, and whether you play them at home or away, it's just as difficult both ways," said Moore. "Hopefully, our home crowd will help us and give us an advantage, but our conference is solid from top to bottom."

Richard Bland has nine Region X games on the road, beginning at Wake Tech on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m., followed by contests at Pitt on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., Vance-Granville on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m., Lenoir on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m., Louisburg on Jan. 14 at 3 p.m., Bryant & Stratton on Jan. 22 at 3 p.m., Patrick Henry on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m., Guilford Tech on Jan. 28 at 3 p.m. and at Catawba Valley on Feb. 4 at 3 p.m.

"Louisburg and Patrick Henry are probably the two toughest places to play, without a doubt," added Moore.

Richard Bland will host the first round and quarterfinals of the Region X Conference Tournament on March 4-5 in Statesman Hall.

"Playing in front of our home crowd on our court is definitely an advantage," explained Moore. "We have one of the best venues in the conference to be able to host a quality tournament. It gives us the ability to stay at home and get a little bit of extra rest."

The Region X semifinals and championship will be played on March 10-11 at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The NJCAA Division II National Tournament will be played on March 21-25 at the Mary Miller Center on the campus of Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois.

Richard Bland has posted an outstanding overall record of 74-25 in three seasons since reinstating men's basketball prior to 2013-14, averaging nearly 25 wins per season. The Statesmen won the 2014-15 NJCAA Division II National Championship while compiling a school-record of 32-4 during their second season back in competition. They'd like to make a return trip to Illinois this year.

"We're ready to go right now," said Moore. "We've had a long summer and preseason, and the excitement level is off the chart."