Southerland, Redmon Shine On Sophomore Night

By Alden Di Dio

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, VA - Sophomores Kenneth Southerland and Derrick Redmon made the most out of their final appearance at Statesmen Hall on Tuesday. Both Southerland and Redmon combined to contribute nearly half of RBC's points in the 64-46 win over Spartanburg Methodist on Sophomore Night. 

After taking the win in their final home game this season, the Statesmen move to 12-13 and will travel to Denmark Technical College on Saturday, February 22 at 3 p.m

Early into the first half, the Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers drew first blood with a deep three to go ahead of the Statesmen. While the Pioneers maintained a 5-4 lead three minutes in, this would be the final time in the game in which the Statesmen would be behind. A minute later, the Statesmen moved the ball down the court to set up Southerland for a layup which put RBC ahead 6-5. The Statesmen created some distance between them and the Pioneers by taking their time on the court and making smart passes to Antonio Puaauli-Pelham and Southerland inside the paint. This allowed the team to control the pace of the game. Going into the second half, the Statesmen had a 27-18 lead over Spartanburg Methodist. 

While the lead was small, the events on the court heavily favored the Statesmen. The Pioneer's were able to sink a few three point shots. However, the three pointers they made were not enough to catch up in the second half. With the score at 46-33, the Statesmen decided to gain some insurance by scoring six points within ten seconds. Jared Watkins scored four of the six by putting up a missed shot and a dunk after stealing the ball from the Pioneer's offense. Southerland repeated this and slammed another one down to go ahead another 22 points. The Statesmen continued to play smart which granted them the 64-46 win over Spartanburg Methodist. 

Head coach Andrew Lacey expressed that "This win was important because of the long road trip coming up and the tough decision against USC Salkehatchie on Saturday." Lacey went on to say that the Statesmen "played really consistently" and that "they were able to make executions early and late in the game."