No. 8 Richard Bland Defeats Visiting Patrick Henry 74-51

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Sophomore Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina posted season-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 8 Richard Bland College to a 74-51 NJCAA Region 10 men's basketball victory past Patrick Henry Community College on Wednesday night at Statesman Hall.  Freshman Stanley Taylor/Petersburg added nine points, and sophomore Gevon Arrington/Petersburg had eight points and nine rebounds for the nationally-ranked Statesmen (22-4, 14-2), who improved to 10-1 at home this season.  Gabriel Courtney and Ta'vion Petty each scored 10 points for the visiting Patriots (13-10, 11-6).

Richard Bland, No. 8 in this week's NJCAA Division II Top 20 Poll, took an early 11-6 advantage at 14:37 after a three-point field goal by freshman Tim Bing Jr./District Heights, Maryland.  Wooten and Arrington added four quick points each, including the first of five slam dunks in the contest by Wooten.  A three-pointer from sophomore Deandre Clark/Orange made it 14-9 at 10:45, and another dunk by Wooten made it 18-13 at 7:10.  The Statesmen had their largest lead of the opening half at 26-16 with 2:36 left following a jumper from Arrington.  Patrick Henry, however, battled back with a 12-1 run to close the half and led 28-27 at the intermission.  Wooten (8), Arrington (6) and Clark (4) combined for 18 first-half points for the hosts.

Patrick Henry took its largest lead of the night at 35-31 with 14:55 remaining, before Richard Bland began to take control of the contest and pull away at the end.  A layup from Bing at 14:05 tied it at 35-35, and a layup from Taylor at 12:58 put the Statesmen ahead for good at 39-37.  A basket down low by Wooten capped a quick 10-2 run for a 47-39 advantage at 10:38.  The Patriots managed to close to within 47-44 at 9:53, but 10 unanswered points by the hosts made it a 57-44 lead with 6:24 left.  Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York sparked the quick outburst with five points, including a three-pointer.  Arrington's layup at 2:16 made it a 20-point margin at 68-48, as Richard Bland finished on a 37-14 run en route to the final 23-point margin of victory.

Wooten led Richard Bland with his season-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds for his 10^th double-double, adding a game-high three blocks.  Taylor added nine points and four rebounds off the bench for the Statesmen.  Arrington finished with eight points and nine rebounds.  Clark, Bing and Hicks each contributed seven points, while Bing also dished a game-high nine assists and Clark added four assists and a game-high three steals.

Richard Bland shot 40% (27-67) from the field, including 19% (4-21) on three-pointers, and 67% (16-24) at the free throw line.  The Statesmen had advantages of 38-18 in points in the paint, 23-15 in points off turnovers, 17-5 in second chance points and 10-6 in fast break points.

Courtney and Petty led Patrick Henry with their respective 10 points.  PHCC shot 39% (19-49) from the field, including 33% (3-9) on three-pointers, and 44% (10-23) at the line.

Richard Bland and Patrick Henry were playing for the ninth time in the sport of men's basketball, and the Statesmen now lead the series at 5-4.

Richard Bland has won nine of its last 10 games, and is 18-2 over the last 20 games played.  The Statesmen will remain at home for three more Region 10 games to complete the regular season, beginning against Bryant & Stratton College on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m., followed by Vance-Granville (N.C.) (Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.) and Wake Tech (N.C.) (Saturday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.).  The Bryant & Stratton contest has been designated as Tri-Cities Schools Day.