The Tigers of Hargrave scored an important home victory on Saturday afternoon, 71-65, over the Highland School. The victory improved the Tigers overall record to 11-8 and they consequently moved up in the latest VISAA Coaches’ Poll as well.
Both teams were fired up to play on Saturday, as Highland School visited Walter Davis Gymnasium. Coming into the game, Highland was tied for #5 in the VISAA Coaches’ Poll while the Tigers were ranked #9. However, the Tigers have been no stranger to big games against ranked teams, having hosted highly ranked Norfolk Collegiate and Blue Ridge as well as Carlisle School, who is ranked in VISAA D3, over the past ten days.
The game was action-packed and the Tigers shot the ball extremely well from the field to the tune of 54% as well as 47% behind the arc. Hargrave used a strong second quarter from Nathan Kania ’20 (Danville, VA) as he tickled the twine from deep three times as the Tigers scored 22 points in the quarter and took a 39-27 lead into the half.
In the second half, Highland came out on fire with a barrage of three pointers and made free throws, but Hargrave weathered the storm with some tough finishes by Grant Okolo ’19 (Riverdale, MD) and Matt Brown, Jr. ’19 (Kenosha, WI) to keep their twelve point halftime advantage heading into the final frame. Highland continued to ratchet up the defense, forcing crucial Hargrave turnovers and cut the Tigers’ lead to just three points. But Hargrave, who shot the ball well all game, came up with two huge three pointers on back-to-back possessions by Wade Thomas ’19 (Danville, VA) and Kania to push their lead back to nine points with just over two minutes to go. Hargrave closed out the game from the line and earned an impressive 71-65 victory.
Notable Performances Included:
Nathan Kania ’20–20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Grant Okolo ’19–14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Matt Brown, Jr. ’19–13 points, 5 assists
Wade Thomas ’19–10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
With the victory, Hargrave also saw a bump in the latest VISAA Coaches’ Poll, as they moved up to the #8 spot in the rankings with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. The rest of the VISAA Coaches’ Poll is below.
VISAA Coaches’ Poll-2/5/19
1. Blue Ridge School (106)
2. Miller School (100)
3. Virginia Episcopal School (91)
4. Middleburg Academy (81)
5. Steward School (63)
6. Highland School (59)
7. Virginia Academy (54)
8. Hargrave Military Academy (47)
9. Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (37)
10. Norfolk Christian School (25)
11. Norfolk Collegiate School (23)
12. Seton School (8)
RV. Christchurch School
RV. Peninsula Catholic High School
Due to inclement weather and rescheduling, the Tigers will not be back in action until Monday, February 11th, as they host VIC Conference opponent and current #2 Miller School. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
