No. 14 Richard Bland Plays At Pitt (N.C.) CC Wednesday Night

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College will play on the road at Pitt (N.C.) Community College in Region X Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night, November 30, in Winterville, North Carolina. The Statesmen, ranked No. 14 in the NJCAA Division II Preseason Poll, have won three-straight games and feature a record of 7-2 overall, 1-0 in Region X. The Bulldogs are 2-2 overall, 0-1 in Region X. Tip-off is set for at 7 p.m. on the PCC campus located near Greenville and East Carolina University.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 14 Richard Bland (7-2, 1-0) at Pitt (N.C.) (2-2, 0-1)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Winterville, North Carolina
Series History: Richard Bland leads 4-2

Scouting the Statesmen
No. 14 Richard Bland is 7-2 overall after winning its Region X Conference opener on the road at Wake Technical (N.C.) Community College 81-74 on Nov. 22 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Statesmen, who are an outstanding 81-27 (.750) over the past three-plus seasons, 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 nine games, the Statesmen have been led in scoring by 6-9 sophomore center Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina, who is averaging 13.0 points (72.6 FG%), 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks with six double-doubles. He is followed by 6-4 sophomore guard Deandre Clark/Orange, who is averaging 11.8 points with 20 three-point field goals (2.2), while local 6-3 sophomore guard Gevon Arrington/Petersburg is averaging 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. Richard Bland is averaging 80.9 points per game, while allowing 69.0 points to opponents.

Scouting Pitt
Pitt is 2-2 overall, 0-1 in Region X, and coached by fifth-year head coach Darrick Mullins. The Bulldogs are averaging 74.0 points per game, following a 73-69 road loss at Region X opponent Bryant & Stratton College on Nov. 13. Pitt has two players averaging double-figure points, including freshman Deonte Jones (20.5) and sophomore Jaiquan Manning (12.0).

Series History
Richard Bland and Pitt have played six times previously in the sport of men's basketball, and the Statesmen lead the series, 4-2. The two teams split a pair of close games last season, each winning on its home court ... the Statesmen by a score of 83-80 on January 20, 2016 in Statesman Hall after the Bulldogs had won 94-93 on December 2, 2015 in North Carolina.

Spreading the Wealth
Richard Bland has three players who are scoring at least 10.3 points per game, and three others who are scoring at least 5.5 points. The balanced Statesmen feature 12 players who are averaging at least 10.0 minutes per game, including four who are playing at least 22.6 minutes. The other two Statesmen on the roster are averaging 9.3 and 7.1 minutes, respectively.

Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland is ranked seventh in NJCAA Division II rebounding (47.0), 29th in steals (10.6) and 36th in blocks (3.8). Jaquan Wooten is ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage (45-62, 72.6%), sixth in blocks (2.8) and 24th in rebounding (10.1). Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York is ranked 25th nationally in steals (2.9).

2015 NJCAA Division II National Champions
Richard Bland won the 2015 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball 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 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 a 20-year hiatus from competitive sports at Richard Bland College.

Up Next
Richard Bland will return home to Statesman Hall to host Region X member Catawba Valley (N.C.) Community College on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. The contest has been designated FCA Appreciation Day while sponsoring a Canned Food Drive to benefit The Hope Center in Petersburg. It's free admission for everyone; however, all fans are asked to please bring a canned food, dry goods or peanut butter to the game that is also recognizing the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) organization that serves 26 area high schools. The FCA is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry.