Men's Basketball Starts Off New Year Right

Bel Air, MD -- As this was Richard Bland College men's basketball's first game of 2020, the team got off to the start they wanted with a hard-fought victory over Harford Community College, winning 74-68 in hostile territory on Monday.

The Statesmen are now back playing .500 basketball this season with a record of 7-7.  Going back home for its next game, it will be the team's first home game of the new year.  That game will be against Alleghany College of Maryland on Saturday, January 11, at 2 pm.  Saturday will also be Petersburg Youth Basketball Day where the Petersburg Youth Basketball League will be our special guests at Statesmen Hall.

Monday marked the second time RBC faced off against the Fighting Owls as Bland won their first matchup.  Richard Bland started off this game slow which allowed Harford to jump out to an early lead.  A combination of missed opportunities on offense from missed shots and turnovers and a lack of aggression put the Statesmen down by as many as 16 in the first half.  The score at the conclusion of the first was 40-30, Harford.  Coming out for the second half, the Statesmen showed much more poise and energy which instantly brought them back into the game.  With the game close now, each team would go back and forth taking the lead from each other until Darius Jones nailed a big three that put RBC up by two points, 70-68, with 1:07 left.  That clutch shot sealed the game for Bland and defined the second half for the team as they outscored Harford 44-28.  The final buzzer saw RBC on top with a score of 74-68.  

For the game, four Statesmen played the entire 40-minute contest and made a big impact in the box score.  Leading the team Monday were three big players. Kenneth Southerland recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Darius Jones nailed the game-changing three which only added to his impressive total of 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Terry Gray Jr., in his biggest game of the season and first start of the season, logged 15 points, 7 rebounds, and came up big from the charity strike going 7-7.