No. 6 Richard Bland To Battle At No. 16 Louisburg (N.C.) On Saturday
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- It will be a battle of Top 20 junior college men's basketball teams on Saturday afternoon (January 14, 3 p.m.) in Louisburg, North Carolina when Richard Bland College travels to play at Region X Conference rival Louisburg College. The visiting Statesmen, ranked in a tie for No. 6 in this week's NJCAA Division II Top 20 Poll, have won nine-straight games and feature an overall record of 13-2, while unbeaten at 6-0 in Region X. The host and defending Region X Champion Hurricanes, ranked No. 16 in this week's Top 20 Poll, are 10-3 overall, 4-1 in Region X with four consecutive wins.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 6 Richard Bland (13-2, 6-0) at No. 16 Louisburg (10-3, 4-1)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Roger Taylor Arena | Louisburg, N.C.
Live Video: lchurricanes.com
Series History: 3-4
Scouting the Statesmen
No. 6 Richard Bland is 13-2 overall after defeating Region X opponent Lenoir (N.C.) Community College 84-70 on Jan. 11 in Kinston, North Carolina. The Statesmen, who are an outstanding 87-27 (.763) 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 15 games, Richard Bland has been led in scoring by local 6-3 sophomore guard Gevon Arrington/Petersburg, who is averaging 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He is followed by 6-9 sophomore center Jaquan Wooten/Kinston, North Carolina, who is averaging 11.7 points (66.7 FG%), 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks with seven double-doubles, while 6-4 sophomore guard Deandre Clark/Orange is averaging 11.7 points (37 3FGs), 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Richard Bland is averaging 83.1 points per game, while allowing just 67.5 points to opponents for a scoring margin of +15.6.
Scouting Louisburg
Louisburg is 10-3 overall following an 80-71 conference road win at Patrick Henry Community College on Jan. 11. The high-scoring Hurricanes are coached by head coach Neil Dixon, and have been led in scoring by sophomore Virginia State University transfer Troy Locke (15.7), followed by freshman Jordan Oakley (13.8), sophomore Division I transfers Derek McKnight (NJIT, 12.8) and Josh Bougher (Tennessee Tech, 10.9), along with freshman Jalen Gaddy (10.2). Louisburg averages 91.8 points per game (11th nationally), while yielding 74.8 points for a scoring margin of +17.0.
Series History
Richard Bland and Louisburg are playing for the eighth time in the sport of men's basketball, and the Hurricanes lead the closely-played rivalry series at 4-3. Four of the seven contests between the two schools have been decided by six points or less, including two by three points each. Louisburg won both games played last season by uncharacteristic scores of 100-69 at Statesman Hall (1/13/16) and 81-67 in North Carolina (2/10/16). The Statesmen won two games against the Hurricanes in North Carolina during their national championship season of 2014-15, including 87-81 (1/14/15) and 80-77 in the 2015 Region X Championship (3/7/15).
Total Team Effort
Richard Bland has three players who are scoring at least 11.7 points per game, and five others who are scoring at least 5.6 points, while five more average between 2.9 and 4.9 points, respectively. The extremely balanced Statesmen feature all 13 team members who are averaging at least 10.2 minutes, including four who are playing at least 21.8 minutes, while the other nine are averaging between 10.2 and 14.5 minutes, respectively.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland is ranked sixth in NJCAA Division II rebounding (47.1), 15th in blocks (4.9), 19th in steals (10.8), 29th in assists (18.1) and 38th in scoring (83.1). Jaquan Wooten is ranked seventh nationally in blocks (3.1), tied for eighth in field goal percentage (70-105, 66.7%) and 28th in rebounding (9.3). Freshman Ricky Hicks/Bronx, New York is ranked 37th nationally in assists (5.1) and tied for 38th in steals (2.3).
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 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 a 20-year hiatus from competitive sports at Richard Bland College.
Up Next
Richard Bland will return home to play Fayetteville Technical (N.C.) Community College on Monday night, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Statesman Hall -- a contest rescheduled from Jan. 7 due to the effects of Winter Storm Helena. The Statesmen remain at home next week to play Pitt (N.C.) Community College on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.