Men's Basketball Take Home Win, 98-82

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, VA -- The Richard Bland College of William and Mary men's basketball team defeated Bryant and Stratton College 98-82 last night at Statesman Hall.

With the victory, the Statesmen improve to 5-9 on the season. The Statesmen travel to Spartanburg Methodist on Monday, January 21 for a 7 pm tip-off.

Wednesday's game was full of energy as the Statesmen faced former Region 10 NJCAA Division II, in-state rival Bryant and Stratton. Richard Bland won the tip-off and sophomore Ryan Jones scored the first two points of the game. The rest of the half was a constant back and forth battle between the Statesmen and the Bobcats. The Bobcats held a seven-point lead with 10:23 remaining in the first half. From there the Bobcats tried to pull away but the Statesmen continued to fight and closed the lead down by a score of 43-42.

The opening of the second half was a whole new story for Richard Bland who scored in four of their first five possessions of the half. With ten minutes remaining in the second half, the Statesmen led by a score of 71-56. As Bryant and Stratton felt the deficit growing, they did their best to put pressure on the Statesmen backcourt. Although effective at times, the Bobcats pressure was not enough for the growing confidence of Richard Bland who continued to score quickly in transition and their secondary actions. Freshman Jordan Cross led Richard Bland in scoring with 23 points followed by sophomore Marvin Trotman with 21 points and sophomore Sterling Carrington with 19 points. Five of the Statesmen finished with double digits in scoring. The Statesmen play at home again on Wednesday, January 23 for a 7 pm tip-off when they host Allegany College of Maryland.