No. 5 Richard Bland Earns 20th Win At Catawba Valley (N.C.) 76-62

HICKORY, N.C. -- Sophomore Gevon Arrington/Petersburg scored a game-high 16 points to lead No. 5 Richard Bland College to a 76-62 Region 10 Conference men's basketball road victory at Catawba Valley (N.C.) Community College on Saturday afternoon in Hickory, North Carolina.  Freshman Tim Bing Jr./District Heights, Maryland added 12 points, while sophomore Deandre Clark/Orange added 11 points for the visiting and nationally-ranked Statesmen (20-3, 13-1), who became the first men's collegiate team in Virginia to reach 20 wins this season with their seventh-straight win and 16^th victory in the last 17 games.  Myles Williams scored 13 points for the host Red Hawks (15-8, 9-5).

Richard Bland led 40-30 at the intermission behind nine first-half points from Bing and eight points each from Arrington and Clark.  The Statesmen outscored Catawba Valley 36-32 during the second half, getting eight second-half points from Arrington, as well as five points each from sophomore Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina and freshman Brandon Henry/Chester after the break.

Arrington led Richard Bland with his game-high 16 points, including two three-point field goals, while making 6-7 free throws and adding nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Bing added 12 points for the Statesmen, including three three-pointers and 3-4 free throws.  Clark finished with 11 points, making three three-pointers and grabbing six rebounds.  Wooten and Henry each contributed nine points with Wooten adding six rebounds, while sophomore Myles Markland/Petersburg had seven points.  Richard Bland made nine three-pointers in the contest, and was 19-28 at the free throw line.

Williams led Catawba Valley with his 13 points, the only double-figure scorer for the Red Hawks.

Richard Bland and Catawba Valley were playing for the eighth time in the sport of men's basketball, and the Statesmen now lead the series, 6-2, including a season sweep this year (89-66, December 3, 2016).

In becoming the first men's collegiate team in the Commonwealth to reach 20 wins this season, Richard Bland has now attained 20 wins for the third time in four years since reinstating the sport prior to 2013-14 following a 20-year hiatus.  The three 20-win campaigns are the only such seasons in the 22-year history of the Statesmen program.

Richard Bland will return home to welcome region archrival and nationally-ranked No. 8 Louisburg (N.C.) College next Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in Statesman Hall – a battle of Top 10 NJCAA Division II teams.  That game has been designated as the school's annual Black Out Game, along with it being Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce Night, as well as Richard Bland College Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night.  All fans are encouraged to wear black attire to the highly-anticipated contest for first place in Region 10, and the first 50 students in attendance will receive a commemorative t-shirt.

The Statesmen remain at home to complete the regular season, as the Louisburg game is the first of six consecutive contests in Statesman Hall over the next three weeks.  The other five include Dundalk (Md.) (Sunday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m.), Patrick Henry (Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.), Bryant & Stratton (Saturday, Feb. 18, 3 p.m.), Vance-Granville (N.C.) (Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.) and Wake Tech (N.C.) (Saturday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.).