The Hargrave Tigers traveled up to Lynchburg, Virginia to open up VIC Conference play on Tuesday night where they came away with a 53-52 victory over Virginia Episcopal School. The win was the Tigers first win at Virginia Episcopal School since 2009 and Hargrave now sits at 6-3 overall, 1-0 in VIC play this season.
Rivalry games always have a different buzz about them and a rivalry game in conference only magnifies that intensity. The Virginia Episcopal student section packed into their Van Every Gymnasium and provided an outstanding atmosphere for this game. The Tigers came out sluggishly and found themselves down 10-3 to open the game. Senior Matt Brown (Kenosha, WI) went on a scoring tear and Hargrave clawed back to even the score at 10 apiece. A late buzzer beating three pointer by Virginia Episcopal gave them the 13-10 advantage after the first quarter.
Virginia Episcopal continued their strong start into the second quarter with a few quick baskets and the Tigers found themselves trailing 19-15. Early foul trouble caused Hargrave to get creative with their lineups, at times playing five guards against an extremely tall Virginia Episcopal team. However, Hargrave held their own and ended the first half on a 10-3 run which was sparked by back to back three pointers from Senior Adam Saliu (Java, VA) and Junior Nathan Kania (Danville, VA) and the Tigers took a 25-22 lead into the break.
The third quarter mirrored the first half as Hargrave allowed Virginia Episcopal to get off to a strong start and found themselves having to battle back to stay in the game. A timely three pointer by Junior Justin Campbell (Atlanta, GA) gave the Tigers a 30-29 lead only to lose that lead and find themselves down 33-32. Hargrave’s second leading scorer, Senior Grant Okolo (Riverdale, MD), had been held scoreless for the first 22 minutes of the game but a steal and a layup sparked a scoring run for the Tigers who opened up their advantage to 44-35 in which Okolo added seven points. Another late three pointer by Virginia Episcopal cut into the Tigers lead but Hargrave still held a 44-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a fast paced and thrilling eight minutes of basketball which included clutch shots made by Okolo and Sophomore IJ Ezuma (Raleigh, NC) that helped Hargrave maintain their advantage. Hargrave led 53-47 with 1:30 remaining in the game and some costly turnovers and missed box outs gave Virginia Episcopal hope as they cut the score to 53-51 with thirty seconds to go. A close call on a deflection and steal gave Virginia Episcopal the ball near their own basket with 12.9 seconds remaining but Hargrave forced a turnover only to come down and miss a layup. Virginia Episcopal got the rebound and pushed the ball up the court and drew a foul with 1.1 seconds left in regulation. Virginia Episcopal made the first free throw but missed the second free throw and could not tip it in and Hargrave held on for the victory, 53-52!
Notable Performances Included:
Matt Brown, Jr. ’19–14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
Grant Okolo ’19–11 points, 4 rebounds, 7 deflections
IJ Ezuma ’21–10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 deflections
Nathan Kania ’20–9 points, 6 assists, 6 steals
Hargrave will be back in action this evening as they head to St. George, Virginia to take on VIC Conference opponent Blue Ridge School. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 PM.
