Men’s Basketball Season Comes to a Close in Region Semifinals

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, VA – The Richard Bland College Men's Basketball team traveled to Catawba Valley Community College last week for the Region 10 Atlantic District Tournament. The Statesmen entered the tournament as the #5 seed, and faced #4 Gaston College in the quarterfinals, earning a 65-51 win and advancing to the semis the next day. In the semis, the Statesmen faced #1 Brunswick Community College and eventually fell 71-81. After completion of the contests, the Statesmen closed the season at 10-16 overall, 7-7 in conference play.

Thursday afternoon was a defensive battle between the Statesmen and Rhinos, but Richard Bland had positive energy on their side right from the jump. Jermain Coston Jr. won the tip-off for Richard Bland. Although Gaston got on the board first with a layup and a three pointer, Doyle Brown answered with one from the perimeter himself, putting the Statesmen on the board in the third minute. Two minutes later, Andy Ramirez went on to hit a three of his own at the buzzer of the shot clock to take the first lead of the game. Brown pushed the lead to three on a layup on an 8-0 run. Gaston struggled to answer right away, but pushed the tempo near the end of the first half, holding a 24-29 lead over Richard Bland. The Statesmen came out hot in the second half and outscored the Rhinos 41-22 to coast to a 65-51

Doyle Brown led the way for Richard Bland with 23 points in the game. Andy Ramirez followed closely behind with 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Jalen Smith tallied nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Dove Fishburne had six points, three assists, and three steals in the win. Jermaine Coston Jr. and Christian Chambers chipped in with two points each, and Emmanuel Vonhm and Richard Agbo one each. Agbo also grabbed six boards.

Richard Bland shot 42.9% from the field, 40.0% from the perimeter, and 59.0% from the charity stripe.

Friday evening, the Dolphins controlled the opening tip and got on the board first with a put-back layup. Richard Bland earned a few stops out of the gate but failed to convert on the offensive side. The Statesmen got on the board in the fourth minute thanks to a Jalen Smith layup. Despite a slow start, Richard Bland held a 10-point lead, 40-30 after 20 minutes of play. Richard Bland continued to put pressure on the Dolphins, but it did not phase Brunswick. The Dolphins pushed the offensive tempo and put up 51 points in the second half, over Richard Bland's 31 points, to hang on for the 71-81 win.

Andy Ramirez led the way for Richard Bland with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Doyle Brown added 22 points, while Jermaine Coston Jr. scored 10 points, three rebounds, and one assist. Dove Fishburne had six points, four rebounds, and two steals in the game. Emmanuel Vonhm tallied five rebounds and four points, and Richard Agbo two points and two rebounds in the loss.

Richard Bland shot 58.1% from the field, 40.0% from the perimeter, and 69.9% from the charity stripe.

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