No. 8 Richard Bland Plays Patrick Henry In Semifinal On Friday
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College, the No. 2 seed for the 2017 NJCAA Region 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, will play No. 3 Patrick Henry Community College in a tournament semifinal contest on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Statesmen have an overall record of 26-4, and are ranked No. 8 in this week's NJCAA Division II Poll. The Patriots have an overall record of 17-10. The winner advances to the region's championship contest on Saturday, March 11 at 3:30 p.m. in Pinehurst.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 2 Richard Bland (26-4) vs. No. 3 Patrick Henry (17-10)
Date: Friday, March 10, 2017
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Pinehurst, North Carolina
Series History: 5-4
Scouting the Statesmen
Nationally-ranked No. 8 Richard Bland is 26-4 overall after an impressive 108-52 home win past Vance-Granville (N.C.) in a quarterfinal game on March 5. The Statesmen, who are an outstanding 100-29 (.775) over the past four seasons, including 51-8 (.864) at home, 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 30 games, Richard Bland has been led in scoring by local 6-3 sophomore guard Gevon Arrington/Petersburg, who is averaging 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He is followed by 6-9 sophomore center Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina, who is averaging 12.6 points (66 FG%), 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks with 11 double-doubles, while 6-4 sophomore guard Deandre Clark/Orange is averaging 12.5 points (71 3FGs), 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Richard Bland is averaging 84.7 points per game, while allowing just 67.2 points to opponents for a scoring margin of +17.5.
Scouting the Patriots
Patrick Henry is 17-10 overall after a 95-73 win past Wake Technical (N.C.) in a quarterfinal on March 5, and is coached by Kenneth Wade. The Patriots have been led in scoring by sophomores Gabriel Courtney (15.6), Ta'vion Petty (12.7) and Kyle Green (12.2). PHCC averages 84.0 points, while yielding 68.5 points for a scoring margin of +15.5.
Series History
Richard Bland and Patrick Henry are playing for the 10th time in the sport of men's basketball, and the Statesmen lead the series, 5-4. Richard Bland swept both regular season games this season against the Patriots, winning by a score of 83-61 on January 25 in Martinsville and 74-51 on February 15 at Statesman Hall. Jaquan Wooten averaged 16.5 points in the two wins, followed by Deandre Clark (11.0) and freshman Stanley Taylor/Petersburg (10.0). Gabriel Courtney and Dequariaus Harper each averaged 9.5 points for PHCC.
Facing His Former School
Richard Bland head coach Chuck Moore (148-45 overall, .767) began his collegiate coaching career at Patrick Henry, leading the Patriots for two seasons (2007-09). He posted an outstanding overall record of 48-16 (.750), including a perfect 16-0 record in Region 10 during 2008-09. Coach Moore was named the Region 10 Coach of the Year that season, helping Patrick Henry earn a No. 11 national ranking. His 2007-08 team won the VCCS State Championship, and Moore's success with the Patriots earned him election into the PHCC Hall of Fame.
100 Wins | Four Years
The quarterfinal victory against Vance-Granville was the 100th win for Richard Bland in men's basketball since the program was reinstated at the College in 2013, following a 20-year hiatus from competitive sports at Richard Bland. The Statesmen are now 100-29 (.775) over the past four seasons, including 51-8 (.864) at home. Richard Bland won the 2015 NJCAA Division II 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 the 20-year break.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland is ranked ninth in NJCAA Division II rebounding (46.6), 15th in steals (10.9), 17th in blocks (4.8), 20th in assists (18.9) and 36th in scoring (84.7). Jaquan Wooten is ranked third nationally in field goal percentage (66.2%, 149-225), fifth in blocks (2.8) and 21st in rebounding (9.5). Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York is ranked 36th nationally in assists (4.9). Deandre Clark is tied for 44th nationally in three-point field goals (71).
All-Region 10 Honors
Jaquan Wooten was selected to the 2016-17 All-Region 10 First Team, while Gevon Arrington and Deandre Clark were each named to the All-Region 10 Second Team. Pitt (N.C.) Community College sophomore guard Jaiquan Manning was selected as the Region 10 Player of the Year, while Louisburg (N.C.) College head coach Neil Dixon was named the Coach of the Year. Manning, Wooten and sophomore Troy Locke of Louisburg were designated as the region's All-American nominations.
Region 10 Tournament Semifinals, Friday, March 10 at Sandhills (N.C.) Community College
4 p.m. | No. 1 Louisburg (26-3) vs. No. 5 Bryant & Stratton (17-13)
6 p.m. | No. 2 Richard Bland (26-4) vs. No. 3 Patrick Henry (17-10)
Region 10 Tournament Championship, Saturday, March 11, 3:30 p.m. at Sandhills (N.C.) Community College
Up Next
Region 10 will advance two schools to the 32nd Annual NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament March 21-25 at Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois. Louisburg has already qualified as the regular season champion, and if Richard Bland advances to the final against the Hurricanes, the Statesmen will advance to the national tournament regardless of the outcome. If Louisburg is upset in the semifinal, Richard Bland would need to win the region tournament this weekend in North Carolina to qualify for the national tournament.