No Comeback for Men's Basketball on Wednesday

By Bryant Marks

ANNANDALE, VA -- Richard Bland College's men's basketball team goes down to NOVA Community College early and cannot make the comeback that has fueled their last two victories on Wednesday, losing 65-87.

The team now drops to .500 ball at 2-2 on the season.  RBC has a long stretch of road games ahead of them that would test any team as they do not return to Statesmen Hall for a home game until November 20.  Their next away games will be at Harcum College in Pennsylvania.  They will face Harcum on Friday, November 8, at 7 pm and Harford Community College on Saturday, November 9, at 1 pm.

Bland matched up against the Nighthawks of NOVA CC on Wednesday for their first and only matchup of the season.  In the first part of the first half, NOVA jumped at to double-digit lead early that they would hold going into halftime with a score of 36-23.  RBC would never get the score back within single-digits for the rest of the contest as every run they would try to start was matched by their opponents.

RBC shot well inside the arc but went only 4 for 23 from behind the three-point arc while turning the ball over 22 times.  NOVA converted those costly turnovers for 24 points which if taken away, the Statesmen would be up by two points and be in a whole different ball game.  Rest assured that the team will clean up their play for their next matchups as this is an important stretch of games that can decide the outcome of their season.

In the game Wednesday, RBC was led by Darius Jones with 13 points and 4 rebounds, Jared Watkins with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists, and Antonio Puaauli-Pelham with 9 points and 10 rebounds.