The Hargrave Military Academy Varsity Basketball team earned a hard-fought VIC Conference win on Tuesday night, defeating the Barons of Blue Ridge School 61-44. The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak in the process and moved their overall record to 13-7 on the season.
The VIC Conference features 4 of the top 5 ranked teams in the state and by playing in arguably one of the toughest conferences, each game is always a back and forth battle between teams with talented players and excellent coaches both of which were on display in Walter Davis Gymnasium. However, even with all the talent on both teams, the Hargrave and Blue Ridge both struggled mightily to generate any offense in the first 16 minutes of the game, with both teams shooting under 30% from the floor in the first half. Blue Ridge held a narrow 20-19 advantage heading into halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, a Chance Keyes deep three pointer gave Hargrave a 30-28 lead and sparked the Tigers to end the quarter on a 10-2 run-which included two more three pointers from Keyes, taking a 40-30 lead into the final quarter. Hargrave was able to increase their advantage as their defensive pressure wore down the Barons and a pair of monster dunks from Seneca Louis electrified the Tiger faithful in attendance as Hargrave closed out the 61-44 victory by shooting close to 60% from the floor in the second half to earn their second conference win of the season.
Notable Performances Included:
Chance Keyes ’19–14 points (5-6 FG, 4-4 3FG), 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Seneca Louis ’18–10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Cam McNeil ’18–10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Korbin Spencer ’19–9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Benson Lin ’18–7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
Maurice Wilcox ’18–4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
IJ Ezuma ’21–2 points, 6 rebounds
The Tigers finish out the 2017-2018 regular season with a home tilt against #7 Middleburg Academy on Saturday February 17th. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
