No. 5 Richard Bland Hosts No. 6 Louisburg (N.C.) Wednesday Night
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- It will be a battle of Top 10 NJCAA Division II junior college men's basketball teams on Wednesday night (February 8, 7 p.m.) in Statesman Hall when Richard Bland College welcomes Region 10 Conference archrival Louisburg (N.C.) College. The nationally-ranked Statesmen, No. 5 in this week's NJCAA Division II Top 20 Poll, feature an overall record of 20-3, including 13-1 in Region 10, with seven-straight wins and 16 wins in their last 17 games played. The nationally-ranked Hurricanes, No. 6 in this week's poll, are 19-3 overall, 13-1 in Region 10, with 13-straight wins and 17 wins in their last 18 games – combined – the two programs are 39-6 overall, 26-2 in Region 10.
The contest has been designated as the school's annual Blackout 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. Admission is free to all Richard Bland home games, while the contest can be heard locally on WHAP Radio, Fox Sports 1340 AM.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 5 Richard Bland (20-3, 13-1) vs. No. 6 Louisburg (N.C.) (19-3, 13-1)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017
Time: 7 p.m.
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM | Via Phone: 641-552-5316
Live Stats: rbcathetics.com
Location: Statesman Hall
Series History: 3-5
Scouting the Statesmen
No. 5 Richard Bland is 20-3 overall after a 76-62 road win at Catawba Valley (N.C.) Community College on Feb. 4. The Statesmen, who are an outstanding 94-28 (.770) over the past four seasons, are coached by head coach Chuck Moore, who is in his fourth season, and assisted by fourth-year assistant coach Brian Henderson, second-year assistant coach Preston Beverly and first-year graduate assistant coach Mike Wynn.
Through 23 games, Richard Bland has been led in scoring by 6-4 sophomore guard Deandre Clark/Orange, who is averaging 12.5 points (60 3FGs), 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He is followed by local 6-3 sophomore guard Gevon Arrington/Petersburg, who is averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while 6-9 sophomore center Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina is averaging 11.2 points (65 FG%), 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks with eight double-doubles. Richard Bland is averaging 83.0 points per game, while allowing just 66.9 points to opponents for a scoring margin of +16.1.
Scouting the Hurricanes
No. 6 Louisburg is 19-3 overall after a 120-72 home win past Wake Technical (N.C.) Community College on Feb. 6, and is coached by head coach Neil Dixon. The Hurricanes have been led in scoring by sophomore Virginia State University transfer Troy Locke (13.7), followed by freshman Jordan Oakley (13.0), along with sophomore Division I transfers Derek McKnight (NJIT, 12.4) and Josh Bougher (Tennessee Tech, 12.3). Louisburg averages 94.6 points (sixth nationally), while yielding 70.9 points for a scoring margin of +23.7. Over the past six games, however, the high-scoring Hurricanes have averaged 109.3 points, allowing only 67.7 points, for a +41.6 margin.
Series History
Richard Bland and Louisburg are playing for the ninth time in the sport of men's basketball, and the Hurricanes currently lead the closely-played rivalry series at 5-3. Five of the eight contests between the two schools have been decided by six points or less, including a 71-66 win by Louisburg in the first meeting this season on January 14 in North Carolina. Deandre Clark scored 17 points in that game, while Gevon Arrington added 13 points in a contest that the visitors led 37-29 at halftime. Josh Bougher posted game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds for Louisburg, while Jordan Oakley had 13 points. The Hurricanes have now won three-straight in the series, including both games played last season by scores of 100-69 at Statesman Hall (1/13/16) and 81-67 in North Carolina (2/10/16). The Statesmen won two games in North Carolina during their national championship season of 2014-15, including 87-81 (1/14/15) and 80-77 in the 2015 Region X Championship (3/7/15).
Everybody Plays, Everybody Scores
Richard Bland features all 13 team members who are averaging at least 10.6 minutes, including four who are playing at least 21.6 minutes, while the other nine are averaging between 10.6 and 14.6 minutes, respectively. The Statesmen have three players who are scoring at least 11.2 points per game, and six others who are scoring at least 5.1 points, while four more average between 2.2 and 4.8 points, respectively.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland is ranked 10th in NJCAA Division II rebounding (45.5), 14th in blocks (5.1), 18th in steals (10.8), 31st in assists (18.0) and 41st in scoring (83.0). Jaquan Wooten is ranked sixth nationally in blocks (3.0), 10th in field goal percentage (101-156, 64.7%) and 24th in rebounding (9.0). Deandre Clark is tie for 26th nationally in three-point field goals (60). Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York is ranked 41st nationally in assists (4.8).
2015 NJCAA Division II National Champions
Richard Bland won the 2015 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship, defeating John Wood (Ill.) Community College 64-53 on March 21, 2015 at the Mary Miller Gymnasium on the campus of Danville Community College in Danville, Illinois. The Statesmen finished their most memorable storybook 2014-15 campaign with a school-record of 32-4, winning the national title in only their second year back in action following a 20-year hiatus from competitive sports at Richard Bland College.
Up Next
Richard Bland remains 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.).